AN ALA PICK FOR YOUNG ADULTS • Join Tamika, Fatima, and Jimmi as they navigate their struggles, defy societal expectations, and form an unlikely bond that transcends their differences.

“[Readers] will . . . be floored by some of the turns in this swift, tense, and powerful book.”—Booklist, starred review
“Griffin’s prose is gorgeous and resonant, and he packs the slim novel with defeats, triumphs, rare moments of beauty and a cast of credible, skillfully drawn characters.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Three unusual strangers. Three very different stories.

Fifteen-year-old Mik Sykes can’t hear much, and she likes it that way. She can shut out the sellers and buyers, screamers and liars outside the housing project where she lives with her mother. She prefers to live inside her own head. Until two people change her world: Jimmi Sixes, a struggling street poet who is already a war veteran at only eighteen, and Fatima, a sixteen-year-old refugee who has just arrived in New York, all alone. These three unique outsiders form an unexpected and significant friendship, but they also set off an explosive chain of events that will alter the course of each of their lives.
© Paul Griffin
Paul Griffin is the award-winning author of Ten Mile River, The Orange Houses, and Burning Blue. He lives, trains dogs, and writes in New York City. View titles by Paul Griffin

About

AN ALA PICK FOR YOUNG ADULTS • Join Tamika, Fatima, and Jimmi as they navigate their struggles, defy societal expectations, and form an unlikely bond that transcends their differences.

“[Readers] will . . . be floored by some of the turns in this swift, tense, and powerful book.”—Booklist, starred review
“Griffin’s prose is gorgeous and resonant, and he packs the slim novel with defeats, triumphs, rare moments of beauty and a cast of credible, skillfully drawn characters.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Three unusual strangers. Three very different stories.

Fifteen-year-old Mik Sykes can’t hear much, and she likes it that way. She can shut out the sellers and buyers, screamers and liars outside the housing project where she lives with her mother. She prefers to live inside her own head. Until two people change her world: Jimmi Sixes, a struggling street poet who is already a war veteran at only eighteen, and Fatima, a sixteen-year-old refugee who has just arrived in New York, all alone. These three unique outsiders form an unexpected and significant friendship, but they also set off an explosive chain of events that will alter the course of each of their lives.

Author

© Paul Griffin
Paul Griffin is the award-winning author of Ten Mile River, The Orange Houses, and Burning Blue. He lives, trains dogs, and writes in New York City. View titles by Paul Griffin

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