Flake, Sharon

All thirteen-year-old Raspberry can think of is making money so that she and her mother never have to worry about living on the streets again.

Presents ten short stories about teenage girls struggling with issues of self-worth.

Raspberry steals money from a friend in order to get her mother out of a tough situation, and must now face the consequenes and the fear of going down the same path as her drug-addicted father.

Two years after the shooting death of thirteen-year-old Mann's little brother, Mann's father, who believes his son died because he made him too "soft," takes Mann and his friend camping and abandons them in an attempt to make them tough.

Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.

Presents twelve short stories about teenage girls struggling with issues of self-worth.

A teenage boy must face the harsh realities of inner city life, a disintegrating family, and destructive temptations as he struggles to find his identity as a young man.

Autumn, who struggles with a learning disability and exceeds at wrestling, and Adonis, who is confined to a wheelchair and loves books, learn how their weaknesses can become assets.

Thirteen-year-old Maleeka Madison, insecure about her very dark skin, rejects the support of a new teacher, Miss Saunders, whose skin looks blotched because of a rare medical condition--but soon Maleeka begins to see that Miss Saunders could be a role model, and that she must learn to love herself and accept love from others.

Ten-year-old Queen learns valuable life lessons about being a good friend when Leroy, a new kid in the neighborhood, comes to Queen's school.