Kendra, Coe Booth; PUSH

“High schooler Kendra longs to live with her mother who, unprepared for motherhood at age fourteen, left Kendra in the care of her grandmother.”
Robin’s Note: Coe Booth burst onto the teen novel scene with her first book, Tyrell, which is excellent, and this book follows Kendra’s life as she deals with boys, sex, an overprotective mom, and trying to make her imperfect family be more what she needs.  It can get gritty and is not a fairy-tale type story, but it definitely offers hope by the end.  Booth is another author for those who like Jacqueline Woodson and Sharon Draper.