BOOK of the week
Sweet Thang
by Allison Whittenberg ages 9-12
Sunday, June 11, 2006; Page D08
Charmaine Upshaw is 14, and she's discovering, the hard way, that life just isn't fair.
She's smart and funny, but that doesn't matter much because she still has to share a bedroom with her annoying, tap-dancing brother, Leo (totally unfair). When a favorite aunt dies (again, not fair), her spoiled 6-year-old cousin moves in. With an extra mouth to feed, Charmaine's mom has to go to work, leaving Charmaine to care for her cousin. (Could life get more unfair?)
Meanwhile, Charmaine is struggling with 14-year-old-girl issues at school: Why do the boys like the light-skinned girls more? Should she straighten her hair or leave it natural? Will the coolest guy, Demetrius McGee, EVER notice her?
When Demetrius asks Charmaine for a favor she needs to decide what's more important: doing the right thing or being friends with the "in" kids.
Life may not be fair for Charmaine, but how she copes and what she decides will have you cheering "Sweet Thang."
