Middle Grade/Young Adult
Miracle’s Boys
Three brothers who are orphaned by the death of their mother, are trying to get by. Twelve-year-old Lafayette tells the story of what happens to him and his older brothers, fifteen-year-old Charlie and twenty-one-year-old Ty’ree, after Charlie comes home from a juvenile detention center where he has spent time for armed robbery.
Where it takes place:
In the Washington Heights section of Manhattan.
Where I wrote it:
Whidbey Island which is off the coast of Seattle, Washington and in Olivebridge, NY.
Why I wrote it:
I wanted to write a story that had no girls in it. I also wanted to write about how hard it is to be poor sometimes. I also wanted to write about how hard it is to lose someone you love—in this case, both parents—and how that pain starts shaping itself into other things sometimes like anger and isolation. Most of all, I wanted to write about three brothers who are funny, handsome, searching, and caring of one another.
Awards
- Coretta Scott King Award
- Los Angeles Times Book Prize
- ALA Best Book for Young Adults
- Sequoyah Book Award Master List, Young Adult Category
- 2003-2004 Sunshine State Master List (grades 6-8)
- 2003-2004 Georgia Children’s Book Award nominee
Japanese language version of “Miracle’s Boys”
