Middle Grade/Young Adult
The Dear One
Rebecca is fifteen and pregnant and poor. Afeni is twelve, wealthy, spoiled, and doesn’t care to have a pregnant girl living in her house even if the girl is the daughter of her mother’s best friend from college. From day one, the girls hate each other and must figure out how to live under the same roof with each other and all of their opposing ideas.
Where it takes place:
In Pennsylvania in the fictionalized town of Seton.
Where I wrote it:
In Harlem, New York and in Brooklyn, New York.
Why I wrote it:
The Dear One was the second novel I ever wrote. I wanted to write about teenage pregnancy. At the time I was working with runaway and homeless young people—many of whom were pregnant. I wanted to write a novel that spoke to them.
