TUTORED

The politics of ethnicity and class are heavily at play in this work of romantic fiction. Seventeen-year-old Wendy has been raised in a white suburb of Philadelphia by her overprotective father, who fears her exposure to the poor black neighborhoods he left behind. Wendy responds to his blatant stereotyping by becoming a tutor in just such a community, where she meets Hakiam. Newly arrived in the city, he’s just the sort of boy her dad fears—he spent his adolescence being shuffled through foster homes and now lives with his cousin and her premature, newborn baby. Predictably, the two initially clash but quickly move past their sparring and become intrigued with one another, to the chagrin of both their families. The chemistry between the pair comes about abruptly, but the strength of this story lies in the dynamic between Wendy and Hakiam and in his experiences with her friends. Secondary characters are, unfortunately, not as well developed—both Wendy’s dad and Hakiam’s cousin are caricatures with whom readers will not be able to empathize. Ambitious and thought-provoking, if flawed. (Fiction. 12 & up)