SAVING KENNY

A 12-year-old African American boy living in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury in 1968 finds ways to be true to himself and find support within a complicated family situation.

When Kenny Reed’s big sister, Gwen, takes him to see the opera Aida, he becomes enamored with the Egyptian-themed production and decides he wants to become a costume designer—but he doesn’t want his big brother, Vaughn, or his mother to find out about these ambitions. The siblings constantly monitor their abusive mother’s moods to determine if it’s safe to be in the house. Soon Vaughn will graduate high school, however—and Gwen is just one year behind him—which will leave Kenny unprotected. Kenny’s thrilled to be spending the summer with his white friend Thomas Hamilton’s family in Vermont. But that invitation is rescinded after Vaughn encourages Kenny to use a fancy seafood meal he had with the Hamiltons as inspiration for a Black Panther flyer, making Thomas think Kenny’s mocking his father. Rather than going to Vermont, Kenny attends art classes at the Afro-American Arts Academy, where he must decide between taking African drumming or sewing, which he really wants but which Vaughn says is for sissies. Debut author Gaile provides a touching, in-depth look at domestic violence, gender roles, and what it means to be a man, centered on an appealing protagonist whom readers will root for.

A thoughtful, relevant exploration of social, political, and personal upheaval through a child’s eyes.