SPARROW

An African-American teen’s search for family leads from Chicago to the warmth and revelry of New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Raised on “tough love” by her G’ma since her parents died, 17-year-old Kendall knows the importance of family. Then G’ma dies, leaving Kendall alone. G’ma was her family, and without her, the “apartment doesn’t feel like home anymore.” With child services threatening, Kendall discovers she has an Aunt Janet G’ma never mentioned. Tracing Janet to New Orleans, Kendall migrates south, but Janet has mysteriously vanished. Landlady Miss Clare invites Kendall to stay as a companion for her teenaged daughter Evie, who is confined to a wheelchair. Kendall and the testy, blues-singing Evie become friends, and New Orleans starts to feel like home. Left on her own, Kendall’s search for her aunt becomes a search for self. She eventually realizes she’s old enough to shape her own life, and that family isn’t always blood relations. A moving story that rings true. (Fiction. 12-18)