Seventh grader Serena Shaw bears an incredible load of responsibility as her father’s debilitating depression prevents him from doing basic chores like grocery shopping, let alone picking up her younger brother Henry from his second-grade classroom at the end of the day. Serena’s dad has always had issues with “the Blues,” but since her mother’s death there has been no adult to make sure he takes his medication and receives the medical care he sometimes needs. Serena feels overwhelmed with worry about her dad, household tasks that always need attention, caring for Henry, and keeping her own grades up so that she can hang on to her lead role in the school musical, The Wiz. She tries to get family members to help, but her grandmother is in a nursing home and her uncle travels for his demanding job, making it hard for him to understand—and easy for him to deny—the seriousness of the situation. Traci L. Jones’s compelling novel is grounded by emotional honesty, from Serena’s relationships with her dad, brother, and friends to her growing feeling of desperation as she begins searching the Web and finds warning signs for suicide. An almost-too-good-to-be-true romantic interest and an upbeat ending provide relief in a story about a young African American teen struggling with more responsibility than any child should have. (Ages 12–15)

After the death of her mother, seventh-grader Serena finds herself facing the day-to-day challenges of caring for herself and her younger brother, Henry, all while attempting to lead a normal pre-teen life.

Seventh-grader Serena Shaw is trying to keep up at school while rehearsing for the lead role in the spring musical and dealing with a father so "blue" he is nearly catatonic. With the aid of a not-so-secret admirer, as well as a growing sense of self-confidence, she faces the challenges of caring for herself and her ball-of-charm younger brother—all while attempting to lead the life of a normal pre-teen.

Readers will be drawn into this convincing portrait of a vivacious young person who is on a path to discovering that taking on responsibility sometimes means finding the best way to ask for help.