Keesha's House by Helen FrostThe library of Congress summary at the begginning of the book says:Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, homosexuality, andabuse each discribe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.
To be more specific, the stories are told in sonnets and sestinas, as explained at the back of the back of the book in notes on the forms. The copy of the book that I am holding has a wonderful book jacket that summarizes the problems of the six kids (the Library of Congress' summary includes Keesha). I frequently checked the jacket as I was reading the first few chapters to get a better hold on the characters. The poems are told not just from the viewpoints of the teenagers but also from that of the adults who care about them.
Keesha's actual house is a safe house, where each of the teens lives at some point in the story. When Joe was a teenager and needed a place to go, his aunt gave him refuge at her house,a nd so now that he has inherited it, he welcomes kids with no place to go. In the beggining, people called it Joe's house, but after Keesha moved in, she took charge of the place and now it is really Keesha's house.
This book is well worth a second read. Happy reading.
