Madge has grown up in a small town in Pennsylvania where she is the only black person. Her mom is an ex-con, and living illegally in the U.S. The only solid adult in her life is her aunt Liz who runs a beauty parlor. Then when visiting her cousin in New York she sees a young kid in the park sprain his ankle. She is directed to his home by another kid. The boy's situation is bad and Madge feels bad leaving him with the man who answers the door. Eventually she return to NYC to see the boy and finds him alone and unkept in the park. This time she takes him home to Pennsylvania.

The plot is a bit over the top, but I liked the characters in the book and enjoyed the story. ( )