Keesha's House by Helen Frost. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2003, 116 pages.

A novel in verse, told in the voices of  at risk teens in crisis. Most feel they cannot go home-- 'Keesha's house' offers  safety and a chance to pause and try to pull yourself together.
 The book is brief but full of story and emotion, the teens who give voice are varied in race, class and issues-- it will speak to teens on many levels.

An added surprise for me was that the author includes backpages that recount the sestinas and sonnets she employed in creating Keesha's House.  Real poetry with organized rhythm and meter in voices so compelling and current that we did not even notice. Well done and very impressive. Printz Award.