Kendra by Coe Booth

A good girl.  That’s what Kendra tries to be, so that Nana is happy even though she has to raise Kendra while her mom is away at grad school.  Kendra’s mom had her when she was only fourteen and now that Kendra’s the same age, Nana is going crazy trying to protect her.  But even though Kendra is trying hard to be good, everything starts going wrong.  Her mom, Renee, finally gets her PhD, but she’s still not around. Even though she promised Nana that she would step up and act like a real mother, Renee gets a tiny studio apartment that’s too small for Kendra to live with her.  Kendra also has her share of boy drama, specifically with the sexy new guy at her school, Nashawn.  Her best friend Adonna has a crush on him, but Kendra can’t figure out who he wants and can’t help herself when he starts trying to seduce her.   

Coe Booth does an amazing job setting up the realistic situations in Kendra’s life.  It’s easy to relate to Kendra’s problems and I was right there with her, even when she made some pretty bad choices.  Kendra’s relationship with Nashawn worried me, but is probably very true to life.  Sex and the emotional aftermath are clearly discussed, so I would recommend this book for mature readers only. 

My favorite part of this book was the strong characters and the emotion in their relationships with each other.  No one is just bad or good, but flawed and doing the best that they can, just like real people.  I loved the character of Kendra’s dad.  He’s stuck in a dead end job, but it’s clear that he really loves his daughter and they have a great relationship.  When Kendra’s mom is forced to start taking responsibility for her daughter, they have to get to know each other and come to terms with Renee’s absence during most of Kendra’s childhood.  The scenes between them are loving and frustrating at the same time, and you can almost physically feel how badly Kendra wants everything to work out.  Overall, Kendra is a great book!