''Keesha's House'' is a 2003 award winning debut young adult

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voice ...

by American author

Helen Frost Helen Marie Frost (born March 4, 1949) is an American writer and poet. She is best known for the young-adult novel ''Keesha's House'', which was a Michael L. Printz Award honor book in 2004. Frost was born in South Dakota, the fifth child in a f ...

. The book's story is told through multiple poems and concerns a group of teenagers that are all drawn to the house of the title character Keesha due to serious issues in their personal lives.

Synopsis

The book follows several teenagers that have come to Keesha's house in search of a safe haven. Each teen has something that is going wrong in their life. Young couple Stephie and Jason are having troubles due to her

teen pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period bet ...

, with Jason feeling pressure due to him feeling like he has to choose between a potential sports career and his responsibilities. Dontay and Carmen both have had interactions with the legal system. Carmen must deal with a DUI charge while Dontay is shuffled through the

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...

system due to his parents being in prison. Meanwhile, Harris and Katie are both experiencing trouble with their family members. Harris has

come out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

to his father, only to be disowned. Katie can't understand why her mother remains with her abusive stepfather and tries to escape her situation by becoming a

workaholic A workaholic is a person who works compulsively. A workaholic experiences an inability to limit the amount of time they spend on work despite negative consequences such as damage to their relationships or health. There is no generally accepted ...

in every aspect of her life.

Reception

Initial critical reception for ''Keesha's House'' has been predominantly positive.

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

and the

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

have both praised the audiobook adaptation's narration, with the School Library journal commenting that it was a "perfect vehicle for teaching high school poetry".

Awards

* Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, 2004 * Michael L. Printz Honor Award, 2004 * YALSA's "Selected Videos, DVDs, and Audiobooks For Young Adults", 2005

Stage adaptation

In 2004 the book was adapted into a stage play by Fort Wayne's Youtheatre.

References

{{Portal, Children and Young Adult Literature 2003 American novels American young adult novels Narrative poems Verse novels 2003 debut novels