Silenced
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4.7 • 9 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Award-winning author Kia DuPree, hailed for her heart-wrenching storytelling and unforgettable characters, now she takes readers to Washington, D.C.'s most notorious neighborhood, where a young woman has one chance to escape—and too many ways to lose...
She gets lost in the fantasy of books and poetry. But in Tinka Hampton's all-too-real world, her mother Nicola has lost her job and is struggling to stop her family's fall into poverty. With her sons turning to drug dealing—and worse—Nicola wants better things for her daughter. Yet the more pressure she puts on Tinka to do everything right, the more she drives her away...straight into the arms of Nine, a man as irresistible as he is lethal. Now Nicola must make unimaginable choices that will put Tinka at a dangerous crossroads. Will standing up for her seemingly impossible dreams be her way out—or will they trap her on D.C.'s merciless streets forever?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Dupree's unflinching depiction of life in inner-city Washington, D.C., 30-year-old Nicola "Cola" Hampton struggles to keep her family together. Told from the perspectives of both Cola and her young daughter, Teyona ("Tinka"), the novel opens with Cola losing her job and moving Tinka and her older sons 14-year-old Marquan and 12-year-old Taevon into Sursum Corda, a notorious D.C. housing project. Cola desperately wants to prevent her children from making the same mistakes that she and their fathers have made: Marquan's father is serving a life sentence for murder; Taevon's is a womanizer; and Tinka's has simply disappeared. Despite Cola's best efforts, Marquan steals a car, is associated with a double homicide, and a few years later is charged with capital murder; Taevon deals drugs; and Tinka's boyfriend robs liquor stores and gas stations. For much of the novel, Tinka avoids these perils, which makes her later stumbles all the more heartbreaking. Dupree's (Robbing Peter) knack for dialogue and her insight and compassion for her characters inspire the reader's empathy an outstanding achievement.
Customer Reviews
Good read
Starts off a bit slow but an amazing book ALL her books are good and endings are jaw dropping.
Silenced
This was an absolutely compelling story, but it was also very depressing. I really wanted a happy ending for the main character, but this kid just could not catch a break.