Tomorrow, Maybe

From The Critics

Gretchen, 15, most commonly known by her fellow street kids as Chen, is growing up homeless on the streets of New York. She faces the reality of having to beg for money, stealing to eat, and having an uncertainty of where she will sleep each night. Not everything is depressing in Chen's world. She keeps her head held high and looks for the best in every drab situation. Although she sometimes misses the everyday luxuries of having a family and a home, she finds her place in the freedom of the streets. Chen's life takes a significant turn on a typically cold winter night in New York City when young Elizabeth, 11, enters the picture. Chen vows she will always take care of Elizabeth and never leave her side. The two are like sisters. They beg together, they share the money made, and they watch out for one another. After teaching themselves for years that they cannot trust anyone, not even their own fathers, they find the trust and strength in one another to help get through another night. Invoking many emotions, this novel will take young readers through turns and twists that are rather scary and sometimes very sad situations. But perhaps it will make those young people, uncertain of this time in their lives, more aware of their surroundings each day and hopefully provide a little light on the sometimes dark circumstances of their lives. 2003, PUSH / Scholastic, 248 pp. Ages young adult. Reviewer: Erin Murphy

KLIATT

James' well-realized protagonist Chan is a 15-year-old street kid living in squats in New York City. Chan has been on the streets since she was 13. She's self-reliant, making time to watch the dawn in a sleeping city, and successfully avoiding both sex and drugs. When 11-year-old Elizabeth arrives in Chan's squat, life becomes much more complex. Chan finds a wonderful little sister in Elizabeth—but a romantic teenager doesn't want her kid sister to grow up in the streets. Surrounded by the cold reality of urban homelessness, Elizabeth is far less innocent than Chan wants her to be, and frequently rebels against Chan's treatment of her as a child. With a conclusion both sorrowful and satisfying, Chan's story is truly worthwhile. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Scholastic, Push, 248p.,
— Deborah Kaplan

VOYA

Dedicated to all lost kids, James's novel takes readers into the troubling and at times surreal world of New York street kids. The narrator is fifteen-year-old Gretchen, known as Chan on the streets. She speaks her thoughts through a clipped, stream-of-consciousness prose that is as fragmented as her life has been for the past two years since she ran away. Chan left behind a negligent father and a cruel stepmother, only to end up as part of an ever-changing street family struggling to survive in the dark, cold, and filth. Her life lacks substance and routine until a small, stray girl turns up at her current flop. Her name is Elizabeth, she is only eleven, and Chan feels compelled to take her in and protect her from the dangers of the street. Together, they go from boarded-up tenements to rat-infested basements, creating makeshift, temporary families with other street kids. Through Chan, readers experience first love, first betrayal, and her growing need to take Elizabeth and leave the city before they both succumb to the hopelessness of life among strangers. Chan dreams about going home, but only when she loses the most important thing in her life does she finally pick up the phone. Gritty and honest, James's writing about life on the street pulls readers closer to hear the story that no one tells. VOYA CODES: 4Q 5P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Scholastic, 256p,
— Michelle Winship

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-Gretchen, nicknamed Chan, is a 15-year-old runaway living on the streets of New York City. She left home two years earlier when her recently widowed father married an abusive woman. She has learned how to survive, finding places to crash with people she hopes are friends. One night, as she and her friend Jef are settling into a new squat, a child shows up. The others try to make her leave, but Chan takes the 11-year-old in, and she and Elizabeth start to save money from their begging forays so that they can leave town. One night Jef invites them to a rock show, but it is a trap that will send them into enslaved prostitution. They barely escape, and the next day Elizabeth runs off with their money. Devastated, Gretchen breaks down and calls her father, who is overjoyed to hear from her and comes to get her. James has created a believable world for these two girls, a harsh and scary yet often tender place. The language is raw yet poetic; Chan's voice is appropriate and fresh. The author has done a fine job of presenting the issues surrounding teen homelessness.-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, OR Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.