Twists and Turns

Publishers Weekly

Popular story lines continue in new novels this summer and fall. As in her previous novels, Chill Wind and Spellbound, Janet McDonald brings the dreams and personal battles of the Hillbrook Houses residents to life with Twists and Turns. This time, she focuses on Keeba and Teesha, two sisters who have just graduated from high school and have no solid plans for the future. When the girls decide to open a hair-braiding business, they discover that making a profit is more difficult than they had expected. The author offers an even balance of hardship and humor as the determined teens combat their many obstacles. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

From The Critics

Keeba and Teesha Washington have just graduated high school and have dreams of being successful, but what can they do? They live in the "projects," and their only interests seem to be eating and partying. They do, however, have one skill they hadn't considered until their librarian friend Skye helps them realize that they can market that skill, braiding hair, hence the novel's title. Skye helps Keeba and Teesha with a business plan and supports them as they put their business into operation. They obtain funding from a friend who has made it big by doing commercials, and a friend who is getting a computer technology degree builds a website for their business. After renting a storefront, the two protagonists have a hugely successful grand opening, and settle into drumming up clientele. Of course, they also face challenges: past enemies who, out of jealousy, don't want them to succeed, and a landlord who sees their apparent wealth (They have TV stars at the opening and have a professional website, so they are bound to be rolling in the dough.) and decides to take advantage of them. This book is set in an inner city area where conditions are not good but are manageable. The girls learn not to give up when the going gets tough, but instead, to depend on themselves, family, and friends. 2003, Farrar Straus & Giroux, 135 pp., Ages young adult.
—Karen Conner

Children's Literature

This novel presents a witty but realistic close-up on the lives of two African American girls who live in a Brooklyn project. Hillbrook Houses is not to be confused with the ghetto since it spawns a number of successes: a college goer, a computer student, a big TV commercial maker, and finally Keeba and Teesha, who manage to graduate from high school though a little late. Not sure what to do with their lives, the sisters discover that their talent for hair braiding can become a neighborhood business. With the help of friends, neighbors, and members of their mom's church, the girls proudly open TeeKee's Tresses. The entrepreneurs struggle to meet expenses until they are nearly put out of business through vandalism by a jealous "hater" and the tricks of a bigoted rent-gouging landlord. It takes a march on the Housing Authority and a second wave of help from supporters to get TeeKee's Tresses back on track again. What is unique about the book is that it embeds in a well-told plot the unadulterated street language and concerns of these youngsters and their contemporaries. The book speaks to young adults who are not from the projects as well as to those who are. Both will appreciate the entertaining success story of these spirited females. 2003, Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Ages 12 to 18.
— Carol Raker Collins, Ph.D.

KLIATT

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, July 2003: This short YA novel is jam-packed with energy as two sisters get the courage to borrow money and begin a business doing people's hair (twists and turns, creating braids) in their Brooklyn neighborhood. Keeba and Teesha are graduating from high school--they have managed to avoid drugs and pregnancy, unlike so many of their classmates--but it takes a tremendous push to get them to believe in themselves enough to start their own business. A girlfriend who has some money through her singing (Aisha from Chill Wind) lends them thousands of dollars, enough for renting space and buying equipment for a beauty salon. Instant success is not to be, however, and disaster follows--from unscrupulous landlords to destructive vandals--and the girls' hopes are blighted until their friends and neighbors help them continue. As McDonald has done in her other novels, here she keeps the energy going with her characters' fast retorts as the conversations fly along--"Right," said Skye, "and you're looking at the next Condoleezza." (This after Butter claims, "You're looking at the next NBA-draft free agent.)... "whoa, diss! She dissin' me, right y'all?" The neighborhood seems real, as do the characters and their lives. (An ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults.) KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 135p., $6.95.. Ages 12 to 18.
—Claire Rosser

Children's Literature - Denise Daley

The twists and turns that sisters Teesha and Keeba put into their customers' hair mirror the twists and turns of their own lives. At the urging of the area librarian the sisters begin thinking about their futures. They decide to make the most of their existing talents by starting a small hairstyling business. The grand opening is a huge success, but then their luck takes a turn for the worse. Business slows and the sisters get a notice stating that their rent is going to be doubled. Soon after, the sisters' salon is violently vandalized and their landlord is unfairly accused. They think it is part of his larger plan to sell the housing projects as high-end co-ops. The efforts of the entire community working together help prevent further problems. The street talk in this story is realistic and convincing. It will draw readers in and help them to develop an understanding of the sisters and their environment. Readers will also identify with the struggles and dilemmas that all young adults face when confronted with the sometimes conflicting issues of trying to fit in and trying to do what is right. Award winning author Janet McDonald has written another exceptional story that will have readers understanding the many obstacles faced by people of different ethnic backgrounds.

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Keeba and Teesha Washington have just graduated from their Brooklyn high school. Their neighbor and friend Skye March, the local librarian, has moved from her middle-class condo into the projects. Her theory is that for inner-city teens to be a successes they need to see success. Hoping to keep the sisters from becoming part of the unemployed "bench generation," she floats the idea of opening a beauty salon. Since the girls are known locally for braiding hair and already have a following, the next natural step is to become businesswomen. Through a series of events, both fortuitous and devastating, the teens learn a number of life lessons, especially that, with the encouragement of family and friends, anything is possible. The prose contains plenty of street dialogue that most teens can readily relate to and the story has both humor and poignancy. The main characters exhibit both strengths and considerable vulnerability. This story shows readers that opportunities are open to everyone, including themselves.-Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

After graduating from high school, sisters Keeba and Teesha Washington decide to turn their talent for hair-braiding into a business and open a beauty shop. Although eager for success, the newly minted African-American entrepreneurs of TeeKee's Tresses are inexperienced and have to cope with a myriad of obstacles, including a dearth of customers, an unexpected rent increase, and malicious vandalism. Set in Hillbrook Houses, a down-at-the-heels housing project in Brooklyn, McDonald once again shows off her extraordinary ear for teenage street slang and ability to write convincing dialogue. Nonetheless, this rather modest Horatio Alger inspirational lacks focus and urgency. The piece has more characters than it can handle and the reader never becomes deeply involved in the girls' struggle. It's a shame, because McDonald's message to kids-find a talent, then work hard to achieve a goal-is one that can't be stated too often. (Fiction. 12-14)