African-American teen Louretta Hawkins discovers music and, through it, the worth of her black identity. She navigates an urban world of poverty, overcrowding, hostile police, and feuding gangs to emerge triumphant, secure in her talent and in the love of her family and friends.

Winner of the Council on Interracial Books for children award as the year's best book for older children. "Packs a wallop Taut, fast-moving, absorbing, and believable, it probes with honest realism the problems of a wide range of unforgettable characters This powerful book deserves wide reading."-Book World