First published 2000
Thulani spends his days caring for rock doves on his Brooklyn rooftop, still mourning his mother's death. The sixteen-year-old has retreated into this quiet world of birds and grief until he witnesses something that changes everything. A girl is sexually assaulted, and Thulani cannot stop thinking about her. His fixation on this stranger becomes an obsession that pulls him away from his rooftop sanctuary. The trauma he witnessed forces Thulani to confront his own isolation and the way he has been hiding from life since losing his mother. As his preoccupation with the girl intensifies, Thulani must decide whether to remain safe in his world of doves and solitude or step into the messy, dangerous reality of human connection and healing.
Genres: fiction, african-american, contemporary, adolescence
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, healing
Setting: Brooklyn
176 pages · Hardcover · Harpercollins Childrens Books
Content warnings: sexual-assault