Author: Yxta Maya Murray
Publisher: Razorbill, 272 Pages (January 7, 2010)
From: Publisher
Review: 3 1/2 stars. The main character, Michelle Pena or Princess P was born into a gang family - her mother head of the 99's & her brother head of the Snakes.
In her early teen years both mother and brother were jailed for various gang actives, leaving Michelle to feel she had to fend for herself upon entering the Foster Care system. Moving from home to home - finding out that there is more to life then gangs, Michelle turns to school and running with the track team. While her and her best friend KiKi are both trying out for a scholarship to a prep school, people from Michelle's hidden past - members of the Snakes kidnap them both to hold them for ransom.
Michelle and KiKi need to make some hard choices while being held to survive, leaving many questions as to which road they would choose to take. The decisions in my mind were often hard but written well in the fact that they showed the reader that not all choices in life are the right ones and not everyone will agree with what might be right for you. However, I did feel that if Michelle did indeed want a better life, some of her choices should have been a little harder to make, maybe taken a little more thought.
I felt the ending was a tad rushed - the last few pages were somewhat confusing. The main character makes promises to do one thing, but I felt there was never a clear choice made. If this is the type of ending the author was going for, then it worked well in leaving the reader questioning things. I just felt that the characters and reader needed more closure then was given. Overall it was a interesting story that kept me entertained in a world that I can say I knew nothing about. Future readers enjoy!
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