The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I toted this book around for a couple of weeks as I felt it my duty to read it so I could make a report. Then we had a few snow days and I was at home. I found a bunch of books that I wanted to read and so "The Orange Houses" remained shelved, or should I say 'bagged'. Eventually I felt guilty and took the book out intending to skim. I read the first few short chapters and was hooked.
-The Orange Houses- by Paul Griffin is a disturbing story revolving around three marginalized teens: Mika, a 15-year-old hearing-impaired girl, 18-yr-old Jimmi, a mentally disabled veteran, and Fatima, a 16-yr-old African illegal. Their paths cross and recross in The Bronx as each struggles with life and what fate has dished out.

These teens are all living rough, avoiding police, fighting bullies, constantly dealing with fear and mental illness. But they share a longing for something better, through art, freedom, kindness.

The chapters alternate between the three teens' points of view, and tension mounts as each chapter counts down to a violent act predicted at the beginning of the book. The potential waste and injustice of this violence becomes more apparent as the reader becomes more invested in the characters: - why will someone be hanged?

Haunting and disturbing yet still hopeful.

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