The Orange Houses

The Orange Houses
By Paul Griffin
Dial Books, 2009. 147 pgs. Fiction.

Fifteen-year-old Tamika is hearing-impaired and likes to turn off her hearing aids to block out the world around her. Eighteen-year-old Jimmi is back from a brief stint in Iraq and mentally unstable as a result. Sixteen-year-old Famita is an illegal immigrant, fresh off the boat and trying to forge a better life for herself than the violence she witnessed in her native Africa. As these three struggle with the challenges in their lives, they find a connection to one another that teaches them about life.

This book presents a bleak picture of inner-city life, complete with poverty, gang violence and lynchings. The characters remain somewhat undeveloped, and it took me a little while to get into the language of the book. Many elements of the story are sad, but the hopefulness that rises up as well makes the book worth reading.

AE