Sent down south with her seven-month-old son to live with her aunt and uncle, 14-year-old Gayle is angry and resentful. It's bad enough being away from the girls in the neighborhood and her boyfriend, Troy, but her cousin, Cookie is too prissy and perfect for words, her uncle is a stern minister, and her aunt won't even watch the baby for her. Exasperated and sometimes at odds with these members of her family, Gayle finds the only bright spot is Great, her great grandmother, and even she takes some getting used to. Great is daunting, but also sharp and sassy, something Gayle understands. Great is also the keeper of the family story, and Gayle finds herself drawn to the old woman whose words offer her a sense of the past that is larger than herself even as it embraces her. A sometimes funny, always powerful story of an African-American family finding healing in unity: one with another, present with past. In Gayle, with her eager bravado on the subject of sex and immature understanding of love, Rita Williams-Garcia's creates a painfully realistic, stunningly accurate account of teenage sexuality and the need for belonging and love. Honor Book, 1995 CCBC Coretta Scott King Award Discussion: Writing (Ages 13-16)