Life in Harlem isn't easy, but Tippy and his grandmother are doing okay. Then Grandma Carrie gets sick, and Tippy goes to live with Lonnie, his father. Lonnie's got his own thing going on, and he doesn't have much room in his life for a son he barely knows -- unless, that is, Tippy is willing to walk the far side of the fine line between right and wrong. Grandma Carrie always said if he had Jesus in his heart there wasn't anything to worry about, but sometimes it's not that simple. When the chips are down, will Tippy be able to call for help -- and is there anyone out there who will listen?

 

There are 226 pages in this book. This book was published 2003 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc .

Walter Dean Myers is an award-winning writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. His many titles include the Newbery Honor Books Scorpions and Somewhere in the Darkness, and the Caldecott Honor Book Harlem in collaboration with his son Christopher, who also worked with him on Monster. Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem and now lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.