Junebug and the Reverend

Junebug and the Reverend by Mead, Alice. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780374339654.

The sequel to Junebug. Junebug and his mother move from their New Haven housing project to a new neighborhood, where he encounters, not the drug lords and gangs of old, but ubiquitous, run-of-the-mill bullies. With his friends so far away, who will stand by him? The only other kid at school who seems to need a buddy is a helpless white boy. And all the people in the small apartment building to which Junebugs family has moved are elderly patients his mother supervises. Then Junebugs mother insists that Junebug walk cranky old Reverend Ashford every morning. And through Junebugs little sister, Tasha, he becomes close to frail-looking Rosalie Williams. From one, Junebug learns valuable life lessons; from the other, key martial-arts moves. Thanks to them both, he discovers that danger may be everywhere, but so is friendship. The second book about Junebug is as compelling and heartwarming as the first, which was named to six state master lists.