Pieces of Why
Penguin Young Readers Group, September 2015
Tia lives with her mom in a high-risk neighborhood in New Orleans and loves singing gospel in the Rainbow Choir with Keisha, her boisterous and assertive best friend. Tia’s dream is to change the world with her voice; and by all accounts, she might be talented enough. But when a shooting happens in her neighborhood and she learns the truth about the crime that sent her father to prison years ago, Tia finds she can’t sing anymore. The loss prompts her to start asking the people in her community hard questions—questions everyone has always been too afraid to ask.
Full of humanity, Pieces of Why is a timely story that addresses grief, healing, and forgiveness, told through the eyes of a gifted girl who hears rhythm and song everywhere in her life.
Listen to an audioclip:
Teacher Resources
Reviews
“More than anything in the world, Tia dreams of being a singer—and not just any singer, but one like Nina Simone, Adele, or Mahalia Jackson, a singer whose voice can change the world. But, she thinks, “seeing as I was only twelve and poor as dirt, that was a universe away.” Perhaps. In the meantime, Tia takes voice lessons from Ms. Marion and sings in the Rainbow Choir with her best friend Keisha. But then there is a drive-by shooting, and, in its wake, Tia learns a shocking truth that will change her life and compromise her ability to sing. Is her dream gone forever? Going’s new novel, with its nicely realized New Orleans setting, is a tender, accomplished story about the coming-of-age of a girl whose good intentions are challenged by uncertainties and her efforts to do what is right, even when that’s frightening and painful. Readers will empathize with Tia and wish her well as she struggles to deal with the truth and hold on to her dream.”—Michael Cart —Booklist
“When Tia was four years old, her father robbed a house and was sentenced to life in prison. It’s not until a baby dies in a neighborhood carjacking eight years later that Tia learns the whole truth: he killed a 12-year-old girl during the robbery. The baby’s murder stirs bad memories in Tia’s working-class New Orleans community, and she unjustly bears the brunt of this ill will. Tia’s reclusive mother avoids talking about the past, while her own shame and questions so overwhelm her that she loses the ability to do her favorite thing: sing. Her voice teacher, Ms. Marion, wisely tells her, “Sometimes if you’re having trouble creating something beautiful, you’ve got to find the joy in your life.” Surrounded by a strong supporting cast, Tia is a sympathetic protagonist searching for that joy, and the answers she needs to rediscover her voice come from some unexpected sources. Going (Fat Kid Rules the World) skillfully tackles topics of race, class, and violence in a moving testament to family and friendship, love and loss, and the power of forgiveness.”—Publishers Weekly
“Tia’s gift for singing has led to solos in her youth choir in New Orleans where she lives with her single mother. At 12, Tia knows that her mother is working all the time to provide for them, and often turns to her friend Keisha’s family for support. Tia knows that her father is in prison, but never had much other information from her mother until the recent shooting of a baby during a carjacking in the neighborhood gets people talking. She soon hears that her father murdered a 12-year-old girl during a robbery years before. Suddenly Tia’s voice leaves her as she tries to cope with the guilt and shame as well as her feelings of empathy for the family whose baby was the victim of the recent shooting. Though Tia finds warmth and caring within her friend Keisha’s family, she overhears a visiting aunt claim that Tia’s whiteness and her father’s background make her a bad influence on Keisha. Kenny Lin, a boy who stutters yet is a warm and caring friend, provides romantic interest and expands on the diversity of this multicultural community. Crucial to Tia’s working through her concerns is the leadership of Ms. Marion who directs the choir and helps Tia face her mother and eventually her father in prison. A concert to benefit victims of crime subtly shows that the families of the perpetrators are also victims. VERDICT: Going’s straightforward prose doesn’t overwhelm the story, but keeps it on a level that the likely audience will find appealing.”—School Library Journal
“Unspoken tension pervades the New Orleans home where twelve-year-old Tia lives with her guarded and overworked single mother. The two don’t talk about why her mother never attends Tia’s choir concerts, and they certainly never discuss Tia’s father, incarcerated for armed robbery and completely removed from their lives for the past eight years. When the shooting of an area toddler brings the truth of her father’s crime to the surface, Tia questions her own character as she wants to know and understand her father. Her conflicts–with her mother, with the specter of her father, with her best friend, and with herself–are true and unembellished, as is her growing curiosity about her absent parent. Though Tia is white, the multiracial cast and evocative New Orleans setting offer readers multiple points of access to this compelling and sensitive exploration of self-determination and coming of age. Tia’s remarkable singing voice and the importance of music in her life add a nice point of attraction for musically inclined readers in this novel about relationship, identity, and forgiveness.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Tia is 12-years-old and lives in New Orleans with her single mom. Tia’s passion is singing, she and her best friend Keisha sing in the Rainbow Choir, a diverse group of young people. One night at choir practice, a gunshot rings out and the subsequent events shock Tia to the core. She cannot sing anymore. She discovers the truth behind her father’s incarceration and the world as she knows it will never be the same. Going understands young adults and gives Tia a powerful voice with which to tell her story. There are so many memorable phrases to draw readers in and keep them there. I read the book twice and would read it again!.”—School Library Connection