Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 19, 2008

Jamie rated it:

I don't recall the last time I *felt* for a character like I felt for Kendra. Her needs are so on the surface, yet the adults in her life either don't see them or just ignore them. She's well aware that acting out sexually isn't helping, but she can't seem to stop herself. Her friend Adonna is caught up in her own drama. A nice boy likes her, but she can't seem to find it in her to find him attractive. She is paying the penalty for her mother becoming pregnant at 14, and is finding herself in a More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jul 13, 2008

Diana rated it:

No sophomore slump for Coe Booth. Her second novel, Kendra, is an intense look at a fourteen-year-old girl who is dealing with an all too common life situation. She feels like neither her mother who was fourteen herself when Kendra was born nor her Nana who has raised her want her. Her best friend is her same age aunt of whom her Nana completely disapproves. As the book opens Kendra thinks that since her mom is finally graduating from Princeton with a Phd. she will be moving in with her but her More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2008

Lydia rated it:

This YA books is about a young, highly intelligent black female, living in NYC, whose mother had her at 14 years of age. Kendra lives with he4r grandmother while her mother attends school. As the novel opens, her mother has just completed her PhD at Princeton. Kendra has held a dream that after her mother completes her schooling, the two of them will live together in harmony -- that then her mother will want her in her life. Her father is also a part of her life, although he has never left the P More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 27, 2011

Nicole rated it:

Fantastic read by Coe Booth. I loved her previous book, Tyrell, and was not in the least disappointed by Kendra. It seems like there are a lot of books/movies that showcase the perspective of teen moms, but less that focus on the perspective of the children OF teen parents. In this book, readers follow the emotional ups and downs of Kendra's complicated world. Her mother was 14 years old when she had Kendra, and she has essentially been hands off with Kendra's care. Kendra lives with her grandmo More...

0 comments like

Oct 27, 2010

Boogerbear23 rated it:

I think that Coe Booth, the author of the book Kendra, did a very good job getting into the mind of a fourteen-year old female going through the “process” of boys and puberty. I loved the way she expresses some issues that families have, especially within the African-American community. Kendra’s mom had her at the age of fourteen but she was passed on to her grandmother while Kendra’s mom continued her education. Every since then Kendra’s grandmother kept a close eye on her and absolutely dreade More...

0 comments like

Jan 06, 2010

Aaron rated it:

Kendra has been living with her Nana for her whole life while her mother Renee has been working toward a doctorate. Kendra's mother had her when she was just 14 years old, and Nana wanted to make sure that having a child so early early would not prevent Renee from having a successful life. While that goal was met, it did create a rift between Kendra and Renee that left the daughter feeling abandoned and unloved.

Nana has done everything she can to shield Kendra from making the same mi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 08, 2009

Deanna rated it:

Realistic fiction, family, grandma/mom/daughter relationships, identity, friendship, communication, teen pregnancy.

I absolutely loved Tyrell, Coe Booth's first novel, so was looking forward to reading Kendra. Interestingly Tyrell shows up as a very minor character in the last chapter of Kendra.

Renee, Kendra's mom, had her when she was 14 years old. Nana has been taking care of Kendra ever since while Renee goes to school and figures out her life. Kendra dreams of living More...

0 comments like

May 14, 2009

Christine rated it:

Best Books for Young Adults: Controversial Topic

This is a very deep book and really demonstrates that teenagers are having to face very adult issues such as teenage parenting, a divided household and teenage sex.

Kendra is a 14 who lives with her Grandmother. Kendra's mother had her when she was 14 and is out living her life and doesn't make any effort to connect with her daughter and be the parent that Kendra so desperately want. Kendra ends up loosing her virginity at 1 More...

0 comments like

Apr 20, 2009

Fred rated it:

Wow... another tremendous achievement for Coe Booth. She channels these protagonists. First, Tyrell, and now the story of Kendra. Kendra's 14 and lives with her grandmother. Her mom's at college--grad school, at that. Her father, Kenny, has his own buisness in the neighborhood, operating a snack van that serves the neighborhood. Kenny's younger sister, Adonna, is Kendra's aunt and classmate. They're best friends until a boy comes between them.

Kendra's grandmother is determine More...

0 comments like

Apr 16, 2010

o_O★fresh★O_o rated it:

I liked this book because it kept me interested in it. What kendra went through in this book was alot for her to handle, but she got through it and stuck it out. I didnt like this book because Kendra's grandmother didnt give her any freedom at all. She always watched over her 24-7 , like i understand that's ur grand daughter and all but she's like her mother so give her some space. The main charcter is a girl named kendra who is living currently with her grandmother because her mother can't take More...

1 comment like

Aug 01, 2009

Susan rated it:

This is an emotional, difficult read. It is so real, it's raw. Booth doesn't let up. This is chock full of confusion, betrayal, abandonment issues and strained relationships. Renee, Kendra's mother, is intelligent,determined and focused. When it comes to school, Renee excels. Parenting- it's a role she's never wanted and she's avoided as long as she can using education as her excuse. Kendra, is a typical teen overwhelmed by her budding sexuality, her longing to be wanted and the anger and resent More...

1 comment like

Nov 05, 2010

Cindy rated it:

Cindy Lucas
English One- Section 4
November 4, 2010
Ms. Valentino

In this remarkable book, Coe Booth brings her character to life once again. The book “Kendra” once again shows Coe Booth’s talents as a writer. “Kendra” comes from the well-known publishing company “Push”. She has also written “Tyrell”, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It was also named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a New York Public Library More...

0 comments like

Jan 13, 2010

Juan rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Sep 19, 2009

Sandra rated it:

A Harlem teenager has problems with feeling as if she belongs anywhere. She was born when her mother was only fifteen and has always lived with her grandmother. Her mother has been gone away at college for as long as she remembers but she has just graduated with her PhD. Both Kendra and her grandmother are looking forward to Kendra moving out and living with her Mother. Kendra's mother, however, doesn't seem to have any feelings of responsibility toward her and is looking at being free of re More...

0 comments like

Jun 05, 2009

Brendan rated it:

This is a really good book. Here's why:

1.)interesting, complex, well-drawn, and realistic characters.

2.)Narrative voice of the main character feels authentic--it sounds like a girl from the projects rather than an adult trying to sound like a girl from the projects.

3.)An urban story that does not involve drugs or shootings (Thank you!)

4.)Great psychological realism that really credibly shows why Kendra makes some pretty bad decisions.

More...

0 comments like

Aug 02, 2009

Akilah rated it:

Really, I would give it 3.5 stars because there were things about the ending I did not like.

However! This book has a lot going for it: awesome characters, great tension and plot, sheer readability. And I just want to TALK about it with people, and that is the highest compliment I can give a book.

And when I say talk about, I mean discuss not just say what I didn't like. Because I liked a whole lot more than I didn't.

The book is almost painful to read some More...

0 comments like

Apr 19, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Kendra is a 14 year old girl growing up in the Bronx. Raised by her grandmother, Kendra struggles with traditional teenage anxiety about sex, love and attention. When Kendra's mom moves back to NYC (she had Kendra at 14 and went on to get her PhD at Princeton), Kendra assumes she'll go live with her. When Kendra realizes her mom doesn't want Kendra living with her, Kendra begins an emotional spiral downwards resulting in bad behavior.

Booth's writing packs an emotional wallop. Althoug More...

0 comments like

Nov 26, 2008

Susie rated it:

I thought Coe Booth’s first book Tyrell was excellent, so I’d been waiting for Kendra to arrive at my library. Though I didn’t like Kendra as well, I still think that Booth does an amazing job of capturing the thoughts and feelings of a teenage girl with unusual family circumstances growing up in the Bronx. I’ll look forward to more books from this author!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 04, 2010

Keila ♥ rated it:

Renee had Kendra since she was 14 years old and now left her with her grandmother Nana to go back to school. Kendra is now 14 and her grandmother doesn't want her to make the same mistake as Renee did. Kendra's father Kenny is still there for her. He gives her money and still there for Kendra when her mother is not around. Now that Kendra's mother have a job and now with her boyfriend Kendra is now out there with guys. Her aunt Adonna is obsessed with boys. Adonna and Kendra is the same age. The More...

0 comments like

Jun 16, 2009

Laura rated it:

It's taken me a long time to read one of Coe Booth's books. Not because I didn't want to - because I cannot pry them out of the hands of the teens in my library. A time or two I've tried to squirrel away our copy of Tyrell, but every time some teen girl will end up standing over my desk staring at the cover so longingly that I have to hand it over. These babies do not stay on the shelves, and rightly so. Just look at that great, high-urban-teen-appeal cover. And I was glad to find that what's More...

0 comments like

Jan 02, 2009

Anna Francesca rated it:

This is a mature book that deals frankly with sexuality. Therefore, I would not recommend it for younger readers without parental consent.

That said, I feel for the people in this book as if they are real, breathing human beings. No one is perfect; everyone is trying to get by as best they can. The urban feel of the book is gritty, although it is less harsh than Tyrell, the other book by Booth that I've read. (There is one section at the very end of the book where Booth refers t More...

0 comments like

Oct 25, 2008

Rakisha rated it:

I stopped reading it in the middle. I found it slow-moving, and the main character unsympathetic. Where are the positive books where teen girls embrace their sexuality and release themselves from the confines of what they've been taught by society?

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 26, 2008

Sherrie rated it:

This is the new book by the author of the remarkable debut novel "Tyrell". While the author's first book featured a young man on the edge, "Kendra" is the story of a more mainstream African-American teen. Kendra was born to a fourteen year old mother who essentially left her baby for her own mother to raise while she went on to great academic success, earning her Ph.D and a job as a college professor. Now Kendra is 14, and is facing many of the same problems and temptations More...

0 comments like

Nov 23, 2009

Abraham rated it:

Coe Booth is GOOD. I really liked Tyrell, and Kendra is just as good. Booth has a knack for getting inside the heads of her characters, making them completely believable and complex enough to be real. There are no easy answers in Booth's writing, no villains to hate, no heroes to worship. Just real people who make good and bad decisions sometimes. Kendra reminds me of so many people I know...which is heartbreaking, but Booth reminds us that these people need the people around them.

O More...

0 comments like

Jan 22, 2009

Anna rated it:

I liked this book because it was very real. The characters are well developed but they are flawed and they become likable because they make mistakes. Kendra is a 14-year-old whose mother had her when she was 14. She lives with her grandma but grandma finally forces mom to take some responsibility and Kendra moves in with mom. There's drama between Kendra and her aunt/best friend Adonna (who is only a couple of years older than her) and it's a really good coming-of-age type of novel, especially f More...

4 comments like

Nov 07, 2011

Georgena rated it:

Kendra is young african american girl who lives with her grandmother . kendra at times feels as if her mother had abonded her but , she know her mother is off at school to get an better life to support her and kendra . Even though Kendra knows her mother is asway at college to better her self but it is hard for Kendra to live with her grandmother due to the fact she is so strick and automatical think kendra will follow the footsteps of her mother and becom pregant a More...

0 comments like

Sep 30, 2008

Megan rated it:

3 1/2 stars. Would like to give it 4 but I found the ending a little too happy and unrealistic. Will still recommend without hesitation to teens.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 05, 2011

Tevin rated it:

Whoever Coe Booth is...all I have to say is that...she is actually showing the world a vivid image of the life of a teenager out of New York City. It amazes me how Booth wrote about this girl and her struggles. The home hitter in this book is all around the problems Kendra endure from her absentee mother. This book is one of those books that many young people, especially city kids can relate to in terms of a missing parent. The amazing fact of the book that seals the deal is how Booth solves the More...

2 comments like

Dec 14, 2011

Chol rated it:

What a great book. i think every teenage should read this book. This book is about a girl who live with her grandmother, her mom had her when she was only 14 years old, and now that her mom wanted to go to school, she had to stay with her grandmother for the next 14 years. and now her mom is done with college and she looking for a job, but her mom found a teaching job, so she thought she was going to move in with her mom but her mom found a small apartment, she thought her mom didn't want her to More...

0 comments like

Jan 10, 2009

Kimberly rated it:

Street Lit for the Teen set. Kendra's mother had her at 14 but has since earned a PHD from Princeton. Kendra has lived with her strict grandmother who is so worried that Kendra might make the same mistakes. Kendra seems headed down that road... This is a compelling read. However, like most adult street lit it contains some sexual activity. Squeamish parents should read it first! I handed it straight to my teen. It offered great teachable moments for handling peer pressure, mother/daughter r More...

0 comments like

reviews