Robin

Book excerpt: Robin, a fourteen-year-old kleptomaniac, and genius, deals with the realities of life as someone as special as she. Her family, friends, and community expect a lot from her since they count on her to escape the quicksand of Kingstree, SC, and make something of herself they can be proud of. However, Robin wants to relieve her loved ones from poverty using her intellect and hacker skills. Taking from the rich and giving to the poor is difficult, but she has a gift that makes her the best. However, the failure of a job that sent her best friend Dizzy to the juvenile detention center for three years makes Robin apprehensive about getting her crew back together. When she discovers a secret about Dizzy’s arrest from her rival Shayna Mackie, she questions whether she can trust her crew members. Although she is a thief for hire, Robin governs her crew and herself by a code, and not taking from their community is at the top of that list. The mysteries around Dizzy’s arrest, being targeted by some faculty members at her school, and dealing with the feeling of abandonment by her parents’ absence in her life for the past three years have her emotions all over the place. Yet, Robin has to face her fears and find herself again to help her family, friends, and community. Will she accept her role as a revolutionary and remove the shackles of poverty from her people, or will her fears keep her stagnant and hold her back from greatness?