Better Must Come

Jamaican teen Deja works with her uncle and his friend Mr. Wallace on his boat Gregor catching fish to make ends meet. While she learns to pilot boats, Deja also eagerly anticipates receiving American goods such as clothes, food, and treats via barrel from her mother, who is working in Brooklyn. Everything comes to a halt when Deja’s mother is robbed of all her money, an event that will have a dire impact on Deja and her siblings’ lives. As Deja struggles to figure out how she’s meant to survive now that she’s no longer a “barrel girl,” she meets Gabriel, an orphaned “gangsta boy.” When the two connect again at a party, Deja can’t deny their easy chemistry. After Deja discovers a seemingly abandoned boat she knows belongs to a drug dealer, she finds a man, barely alive, who urges her to deliver a money-filled briefcase to Webber—a shifty shipping agent known for illegal activities. And if she succeeds, Webber will reward her. Hall (Your Corner Dark) presents an expansive exploration of how class and privilege intersect within Jamaican culture through the eyes of teens in this intimately narrated tale told via Deja and Gabriel’s dual POVs. Ages 14–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (June)