Nineteen
Intended for mature audiences
At nineteen, the idea that you have your whole life ahead of you with endless possibilities can leave you terrifyingly stiff. Autobiography blends with fiction in these coming-of-age stories about people reckoning with their place in their community and women coming to terms with other women. A boy living with HIV tries to decide how he's going to tell his parents-or whether he should tell them at all. A mother puts pressure on her daughter to pass her exams, and the stress of it all drives them both to drink, fueling a toxic relationship with a lot of care just below the ugly surface. Another girl keeps getting bruises, but who's inflicting the damage-herself or a loved one? Ancco expertly renders the moment of suspension between the desire to grow up and the fear that accompanies it.
