Review Detail

Lolo Wright and her brother James live in New York City and attend a school in a somewhat rough neighborhood, although they both excel academically thanks to the influence of their father, who has high expectations for their behavior. Their mother left the family years ago, after struggling with drug addiction and other problems. Their father has started his own moving company, and things are looking up for the family, which also includes their mother's mother, who also supports the children. Michael also attends their school, but when the football coach tells him that he's still not big enough for the team, and the other players start calling him "Runt", he starts to be tempted to join ranks with the local drug dealer, Skin. When Lolo and James get caught in the middle of a convenience store robbery and the police assume that James is the suspect, they mistreat him and push Lolo aside. She finds that she suddenly has powers to get the police off her brother without touching them, and the two are able to escape. This experience traumatizes James, who doesn't share his emotions with anyone except for Nia, Lolo's best friend. Lolo continues on with her academics, and gets assigned to work on a group project with Eric, whose father is very wealthy but insists his son attend a public school to build character. He admires Lolo's academics, and the two start to be friends, even though previously Eric had supported the local mean girl who made Lolo miserable. When Skin finds out about Lolo's powers, he is determined to bring her skills to his team. He also looks at her father's moving business as one to target for protection payment. He makes Michael approach him for payment, but since Mr. Wright was supportive of Michael and his family after his father's death from cancer, Michael finds it hard to do what Skin asks. Skin, in retaliation to Mr. Wright's refusal to pay, blows up his moving truck, which puts the family's plans to move to Rockaway on hold. Will Lolo, Michael, and Mr. Wright be able to resist Skin's advances and continue with their lives? And how will Lolo's powers affect her future. There is plenty of room for a further adventure.