Eight-year-old Nika candidly tells the story of her life growing up in a Caribbean ghetto in the eighties. Nika is unintentionally funny, unbelievably clever, and kicks butt when she needs to. Nikas dilemma is simple. She wants to exist without torture but life in the ghetto makes this an unrealistic desire. Being the twelfth child of fifteen, Nika finds a way to get the attention she needs. Her cute, little black face sheds light on the woes of a Caribbean ghetto. Despite abject poverty, violence, and physical abuse, Nika maintains a hopeful demeanor that is far too mature for her age. She stands up to bullies, outsmarts sexual
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