The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin

Mik has moderate hearing loss, helped by her aging hearing aids, but she prefers to use them to muffle the sounds around her instead by wearing them turned off.  Her greatest joy is creating her art, cityscapes empty of any life.  Jimmi Sixes in a teen from her neighborhood who at age 18 is already a war veteran.  He is also a drug addict and a street poet, seeing the world through his own distinct lens.  Fatima is a refugee newly arrived in New York who can create angels out of the newspapers she sells.  The three teens come together in a unique friendship that transcends their differences.  But the book will not let things be that easy.  Starting before even the first chapter, readers know that Jimmi will be hung.  Each chapter has a countdown to the hanging, keeping it central in readers minds even as they watch these three characters come closer and closer together.

The countdown effect is jarring and riveting at the same time.  When the reader gets too caught up in a chapter, it is there at the next one to remind them what will happen.  It is a cloud, a threat hanging over the book, yet each chapter manages to escape from the cloud.

The characterizations here are very well done.  All three of the main characters are complex individuals, each with their own form of deafness, each with their own problems, cares and worries.  Each tied together in this story, both loosely and very tightly.   Griffin also writes with a poetic sense, especially when writing about Jimmi.  Though written in prose, the sentences have the beat and pace of poetry about them.  He also uses metaphor nicely throughout the novel, placing them in unexpected but effective places.  His writing style perfectly fits the subject matter.

This tense and beautifully written book offers a piercingly violent yet connected and supportive view of urban teens.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.