The Orange Houses

Today’s youth are faced with a variety of problems on a day to day basis. They are constantly bombarded with issues such as intolerance, injustice, and prejudice. If not addressed head on, young adults can be negatively affected by such beliefs which can lead to further discrimination-based problems. With the presence of good, quality literature, young adults can have the opportunity to shape their own worldviews and learn how to cope with life ordeals. It is not very often that young adults get such a literary experience. The Orange Houses (2009) by Paul Griffin is a young adult novel that provides readers with that type of aesthetic reading experience that they desire and deserve. The Orange Houses is a suspenseful story that incorporates today’s most prominent issues that teenagers face. The story is focused on a fifteen-year-old African-American girl named Tamika who lives in the Bronx with a moderate hearing disability.