Keesha's House

Keesha’s House (2003) is a coming-of-age novel in verse by Helen Frost. Frost has published several books for young readers, including other novels in verse. Keesha’s House is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and it is praised for introducing young readers to poetry. Frost uses sestinas and sonnets to tell the stories of seven teens—Stephie, Jason, Keesha, Carmen, Dontay, Harris, and Katie—who confront different levels of precarity. The narratives alternate and intersect, and they touch on themes such as The Quest for Belonging, The Flaws of Families, and The Need for Resilience.

This study guide uses the Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2007 paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material discusses substance abuse, drug violence, anti-gay bias, child abuse, sexual abuse, incarceration, and bullying.

Plot Summary

The novel has eight parts. Parts 3 and 6 feature the perspectives of adults associated with the teens, and the remaining six parts convey the voices of the seven teens. Each character tells their story through a single poem, which makes up a chapter. The chapters in Parts 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 are sestinas. The chapters in Part 3 are hybrid sonnets, and the chapters in Part 6 are English or Shakespearean sonnets. Part 8 has a crown of sonnets.

The teen characters speak in a set order. Stephie speaks first, then Jason, Keesha, Dontay, Carmen, Harris, and Katie. As the poems accumulate, more is revealed about the characters, their families, and the overlap of their journeys.

Stephie is pregnant, and she knows her parents won’t yell at her or kick her out, but she feels like her new situation means she can’t live at home anymore. Stephie associates home with perfection, and Stephie now believes she represents a mistake. Jason, Stephie’s boyfriend, thinks Stephie could get an abortion. Stephie doesn’t want to “kill” the baby, but Jason isn’t sure he can be a father. Jason is a talented basketball player and plans to play in college.

Stephie runs away and meets Keesha from her high school. Keesha tells Stephie about her house, which Joe inherited from his aunt. The aunt let Joe stay when he needed a safe space, and Joe lets young people stay there now. People refer to the house as Keesha’s house because Joe lets Keesha interact with the young people and make decisions about their needs and living arrangements.

Stephie’s parents look for her, and Jason tells them about her pregnancy. Stephie’s parents find her and bring her back home, and Keesha is somewhat jealous. Keesha’s mom is dead, and her dad is abusive and has a substance use disorder with alcohol. Her younger brother, Tobias, doesn’t live with her. He becomes involved with drugs and is murdered.

Dontay runs away from his foster family and their strict rules. He could become involved with drugs, but he realizes that would put him on a risky path, so he ends up at Keesha’s house. Joe helps reunite Dontay with his foster family, who seem to genuinely care about him. Dontay’s parents are in jail for an unspecified crime, but their prison sentence is almost done.

Carmen battles substance use disorder and winds up in a juvenile-detention center. Carmen’s mother left her, so Carmen lives with her grandmother. Her grandmother feels overwhelmed by responsibilities, but she believes in Carmen and helps her overcome her addiction. Carmen’s friends don’t like this change, but Carmen finds accepting friends at Keesha’s house.

Harris’s father doesn’t accept that he is gay and kicks him out of the house. Harris’s mother supports Harris and thinks her husband’s anti-gay beliefs are wrong, but she doesn’t openly stick up for him. Harris lives in his car, spending time at the library, looking out for predators.

Harris gets a job at the Pancake House, where he works with Katie, who goes to his school. Katie went to Keesha’s house to get away from her predatory stepfather. Katie realizes Harris is unhoused, and after speaking with Keesha, she invites Harris to live at Keesha’s house.

Harris gets bullied at school, but Katie persuades him to stay for his senior year and graduate. Katie and Harris stay at Keesha’s house, and Katie paints her room blue and yellow—colors that symbolize home to her. Keesha remains at the house, and though she feels alone, she’s confident that she’ll either accomplish “something big” or something tiny and “sweet.”