BREAD is a basic measure of sustenance. For life. For survival. And a young girl can pay a high price when she's trapped by the decisions adults make when they don't believe there's enough to go around.
Tommie is as "book brilliant" as she is "street na├пve." But she knows that she is her own best hope for survival with her irresponsible and grasping mother. The book opens with Tommie watching her mother prepare for a date with her most recent catch, and later testifies to how much there is to lose when the predator becomes the prey.
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