Bread

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 naïve." 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.