(Elam thanks several young adults from a high school writing program for contributing to Zadi's voice.) The sensitive handling of volatile topics (interracial affairs, teen drug use and dealing, and the loss of virginity) add immediacy to what is an affecting story of sisterhood.

Obsessed by her maturing body, auditioning for the Dance Theatre of Harlem and trying not to be the last of her girlfriends left on the ''V'' (virgin) train, Zadi steals the show as a teen straddling the privileged world of her white schoolmates and the wanna-be thug lifestyle of her secret boyfriend, Octavius, who is one of Moxie's clients. The Moxie/Norma story line, while absorbing, is eclipsed by Zadi's endearingly straight-up diary entries. When Moxie learns of Norma's interracial affair, she is deeply offended and the women become estranged. She is firm on discipline, and vocally supports black issues at the predominantly white private school where Zadi's father sends the girl. Patricia Elam - Breathing Room, Paperback - In her dazzling debut novel, award-winning author Patricia Elam takes us into the lives of two completely. Divorced Moxie, meanwhile, is raising her teenage daughter, Zadi, with the same zeal she puts into her work as a probation officer for adolescents. When the stress of being a good mother is exacerbated by the emotional withdrawal of her husband, Lawrence, Norma seeks comfort in her photography studio, where she meets and begins an affair with a white professor. Norma Simmons-Greer and Moxie Dillard have been friends since student days at Howard University. The evolving relationship between two African-American women forms the centerpiece of this spirited, fluidly written debut novel set in contemporary Washington, D.C.

Breathing Room by Patricia Elam