Twists and Turns

Janet McDonald's third Hillbrook Houses novel follows sisters Keeba and Teesha as they launch TeeKee's Tresses, a hair-braiding salon built on a small loan and a lot of nerve. What makes this stand out is how honestly it places their entrepreneurial ambition inside the real pressures of life in a housing project — a jealous rival, a predatory landlord, a local politician angling to privatize and displace the whole community. McDonald drew on her own Brooklyn upbringing, and that authenticity shows on every page. The book is short, and a few threads feel underresolved given how much is happening; it also works best as part of the Hillbrook Houses series rather than a standalone. For middle and high school readers, especially those who rarely see their own lives reflected in YA fiction, it is both empowering and real.