YA Book Review- Raising Kane: Denim Diaries #5 by Darrien Lee

Raising Kane: Denim Diaries #5
Darrien Lee
Paperback
Published: November 30, 2010
Kensington Publishing Corporation
ISBN13# 9781601622334 
Rating: 5 stars
Grades 6-8







Everyone deserves a second chance.


Denim is back and she has crossed the path of someone else that needs her help. Denim meets her new neighbor in the weirdest way. Kane is a sixteen year old student at a private school. She has a father cares who for her deeply and a mother that is addicted to drugs. The paths of Denim and Kane cross as Kane decides that she is going to run away from home. Drama at McDonald’s between Kane’s mother (Yolanda) and her gets so out of hand that the police are called and her father has to place a restraining order to protect his family. Kane is frustrated with having to be a second mother to her two younger brothers. She tells her father that she wants a normal teenage life but that is impossible with all the responsibilities that she has. This is where Denim comes in. Denim starts to spend time with Kane and her brothers. At this time Kane’s father notices that she is growing up and that she needs to be around others her own age. Yolanda sees the damage that she has caused her family and really wants to overcome her addiction. Devin sees all the pain and beatings that Yolanda is taking from the hands of Leon and decides it is time to help her overcome her demon. With the help of Devin, Yolanda overcome the drugs but also falls in love with him.


Will the relationship between Kane and her mother be mended? Does overcoming an addiction means a happy family? Will Kane be able to have a teenage social life or will she always be a second mother?


With this novel Darrin Lee deals with the subject of addiction and the dynamics of the family. She nailed it on the head with making sure he includes the feelings of the whole family. The handling of the subject matter was very much at a level that many teens can understand. Lee places words in a way that the teenage reader is not feeling like a young child but as an adult that they are growing into.



Raising Kane by Darrien Lee receives 5 stars.

Reviewed by Patrice Smith