Sixteen-year-old Congolese refugee Tina, aka Tiny Girl, has spent five years on her own on the streets of Sangui City, Kenya. She visits her younger half-sister, Kiki, at the nuns' school, but she's otherwise singularly focused on a plan to avenge the murder of their mother by the hand of her former employer, the white, wealthy mining mogul Mr. Greyhill. Tiny Girl is a member of a tattooed gang of tech-savvy thieves called the Goondas, who "pick up refugee kids like that street dog picks up fleas." In her straight-talking way, she explains, "I learned how to hurt people, and how to be hurt but not show it." When the fateful night comes for her gang to infiltrate the compound of her nemesis Mr. Greyhill, she has honed her plan for vengeance to a sharp point: "Dirt. Money. Blood." But when all goes awry, Tiny Girl is launched into a deadly odyssey to Congo and beyond to find the truth about her past.
Natalie C. Anderson's breathtaking debut is deep, dark and--remarkably for the subject--quite funny at times. Tiny's tough exterior masks the vulnerable, motherless child within. Dialogue between Tiny and the memorable characters--fey IT genius Boyboy; crafty Bug Eye; "dull-witted as two rocks in a bag" Ketchup; and bewildered Michael, son of "Mr. G" and former friend of Tiny's--is snappy and authentic. Pages will fly by as readers root for Tiny and her loved ones, even if she can't yet admit they--and she--are loved. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor