EDGE OF SMOKE

In the Pruitt Igoe slums of St. Louis in the 1960s, a heroin-addict mother breaks her son’s dolls and screams, “You are not a girl!” However, no one can convince Stephanie to live as Stephen. Her mother pimps her out to a man who rapes her and takes pictures of her as others rape her. After finding her mother brutally murdered, she is placed in Christian foster care, where they also try to convince her to accept being male. Her mother’s lover is sentenced to life in prison for the murder. Famed Televangelist Pastor Ronald Dennison sets up a trust that allows a compassionate old neighbor to adopt her out of foster care. Still, she is violently bullied at school for identifying as female. The trust pays for transition surgery at eighteen, and she begins to live fully as a woman. Frightened by men, she remains a virgin until she falls in love with Jordan, but she runs into the man who abused her and remembers her childhood pledge to kill him.

Will her lust for murdering the man who brutalized her as a child cause her to lose the man she loves, or will she come to her senses before it’s too late?

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Carolyn

Complex characters demonstrating such a range from those who have inherent goodness and acceptance, those with good intentions but unaware of the impact of their bias to those who have been harmed and are lost emotionally and those who are just plain cruel. Excellent writing!

Angie Kemp

It’s a story of perseverance and challenges, and though the subject matter may be difficult for me, I found the message positive.

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Angie's Book Blog

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Fair warning: Edge of Smoke deals with delicate content such as child abuse, transgender issues, and sexual content. This book is not for the faint of heart or bigoted people who want to treat the trans community as less than humans. The story follows young Stephen, a child growing up in a slum with his drug-addicted and abusive mother. Even at a young age, Stephen knows he is a girl in a boy’s body, and being half black and half white, he already has enough racial discrimination to deal with. In school, he is bullied for his desire to be his authentic self, and after a horrific beating at school, things begin to change for Stephen (Stephanie). It’s a story of perseverance and challenges, and though the subject matter may be difficult for me, I found the message positive. That one must do what is right for oneself and not to let others dictate who you are. I believe people can interpret things differently, but this was my take. The story is compelling, and I highly recommend this book. ~ Angie Kemp