With a Foreword by James Baldwin'Beautiful, timeless and relevant' Jacqueline Woodson'A most important novel' Paule Marshall'A considerable achievement' James BaldwinDepression-era Harlem is home for twelve-year-old Francie Coffin and her family, and it's both a place of refuge and of danger.Her beloved father becomes a number runner when he is unable to find legal work, and while one of Francie's brothers dreams of becoming a chemist, the other is in a gang.Francie, too, is a dreamer, but women in her neighbourhood have limited prospects, either selling their bodies on the streets, running poker games or having a baby every year.There are risks in everything, from going to the movies to walking down the block.