Darkness Before Dawn

Keisha is an 18-year-old African American high school student at Hazelwood High in Cincinnati. Although she is attractive and popular with the rest of her class, Keisha is also a serious student who aspires to become a doctor someday. At the novel’s beginning, she is processing the grief of losing her boyfriend to suicide. Keisha shuts herself down emotionally and shies away from dating for fear of being hurt again. This failure to deal with her feelings leaves her vulnerable to the charms of an older student-teacher who is unlike the teenage boys she knows. While Keisha has strong ties to her family and friends, she strays away from these stable bonds to pursue a romance that everyone else thinks is wrong.

Keisha is attracted to the sophistication of her secret boyfriend, Jonathan, and conceals her relationship from her parents. Because she is also struggling with transitioning from teenager to adult, she is flattered by someone who treats her as a grown woman. Although Keisha complains that her parents don’t grant her the freedom of an adult, she proves that she is far from ready to make adult decisions and accept the consequences of her actions. After Jonathan tries to rape her, Keisha shuts down ever further than before.