Johnnie Rutledge

Shout Outs to the Lil' Sistas is a lively coming of age tale about Chelsea Justina Brooks. Chelsea prefers to be called C.J. She's all of twelve and pushing thirteen. It hurts her to see, that too many of her peers are becoming parents, much too soon. These as she believes, forfeit their education in favor of bein' lead by the,"just do it" slogan, that's costin' too many lil' sistas ruined lives. Chelsea is very opinionated, and quickwitted. She's also pending valedictorian of her eighth grade. With her parents divorce, she sees herself as a "captive of her ogre dad". Chelsea narrates this school yard drama, as she fights to hold her own. She sees her life as "movin' at a dizzyin' blur," as she fights to come of age. "Shout Outs to the Lil Sistas," is her own sobering wake up call. It is a world in which she feels society puts material things, before human value. The story explores misplaced teen values, and a host of social issues. These "issues" are what Chelsea, and far too many lil' sistas desperately struggle to overcome, and oftentimes don't.