What Momma Left Me

by Renée Watson

  Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool completely.

  Cream Cheese Frosting

  1 ½ cups cream cheese, softened

  ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

  In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using.

  To frost the cake

  Place one layer, rounded-side down, on a cake stand. Spread cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. Top with the remaining layer, rounded side up, and frost the remainder of the cake. Sprinkle pecans on top.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  If there is such a thing as generational blessings, I pray that I have inherited the strength and faith of my brother and sisters, Roy, Cheryl, Trisa, and Dyan. You’ve been listening to and reading my stories since I was seven years old. Thank you for your unwavering support.

  I am fortunate in that I grew up surrounded by many caring adults. Two of them are my godparents, Reverend Felton Howard and Mrs. Thelma Howard. When you left this earth, you left behind lessons of walking by faith and not by sight, lessons of perseverance, of compassion, and of grace. Thank you.

  For reading first drafts and baking a lovely red velvet cake: thank you, Jonena Welch. Your friendship has rescued me countless times. My sincere gratitude to Chanesa Hart, Cherise Frehner Mahoney, Jemima Vanwalk, Donna and Russ Calahan, Fernando Ibarra, and Michael Smith. Thank you for reading excerpts and giving feedback and for cheering me on.

  I am deeply thankful for my writing instructors at The New School: Nancy Kelton, Sharon Mesmer, Julia Noonan, Sue Shapiro, and Catherine Stine. Catherine, thank you for bringing me into your writing group: Maggie, Holly, Jonas, Courtney, and Bernard, your critiques were invaluable.

  And much appreciation to my agent, Ethan Ellenberg, and my editor, Victoria Wells Arms, for wisdom and guidance.

  Copyright © 2010 by Renée Watson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  First published in the United States of America in July 2010

  by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers

  E-book edition published in August 2010

  www.bloomsburyteens.com

  For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Watson, Renee.

  What Momma left me / by Renée Watson. — 1st U.S. ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: After the death of their mother, thirteen-year-old Serenity Evans and her younger brother go to live with their grandparents, who try to keep them safe from bad influences and help them come to terms with what has happened to their family.

  ISBN 978-1-59990-446-7 (hardcover)

  [1. Grief—Fiction. 2. Family problems—Fiction. 3. Grandparents—Fiction. 4. Christian life—Fiction. 5. Orphans—Fiction. 6. African Americans—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.W32868Wh 2010 [Fic]—dc22 2009018263

  ISBN 978-1-59990-594-5 (e-book)