Silenced

Since the day Nicola lost her job, she's had to make tough decisions no parent would ever want to make. Now she and her daughter Tinka don't seem to understand each other. They're drifting in two different directions. Tinka feels she can never meet her mother's standards--whether it's chores, school work, or the guys she likes. Worse, her two older brothers, Marquan and Taevon, are always in and out of trouble but are easily let off the hook. To Tinka, it just doesn't seem fair when she tries so hard to please her mother.

Falling on hard times, Nicola has to move her family into a notoroius project in Washington D.C. She knows she must work extra hard to keep her children from succumbing to the streets. But with each day comes new challenges, and when Marquan faces murder charges, Nicola turns all of her focus and energy on his case. Meanwhile, Tinka's interest is piqued by a guy who is all too familiar with the streets, leading her down a path her mother dreads.

“"This novel is the real deal. Folks seeking a title for an urban book club need look no further. Its inner city realism compares favorably with Sister Souljah'sThe Coldest Winter Everand Sapphire'sPush. This is easily one of my top-five fiction books of 2011. Buy it...promote it."”

"...knockout of a story...raw, gritty, uncompromising realism, telling like it is honestly and well. Dupree is an author to watch."--Library Journal on DAMAGED
"[Damaged is a] riveting story from a new and talented author."--The Gazette on DAMAGED
"Dupree displays an excellent ear for the dialogue, thinking, music and world views of her young characters and a talent for setting...far above standard street lit..."--Publishers Weekly on DAMAGED
"DuPree's knack for dialogue and her insight and compassion for her characters inspire the reader's empathy-an outstanding achievement."--Publishers Weekly on SILENCED
"Every page of this novel is intriguing and entertaining. This is the type of book that should be read in high schools across the county. It has the ability to make us look at one another similarly, and maybe, even for a brief amount of time, allow us to see past cultural differences and try to understand and change the flaws that plague our society...together."--SUAVV Magazine on SILENCED
"Honest and heartbreakingly intense best describes Kia DuPree's new novel Silenced...DuPree scores another win in the urban realism department."-- on SILENCED
"In Kia DuPree's sophomore novel Damaged, she really showed readers what she could do with a pen. I'm proud of you kid!"--K'wan, Essence #1 Bestselling author of Gangsta, Gutter & Section 8 on DAMAGED
"Kia DuPree enters the literary game with her pen blazing in this unforgettable tale of a woman's determination to overcome her obstacles and not become damaged."--Joy (Deja) King, national bestselling author on DAMAGED
"Kia DuPree has created a page turner, with characters so real, so vivid, they literally jump off the page. As you read, you feel every struggle, every emotion, the joy, pain, happiness, and sorrow. I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading a work of fiction!"--Mari Walker, Essence Bestselling author on DAMAGED
"Kia DuPree hits the ground running with this one. Readers will be drawn into the drama of Camille's young life, anxious to see what happens next. A page turner and intense read, this dramatic story will keep you guessing."--J.D. Mason, national bestselling author on DAMAGED
"Kia DuPree's literary voice sings in this beautifully written story of a young lady's tumultuous life. Easily the best book I've read this year!"--Tracy Brown, Essence Bestselling author on DAMAGED
"This is a powerful family drama as Kia Dupree provides profound insight into the other side of living in DC. The cast is fully developed especially the Hampton brood whose life in the projects comes across as perilous while also emotionally wringing. Rotating perspective between mother and daughter, Silenced is a raw deep look at surviving the mean streets of a Washington in which politicians prefer to pretend it does not exist."--Harriet Klausner on SILENCED
"This novel is the real deal. Folks seeking a title for an urban book club need look no further. Its inner city realism compares favorably with Sister Souljah's The Coldest Winter Ever and Sapphire's Push. This is easily one of my top-five fiction books of 2011. Buy it...promote it."--LibraryJournal.com on SILENCED

Kia, a native of Washington, D.C., holds a B.A. in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University, as well as an M.A. in English from Old Dominion University. She received a Professional Studies Publishing Certificate from New York University in 2006. She is currently teaching middle school and lives with her husband and son in the DC area.

Since the day Nicola lost her job, she's had to make tough decisions no parent would ever want to make. Now she and her daughter Tinka don't seem to understand each other. They're drifting in two different directions. Tinka feels she can never meet her mother's standards--whether it's chores, school work, or the guys she likes. Worse, her two older brothers, Marquan and Taevon, are always in and out of trouble but are easily let off the hook. To Tinka, it just doesn't seem fair when she tries so hard to please her mother.Falling on hard times, Nicola has to move her family into a notoroius project in Washington D.C. She knows she must work extra hard to keep her children from succumbing to the streets. But with each day comes new challenges, and when Marquan faces murder charges, Nicola turns all of her focus and energy on his case. Meanwhile, Tinka's interest is piqued by a guy who is all too familiar with the streets, leading her down a path her mother dreads.

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