Tough Times

Michael Dolan McCarthy is a biracial teen, named for a black father he barely remembers and a white grandfather he's never known. His beloved step-father, Swede, died on Michael's fourteenth birthday. Nothing's gone right since then. Now he's fifteen and flirting with the girl across the street when his little sister calls. Their mother is dead with a pill bottle by her hand and a note for Michael that says "Stay together."
Michael knows they'll be split up by the system, so he decides to ta...