When there doesn't seem to be much keeping her home, up-and-coming singer and high-school student Nikki is about to learn what it will take to make her stay. She is used to getting the short end of the stick: her grades are mediocre at best; her best friend, Malachai, is dating a beautiful girl; and her home life is unstable. Right when she's ready to chase her dreams of becoming a singer all the way to California, Malachi surprises her by asking for one last week to spend with her. Over the course of the week, Nikki builds her confidence, confronts her familial abuse, and learns to open her heart. Goffney's signature is writing highly emotional character arcs with a lasting love story, and her latest is no different. Glimpses into Nikki's inner musings and memories give readers deep insight into her thought processes and how her life experiences have shaped her into who she is today. An emotional read with moments of light and hope, My Week with Him will sweep readers away.

An 18-year-old Black girl is caught between dreams of future stardom and complications at home.Nikki Williams' music has caught the attention of a record label executive who invites her to audition for his new girl group. Her mother believes she'll be spending the weekend with a friend, not going to California. But before Nikki can sneak away from Cactus, Texas, she finds Vae, her younger sister, drunk and making out with a misogynistic creep in their driveway. Their mother comes home unexpectedly, and during the subsequent argument, Vae blurts out Nikki's secret to deflect their mother's anger. Nikki is kicked out of the house. Even though things have been strained between them since he started dating someone new, Nikki's best friend, Malachai, comes through for her as he has many times before, asking her to spend spring break with him before going to the second round of auditions the following weekend. But then Vae goes missing. Nikki's conflicts with her unstable mother intensify while she and Mal look for Vae. Socioeconomic disparities and difficult family dynamics feature prominently in this narrative, as Mal's stable home life and wealth are juxtaposed against Nikki's circumstances. This engaging novel centering Black teens includes romantic elements that take a back seat to the focus on Nikki's relationship with her mother. Mal's unfolding story arc sheds light on the insights he has into family struggles.A realistic portrayal of the impact on young people of troubled family relationships. (Fiction. 13-18)

Black high school senior Shaniqua -Nikki- Lenae dreams of escaping her small Texas town and her emotionally volatile mother to become an R&B singer in this acute portrait of agency, hope, and intergenerational trauma by Goffney (Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl). Just before she-s supposed to road trip to Los Angeles and audition for a producer, everything falls apart: a betrayal by Nikki-s younger sister Vae results in her mother kicking Nikki out. Devastated, Nikki intends to leave for L.A. immediately, but once her best friend Mal learns of her plans, he persuades her to stay with him until it-s time to attend the audition. When Vae, feeling guilty about her role in the family fallout, disappears, Nikki and Mal must work with the girls- mother to find her-and after serendipitous events lead to Nikki-s dream becoming fully realized, she must decide whether she-s willing to leave her family and the boy she-s always loved behind. Via artfully interspersed flashbacks and vignettes, Goffney depicts a tumultuous relationship with an absent parent buoyed by a sweetly developing love story that models healthy and gentle romance. Ages 13-up. Agent: Brianne Johnson, HG Literary. (July)