Sent by their mother to live with their devout‎,‎ self‎-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town‎,‎ Maya and her brother‎,‎ Bailey‎,‎ endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local ‎"‎powhitetrash‎.‎‎"‎ At eight years old and back at her mother‎'‎s side in St‎.‎ Louis‎,‎ Maya is attacked by a man many times her age‎-and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime‎.‎ Years later‎,‎ in San Francisco‎,‎ Maya learns about love for herself and the kindness of others‎,‎ her own strong spirit‎,‎ and the ideas of great authors ‎(‎‎"‎I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare‎"‎‎)‎ will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned‎.‎ Poetic and powerful‎,‎ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a modern American classic that will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read‎.‎