When Chicago television personality Vanessa Emory dies, her 15-year-old daughter Maren is faced with the challenge of finding her way without a mother to turn to. In Becoming Maren, Maren and her 17-year-old brother
Ellison must deal with economic hardship, racial confusion, adolescent love and the father they haven’t seen for five years.
Passive and unsure of herself, Maren is consumed with the task of growing up in the shadow of her glamorous mother, and clashes with her headstrong brother are common. Together, the siblings set out for Durham, North Carolina to live with their estranged father Calvin and the paternal grandmother they hardly know.
Set adrift, Maren looks for comfort in the wrong places. In the end, it is only Ellison who can save Maren from the destructive path she has chosen.
