One Crazy Summer

I didn't enjoy the book enough to finish it. The story seemed to drag on without really catching my interest. My 10 year old granddaughter ask if she could stop reading it because it was boring. I told her yes and we would find another book that would interest her more.

I do not think it portrays a positive image of a black family or a Chinese store owner. The positive images that are included in the story do not make up for the negative ones. I also thought the ending weak and discouraging

I was really looking forward to reading this book. It didn't stack up to my expectations. I was disappointed in the girl's mother. The girl's were well written and I enjoyed their humor. It wasn't what I expected.

"One Crazy Summer" turned out to be surprisingly hard to rate. I had a very conflicting feeling while balancing fantastic writing and characterization with the way author handled certain issues in the book that I just can't agree on.

Let me get out of the way the good stuff because it has been properly recognized by readers and critics alike when this book came out. Rita Williams-Garcia's writing is simply marvelous. The descriptions of time and place (Oakland, 1968 to be exact) are so vivid and colorful that I found myself pulled in the book from the very first page - right along the sisters on their plane ride. The story flows smoothly and while I wouldn't call it action-packed or even chock-full of events, the pacing is so well done that this is definitely a one-time read.
Another thing that Rita Williams-Garcia accomplished fantastically is creating a great cast of characters. The sisters and their family dynamics are very realistic; sometimes I questioned an unusual level of maturity and way of thinking of Delphine (she is 11 years old, and I felt like I could see "adult" periodically coming through in her thinking), yet it was really interesting to watch the progression of sisters' relationship to unfold.
These parts of the novel were superb.

Now without restating the plot (which many did so well already), I'll point out certain issues I couldn't come in terms with in the way the author handled them. I’d like to note that this is a personal perspective, so my reaction was influenced by my own upbringing, childhood and beliefs, so someone else might find these things in the book perfectly fine.

Firstly, I still quite can't grasp decision of Delphine, Vonetta and Fern's dad to ship them off to Cecile. Any way I looked at it, sending your children alone on a plane across the country to a parent who never wanted or asked for any contact because "It's time" just doesn't seem like a smart thing to do. I'd be hesitant to send my kids across the country to the long-lost parent who DOES want to finally meet them, here we talking about a parent who doesn't want them even after knowing they are still coming... This parental choice doesn't work for me; and, yes, while parental choice doesn't equal good choice by any means, this particular move just came off as either awkward plot device to get everything going, or make me be put off by BOTH parents of the sisters at the same time (even though the mom is the "bad" one here) which didn't get the book any points in my eyes.

Secondly, while handling any kind of social issue in the MG novel would be a charged topic, making kids go to Black Panthers’ camp would be even more sensitive. Here's the issue I had with this - by the end of the book, I just couldn't get the words "brainwashed" out of my head. For example when sisters refer to saying BP slogans without thinking (as of "I don't know why I just said that" kind), or the instance when they were distributing flyers of a BP rally and the manager of the grocery store politely declined due to store policy (while being nice), they say they would never come back to the store again... I believe that no matter what name of the organization is (be it Black Panthers like here, or any other that you feel inclined to think about), constantly exposing little kids to revolutionary ideas of any kind (as of make them color posters and flyers, teach them about revolutionary leaders, put on politically charged performances etc.) is kind of a way of taking their freedom to decide for themselves. If a grown person decides to join based on his own beliefs – it’s fine; but when you grooming a 7-year old with this type of ideas - you already decided for him, without letting him grow up, assess and join (or not join) on his own. There is a difference of making child aware of the current situation and propagandizing. Again I'd like to repeat that all of this goes for any type of revolutionary organization (not solely Black Panthers - they just happened to be in this book, hence the example). After reading this book, I've got the impression that Rita Williams-Garcia painted the events in the positive light, kind of like when you reading the book and while the author doesn't state things outright, yet you get this perception of them either not liking/being critical of certain tendencies in their own work, or on the contrary - finding them favorable/endorsing them. Well, I've got the sense of the latter here, and it didn't sit well with me (I could do away with neutrality probably), but this just didn't work.

Finally, the part of the story that I had the biggest issue with, mainly because I have an intimate experience with child abandonment, is the handling of the "mother's problem". I'm not gonna go on and on for paragraphs here, simply because like I stated before this is a super-charged subject for me, but I'd like to note only one thing. See, in the end of the book I couldn't help but feel that the mother got a sort of redemption (through Cecile's own story and actions of kids later). It wasn't a total forgiveness and "can I stay with you forever now, mommy" type, but still... And after reading the explanation of why exactly she did what she did, I have 0 reasons to find her redeemable or excusable. What she's done is NOT ok. What she's done is WRONG. Even after everything she went through - it is NOT ok, and it is WRONG. In my personal universe leaving your kids will NEVER be ok (let alone having 3 of them before thinking if you should have any). Overall Rita Williams-Garcia treatment of the situation made me feel a certain sense of atonement, acquittal even, without the mother doing ANYTHING, but telling her story, which in my eyes was absolutely undeserved.
Now with all that out of the way, let me re-state that this review is personal and the issues I found with "One Crazy Summer" might not bother you at all; moreover, the story itself worth reading - there is no taking away from great writing and skillful characterization. I certainly would be reading the second book ("P.S. Be Eleven") to see where the writer would take the story - maybe to a completely different set of issues which would be fun to explore, maybe deeper into the problems of the first book (in which case I might not pursue the series any longer); nonetheless, I have a desire to find out for myself and get the next one even after everything that didn't work for me here. If the aforementioned issues don't bother you then go ahead and read this novel - it's a very worthy read; however, if some of the things I mentioned are triggers, then proceed with caution, your reaction might surprise you.

I only ordered this book because I was required to read it for a college education class. It had a hard time keeping my attention due to the fact that it was geared more towards middle school readers.

When I heard that teen author Rita Williams-Garcia had written a middle grade novel for kids I wasn't moved one way or another. I don't read teen books. Couldn't say I knew much of the woman's work. When I heard that her book was about the Black Panthers, however, my interest was piqued. Black Panthers, eh? The one political group so difficult to write about that you can't find them in a single children's book (aside from "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon, of course). So what was her take? How was she going to do it? But the thing is, "One Crazy Summer" is more than merely a historical tale. It's a story about family and friendships and self-sacrifice. There are so many ideas floating about this little novel that you'd think it would end up some kind of unholy mess. Instead, it's funny and painful and just a little bit brilliant. "One Crazy Summer" is a book that's going to earn itself a lot of fans. And a lot of them are going to be kids.

Eleven going on twelve Delphine has always kept a sharp eye on her little nine and seven-year-old sisters Vonetta and Fern. That's because their mother left them seven years ago and never came back again. "Cecile Johnson - mammal birth giver, alive, an abandoner - is our mother. A statement of fact." So when their father packs them on a plane and sends them to Oakland, California to see Cecile, their mom, the girls have no idea what to expect. Certainly they didn't think she'd just leave them in a kind of daycare over the summer run by members of the Black Panthers. And they probably didn't expect that their mother would want near to nothing to do with them, save the occasional meal and admonishment to keep out of her kitchen. Only Delphine knew what might happen, and she makes it her mission to not only take care of her siblings, no matter how crazy they make her, but also to negotiate the tricky waters that surround the woman who gave her up so long ago.

The whole reason this novel works is because author Rita Williams-Garcia has a fantastic story that also happens to meld seamlessly into the summer of 1968. I've been complaining for years that when it comes to the Black Panthers, there wasn't so much as a page of literature out there for kids on the topic (except the aforementioned "The Rock and the River" and even that's almost teen fare). Now "One Crazy Summer" is here. Certainly I don't know how Ms. Williams-Garcia set about writing the darn thing, but if she had stridently set about to teach without taking into consideration the essentials of good storytelling, this book would have sank like a stone. Instead, she infuses this tale with danger, characters you want to take a turn about the block with, and the heat of an Oakland sun.

I mean, take the people in this book! Someone once sold this story to me as "The Penderwicks meets the Black Panthers" and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why they`d said it. Then I started thinking back to the sisters. Ms. Wiliams-Garcia must have sisters. She must. How else to explain the dynamic between Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern? So it all became clear. If you love the family dynamics of "The Penderwicks", you'll probably find yourself loving the same thing here. Of course, when your heroine is an upright citizen like Delphine there is a danger of making her too goody goody to like. But this girl isn't like that. She has a duty that she believes in (taking care of her sisters) and she'll do it, even when they fight each other. Even when they team up against HER! The sheer unfairness of what Delphine has to handle, and the cheery lack of complaining (aside from the occasional and very understandable grumble) makes you care for her. Her interactions with her mother are what make you love her.

Because this mother is a pip. Cecile throws a wrench (and a couple of other metal objects besides, I'd wager) into the good guy/bad guy way of looking at things. For kids, she's a pretty clear-cut villain from page one onward. And adults who have enough historical understand to be clear on why she does some of the things she does still won't like her. I wouldn't even be surprised if some parents referred to her as the world's worst mother. She isn't really, but many a parent's ire will be raised when they see how she refuses to call her daughter Fern by her name out of spite, or refuses to so much as look her own daughters for a while. Heck, this may be the only book where the phrase, "Should have gone to Mexico to get rid of you when I had the chance," comes from the lips of a parental unit (not that any kid in the world would decipher what it means). Under normal circumstances, when you get a kid talking about the selfishness of their parent at the beginning of a book they turn out to be wrong in the end. So naturally I was waiting on tenterhooks for much of this book to see if Cecile would be perfectly redeemed by the story's end. Williams-Garcia never wraps anything up with a cute little bow, but she gives you closure with Cecile and maybe a drop of understanding. It's a far better solution.

Williams-Garcia will even use character development to place the story within the context of its time. The opinionated Big Ma who raised the three girls gives her thoughts on any matter rain or shine. Delphine then lists them, and kids are treated to a quickie encapsulation of life in '68. Pretty sneaky. Teaches `em when they're not looking. And one of those very topics is the Black Panther party. I was very pleased with how Williams-Garcia sought to define that group. She dispels misconceptions and rumors. Delphine herself often has to come to grips with her initial perceptions and the actual truths. As for the rest of the time period itself, little details spotted throughout the book make 1968 feel real. For example, the girls play a game where they count the number of black characters on television shows and commercials. Or the one time Delphine had felt truly scared, when a police officer in Alabama pulled her father over.

And, I'm sorry. You can make amazing, believable characters all day if you want to, but there's more to writing than just that. This writer doesn't just conjure up people. She has a way with a turn of a phrase. Three Black Panthers talking with Cecile are, "Telling it like it is, like talking was their weapon." Later Cecile tells her eldest daughter, "It wouldn't kill you to be selfish, Delphine." This book is a pleasure to cast your eyes over.

There is a moment near the end of the book when Fern recites a poem that is just so good that I couldn't seriously believe that a seven-year-old would be able to pull it off. So I mentioned this fact to a teacher and a librarian and found myself swiftly corrected. "Oh no," said the librarian. "Seven is when kids are at their most shockingly creative. It's only later that they start worrying about whether or not it's any good." So I'm willing to believe that Fern's poem could have happened. Otherwise, I certainly would have appreciated an Author's Note at the end with information about the Black Panthers for kids who wanted to learn more. And I was also left wondering where Delphine got her name. She spends a bit of time agonizing over that question, why her mother named her that, and never really finds out. Some kind of explanation there would have been nice.

It was teacher Monica Edinger who pointed out that "One Crazy Summer" pairs strangely well with "Cosmic" if you look at them in terms of fathers (on the "Cosmic" side) and mothers ("One Crazy Summer"'s focus). That's one theme for the book, but you could pluck out so many more if you wanted to. Race and family and forgiveness and growth. Everyone grows in this book. Everyone learns. But you'll have so much fun reading it you might not even notice. You might just find yourself happily ensconced in the world of Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern without ever wishing to leave it. If this is how Ms. Williams-Garcia writes books for kids, then she better stop writing all that teen fare and crank a couple more like this one. Kids are gonna dig it.

Ages 9-12.

It's 1968, and Delphine is just eleven years old when she and her two younger sisters (Vonetta, age nine, and Fern, age seven), travel alone on an airplane from New York to Oakland, California, to see their mother Cecile, for the first time since Delphine was five.

Only Delphine has any real memories of their mother.

It's Delphine who tells the story, and Delphine who has to take responsibility for her sisters, even after Cecile picks them up at the airport. Cecile is cool, not at all motherly, and pays as little attention to them as possible. The girls long for the motherly affection and connection they've never had, and still don't have.

Instead, Cecile sends them off each day to Black Panther "summer camp," at the community center. It's where they get breakfast, and it's where they get an education in black history, civil rights, and self-assertion that their father and grandmother, more laid-back and conservative personalities, never gave them.

Cecile is a poet, and she has a printing press, and to the Panthers she's "Sister Anzilla." (Spelling is a guess; I listened to the audiobook.) She has a somewhat testy relationship with the Black Panthers, happy to send the girls to them for breakfast, summer school, and other activities during their month-long visit, but a bit resentful when the Panthers want her to use her printing press for their flyers and newspaper.

What we see in this book is a view of the Black Panthers that, as a girl just about Delphine's age, but white, I certainly didn't get at the time.

And I love Delphine. I had just one younger sister, even younger than Fern, and like Delphine, in many ways I became responsible for her. At that age, you can manage many of the tasks, but the responsibility is more of a burden than adults, overworked themselves and not remembering what it felt like to be that age, often don't recognize. Delphine does her best, mostly does quite well--and gets chewed out when she makes a wrong choice, even though no harm came of it. I wanted to cheer when she spoke up for herself then!

It's a strange, crazy summer for the girls, especially Delphine, and they learn a lot and even, to some extent, start to find themselves as individuals.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

I teach this novel in my 6th grade literacy class and love that it is an accurate portrayal of a crucial time in our history through a narrative that is inspiring, hysterical and heart breaking. Below are two reviews from my students.

The novel “One Crazy Summer,” is a funny, heartbreaking story about three young girls, Delphine, the oldest, and sisters Vonetta and Fern going to see the mother that left them. As having no mother, Delphine pretty much does that job for her sisters. They leave their house in Brooklyn, along with their dad and grandma, to meet their long lost mom Cecile Johnson. After being sent to a summer camp for the day, they soon find out that not only did the area have a lot of civil rights movement going on, but the camp was even run by the Black Panthers!
I really enjoyed this book and as the oldest sibling in my family, I can definitely relate to how Delphine feels mothering her sisters around. This is a great book for people with a good sense of humor that enjoy historical fiction. The author Rita Williams-Garcia did a fantastic job on this book.
-April

The novel One Crazy Summer is about three sisters going to Oakland California to visit their mother Cecile who left them. In Oakland the three sisters go to a Black Panther summer camp, they go swimming and go on a little vacation to San Francisco.

In my opinion I think this was a very good book. I think it deserved all those rewards. It was worded very well so I understood it really well. There were some loose ends towards the end of the book for me. I wanted to know what would happen. Would they visit next year? But the book was still great. I also liked how responsible Delphine was, looking after her three sisters. I recommend this book for in class reading and just for fun at home reading. The beginning of the book was good, so was the ending (except for those loose ends). Additionally, if you are studying poetry in class, I also recommend this book because it has a lot of good poetry in it. It is a really great, good book. I recommend you read it.
-Damon

This book wasn't an easy one to read. But maybe that is the point. It's easy to grow comfortable in your life and not stray too far from the realm of what is normal for you. I read this book because it is one of three that will be discussed in a workshop I'm attending next month. Otherwise I might not have picked it up. First, I wasn't old enough to remember the summer in which this story takes place, and I didn't live in either Brooklyn or California. I was born during that year, so my memories begin in the 1970s. So, it is hard for me to imagine that white people would literally stop to take pictures of black children as if they were a freak show act. Obviously, I wouldn't know whether they did or not, but as a white woman it was hard to read those scenes. But like I said, maybe that was the point and maybe that is a good thing. It is just such a patronizing and rude thing to try and imagine someone doing to children. Another reason that I found this story a tough one is that I've spent my adult years as an advocate for children, both as a teacher and a pediatric nurse. I loved the character of Delphine, but my heart ached for her continually throughout the book. It is a struggle for me to comprehend an eleven year old child being asked to shoulder the amount of responsibility that she does, but then again my life has certainly been much easier than Delphine's. The book definitely presented to me a different perspective and I think that it will be a story that I will come back to in the coming months. One major gripe I have about the plot is that I don't find it entirely plausible that the girl's Papa and grandmother would have allowed them to travel across the country without some assurances from Cecile that she would attend to their needs. It bugged me until the very end of the story. Overall, the book was poignant and challenges the typical book for middle grade readers.

I was actually...really surprised on where this went. The Gaither sisters are three girls, sent off for the summer to get to know their mother in Oakland, CA. On arriving, they find that Nzilla, their mother, has become involved with the Black Panthers. And also, Nzilla is a super jerk, immediately taking the kids' money, saying they will NOT be going to Disneyland, and she just wants the kids out of the house as much as possible. Delphine, the eldest daughter, does her best to care for her two younger siblings, and tries to navigate her way through the local Black Panther daycamp Nzilla insists they attend.

I'm afraid I don't know enough about the historical Black Panther movement to judge what message Rita was sending. As far as I can tell, she seems to be highlighting the presence of corrupt members in a generally positive group, which seems accurate for any political movement. Delphine's initial rebellion turning into support feels a tiny bit odd, but not unreasonable. Just...odd.

I think kids and parents are going to need to judge for themselves. As for my own enjoyment, I came out neutral. I wasn't enraptured, but neither was I irritated. I simply think, as a white woman, the book wasn't for me. So go forth and make your own decision.

As my review title implies, I hated this book. In fact, I hated it soooo much that I sat down and read it non-stop over the course of one Saturday morning/afternoon. If you like character driven books, and characters that will forever remain in your memory, this is the book for you. From the moment that Cecile picked up Delphine, Vonetta and Fern at the airport, I wanted to dive into the pages and wring Cecile's neck! I absolutely despised Cecile! Why would Papa and Big Ma send these three girls across the country to a woman who had no need for them? Why did Delphine not call home and demand that she and her sisters come back to NYC? However, Ms. Williams-Garcia so deftly uses this challenging situation as a way to show how the three sisters--especially Delphine--mature and deal with their disppointment in their mother, and also with a political culture they were not altogether very familiar with. Without giving anything away, the end did help alleviate much of the anger and resentment that built up inside of me as I read the book. As much as I initially despised Cecile, I began to see a little bit of her in each of her daughters, and what Fern comes up with at the end is classic! As a white kid who grew up in the 60s, I never gave it a moment's thought that there was a dearth of authentic black characters on television. I absolutely loved it when Delphine described how she and her sisters would count the number of words black characters would speak during a television show. Growing up white is far, far different than growing up black in this country(many of you will go DUH!), and Ms. Williams-Garcia did such a great job of showing the little things that many whites would never give a second thought to, but that on the other hand was huge for African Americans. I am a 6th grade reading teacher and I am using this book for an after school reading program with parents and their children. We are meeting tonight to discuss this book, and with the diverse group we have, I can't wait to hear the discussion that takes place this evening!

“We all have our la-la-la song. The thing we do when the world isn't singing a nice tune to us. We sing our own nice tune to drown out ugly.”

Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are flying from New York to California alone. Being the oldest, Delphine’s in charge, but it's not easy keeping two little sisters in line. What's even harder is the fact that it's the late 1960s, and they have the fear of Big Ma (their grandma) in them, which reminds them that they're representing all African-American people. Delphine doesn't want her sisters to do anything wrong. When they get to California, they are met by their mother, Cecile, who seems like a shifty character with her sunglasses and quick ways through the airport. Cecile abandoned them seven years before and doesn't seem very motherly when she takes them to her apartment. She won't even let them in the kitchen! Each step of the way, Delphine acts like a little mother trying to protect her sisters and help them to have the best experience possible. Cecile lets them do things they would never be allowed to do back in New York, like go out to pick up Chinese food for dinner by themselves in an unfamiliar city. This whole new world brings with it a slew of rules and way of living for Delphine and her sisters. When the girls go to a camp that's run by the Black Panthers, they see a lifestyle that's foreign to them, but Delphine loves seeing the way the people are spreading peace. When the girls are asked to take part in a rally, Delphine is sure that they should not be a part of it, because she knows how her dad and Big Ma would react. After she takes her sisters on a special sightseeing outing around San Francisco, a trip she has planned down to the last penny, they come back to find the police arresting Cecile and two men. What will happen now that the girls have no parent to live with? How will each girl change? Who will help them until it's time for them to go back to New York? What lessons are they learning? Should the girls participate in the rally? You have to read this amazing story to find out what life is like for these three girls in 1960s Oakland.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is the story of three girls learning and growing. They move to a world unlike any they have known before, and a new way of life is unveiled to them. It showed me that you can't go miles away from home and live in a different environment without seeing things in a new light. My heart went out to Delphine as she tried to be a good older sister and a wonderful caretaker. I was so scared for her when her mom was taken to jail. I always feel bad for a character that has to grow up before their time, but at least in this case the girls are able to learn some important lessons. This book opened my eyes to a different culture and made me think about what it might be like for people to have a parent they never really knew. The voices of the girls jumped off the page, and I still feel like I know each one and can picture them easily. I recommend this book to kids in grades four and up because it will help them to see how far we've come as a nation and what life was like not that long ago. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I cannot wait to read more! I recently heard there is a sequel, and I look forward to picking it up. A must read for people that enjoy historical fiction and strong characters!

I just loved reading this book! Rita has the ability to create characters that you can hear, feel, and and see right off the page. I was rooting for the them the entire time especially, the oldest daughter, Delphine, and her relationship with her mother. Having the backdrop be in Oakland where the Black Panther Movement was active during this period piece was historically genious. Infusing that help me learn more about what was going on in California during that time. I recommend people of all ages to read this book especially girls of color! It's a fun and phenomenal read.

It’s 1968, and 11-year-old Delphine Gaither has her hands full playing mother to her two little sisters, 9-year-old Vonetta, and 7-year-old Fern. She lives in Brooklyn with her father and his prim, old-fashioned mother, called Big Ma. Where’s the girls’ mother? Cecile Johnson abandoned the family before Delphine turned 5. Now Pa thinks the three Gaither girls should spend a month this summer with their long-lost mother in Oakland, California. And it will be one crazy summer.

You see, Cecile, now going by the more revolutionary name of Nzila, is much more devoted to her poetry and the Black Panther-led revolution than she is to her own family, in which she literally has no interest. She shuffles the girls, used to a pretty staid existence in Brooklyn, off to a Black Panther summer camp to keep them out of her way. Serious, self-sacrificing Delphine, already too grown up for her age, finds herself having to take care of her sisters pretty much on her own. Although already resentful of the mother who preferred a life without children to hamper her art and her freedom, Delphine never expected the cold reception she and her sisters received.

One Crazy Summer is one part the tale of a family torn apart, but it’s also a glimpse into the early days of the Black Panther movement and a reminder of what life was life for African-Americans no so very long ago. In addition, the novel serves as a glimpse into the mind of a perceptive, moral and very intelligent young girl who is wise beyond her years — and who knows it’s because she has to be.

And as for Cecile? I have to agree with Delphine’s sentiment on the first day of meeting her mother in Oakland: “I didn’t want to say Big Ma was right. Cecile was no kind of mother. Cecile didn’t want us. Cecile was crazy. I didn’t have to.” I find that other reviews find it in their hearts to — well, if not to forgive, to understand. Me? I’m in Big Ma’s corner, who couldn’t forgive Cecile’s selfishness, indifference, and irresponsibility.

One Crazy Summer recaptures the excitement and the changes of the 1960s, while also exploring the resilience of children in a less than perfect world crafted by adults. This is a children’s book that’s perfect for adults.

Delphine is used to taking care of her little sisters, Vonetta and Fern, since their mother Cecile left them when Fern was a baby. When the girls are sent from their home in New York to Oakland, CA to visit Cecile for a month, Delphine is both nervous and excited to see her mother, and unsure of what to expect. Cecile isn't at all what the girls imagined, and she doesn't seem very interested in getting to know them, either. As the girls spend their days at a summer camp sponsored by the Black Panther Party, they are exposed to new ideas that change their view of the world, and their view of their mother.

One Crazy Summer is a smart, sharp, and humorous story with three very lovable and realistic characters. The novel is narrated by Delphine, whose strong sense of responsibility and protectiveness sometimes annoys her little sisters. But there is no doubt that the girls all love each other and share a strong bond, and their optimism and determination is equally as strong. Even though the story is told from Delphine's perspective, the book is about each of the sisters and how they are changed by the month they spend with Cecile and other members of the Black Panther Party--and by how they eventually change Cecile. The dialogue is extremely realistic and well-written, and the pacing is perfect. One Crazy Summer is an excellent novel for both young and old(er) readers.

This was an amazing book. Told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Delphine, One Crazy Summer tells the story of three sisters traveling to California to spend a month with the mother who abandoned them on the day of the youngest sister's birth. They had never met her and knew nothing about her, other than what Big Ma, their grandmother, had told them. And none of it was good.
From the time they get off the plane, they find that their California fantasies of beach trips and visits to Disneyland are just that- fantasies. Their mother, Cecile is a poet and activist. On the first day of vacation, she sends the girls to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. Their education begins that day. Oakland, California is a far cry from their Brooklyn neighborhood, in more ways than one. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern must navigate their way from the way of life they've been taught by Big Ma, through the new and uncharted waters of the Black Panther movement in 1968 Oakland.
Cecile is distant, brusque, and refuses to allow the girls to enter her kitchen, making them eat take-out on the floor. Strangers visit her at night. Who is this mysterious woman who birthed them? What goes on behind her kitchen door?
Rita Williams-Garcia paints a historically accurate picture of 1968 California, of the civil rights movement as seen through the eyes of a young girl.

Read this book if.......
*you are interested in racial issues and the Civil Rights Movement
*you enjoy stories about sisters
*stories about meeting birth parents for the first time

Delphine is the eldest of three girls. Raised by her father and grandmother after her mother left the family when she was a toddler, she’s strong and responsible. On a trip from Brooklyn to Oakland, California to stay with her estranged mother, she’s in charge of her sisters. She has a lot of work to do, because when she gets to Oakland her mother is cold, unaffectionate, and unwilling to do basic things for the girls.

The girls aren’t allowed in the kitchen. There’s intrigue going on with her mother, what’s going on in her kitchen, and the men who surround them wearing berets. They’re the Black Panthers. Since their mother has them fend for themselves, they spend most of the day at a summer camp run by the Panthers. And while Delphine is getting takeout and caring for her sisters in other ways, she tries to break through her mother’s icy exterior.

This novel is captivating. It put me in the 60s, when so many social changes were taking place. The plot was amazing—I wasn’t bored for a second—and the characters felt so real that I couldn’t wait to get back together with them between readings. I didn’t want the book to end, but it did. I do have the sequel to look forward to.

Delphine and her two younger sisters are off to California to spend a month with their mother. Their mother who they haven't seen in seven years. Their mother is a poet who has renamed herself and she is active with the Black Panthers. It's the sixties and it's a crazy time with a crazy mother the girls really don't know...will they connect?

I love the sixties, and I loved this story about a black family in the sixties during the Black Power movement. It's a wonderfully new point of view for me. It was a delightful story with dynamic and fascinating characters.

In 1968, the world is in the midst of a great change. In April, Martin Luther King. Jr. is assassinated, and President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. The Black Panthers organize to promote Black Power in Oakland. All the news reports and history books rarely talk about the silent witnesses to these great societal changes. Who were the children? How did history change their lives?

In the summer of 1968, eleven year old Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, take a plane from Brooklyn to visit their mother Cecile in Oakland, California. Her father and Big Ma don't exactly approve of crazy Cecile, but keeping the children from their mother forever is not the solution either. As every good sister does, Delphine takes care of her younger sisters, especially now on this new journey and under instructions from her family to do so. Cecile isn't exactly a fairy tale mother. Rather than cook homemade meals, she gives them money to buy Chinese take-out. Cecile's kitchen is off limits. Strange men in Afros and black berets knock on her door demanding her assistance. Cecile sends her three daughters to a summer camp headed by the revolutionary Black Panthers. Delphine's summer in Oakland isn't exactly the kind of experience her teachers back home would expect in a "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essay!

In ONE CRAZY SUMMER, readers see the historical changes through the eyes of Delphine. With humor, honesty, and innocence, Delphine comments on the events unfolding before her in the way only a child can. Delphine is quite conscious of the differences between blacks and whites in society, yet she is also a girl who responds from her heart rather than from slogans or mandates from others. Delphine is intelligent, taking the initiative to educate herself and to protect her sisters, yet she is still a little girl who longs for a mother to protect her. In ONE CRAZY SUMMER, Delphine embarks on a journey that will change her forever, not only in the societal changes she witnesses but also a journey that will bring her closer to understanding her mother and herself.

ONE CRAZY SUMMER takes a reader into the heart of history through the eyes of a child. What better way to tell the story to young readers? Delphine's voice sees what history books do not. Through Delphine's eyes, Rita Williams-Garcia gives life to memorable characters who inspire the imagination. Delphine's innocence and intelligence pinpoint the essentials in a way a self-conscious adult does not. Her humor brings a delightful, refreshing view of the world before her, a view that tempers some of the tragic events that accompany the struggles of this era. No matter what one's age, young reader, young adult or adult, ONE CRAZY SUMMER leaves a reader with the wonderful lasting and speechless satisfaction of entering a world created by a master storyteller. In addition to young readers, ONE CRAZY SUMMER is very highly recommended to all those adults, white and black, who like Delphine and this reader, witnessed the unfolding of the Civil Rights Movement in their hometowns. Quite simply, no other story has spoken to me, or the child that I was back then, as does this novel. ONE CRAZY SUMMER gives voice to all those things seen, all those emotions, which often remain unspoken to others decades later. When I reached the last line of the author's notes, a tear of joy filled my eye from the thankfulness that Rita Williams-Garcia put this story in words. ONE CRAZY SUMMER is an outstanding book, a book this reader expects to win several awards.

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

Most fiction I read tends to be about white middle-class experiences. I also most often pick novels which depict my own experiences or are obviously so fantastical that they serve as purely escapist literature. If a book fits neither of these categories, chances are you will find me instead in the nonfiction section. One Crazy Summer is different from my typical read. It is the fictional experience of three sisters during the 1960's African-American revolution.

In certain ways, One Crazy Summer is about experiences which anyone can have. For example, Delphine and her sister struggle with abandonment issues, because their mom left them years ago to their father's care. As for our heroine, Delphine, she serves as a protector to her young sisters. Being the oldest naturally led to her also being the most responsible. She knows how to act quiet, say the right words to avoid danger, as well as to stay clean, cook, and shop for household items including groceries. Despite her maturity, she is only eleven. As such, she fears standing up to their mother whom they visit for four weeks. She also at times squabbles with her sisters, punches boys who tease her, and displays attitude towards prejudice shown her due to her sex, age, or color.

In other ways, One Crazy Summer is one particular time, place, and situation. The time is 1968. The place is Oakland, California. And the situation (according to the book flap) is "one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history". In the form of story, rather than through newspapers, biographies, or documentaries, One Crazy Summer educates us about the past. We learn about the Black Panther Party. We also learn about some real and fictional arrests, rallies, advertising, and revolution that occurred during the time period of the book. Finally, we learn about how children like Delphine and her sisters (who are eleven and younger) might have viewed, been effected by, or even helped bring about radical change.

In one touching and cute chapter, Dephine presents her case to her mother for buying a television. While we wait for a verdict, Delpine recalls how the sisters like to count all the shows with black characters, how many lines they were given, and even the number of commercials with black actors. In another heavier and more disturbing chapter, we are introduced to the first member of the Black Panthers. The police surprised the Black Panthers who fled inside a house for shelter. Little Bobby surrendered by taking off all his clothes except underwear to show he didn't have a gun. The police still shot and killed him. The news made Delphine angry but also afraid to protest. She now faces a choice about whether to retreat to the safety of her mother's home or to participate in a rally which holds potential for real danger.

As I noted earlier, this book is about experiences many of us share. On the lighter side, most of us have taken airplane trips, been teased about some cherished possession, stuck up for our siblings or friends, and felt attracted to the opposite sex. In one particularly fun chapter, the sisters travel by themselves on a bus to San Francisco. They see hippies, visit Chinatown, explore Fisherman's Wharf, and marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge. Yet this book is also about situations that not everyone experiences. Consider that twice during their trip, white people attempt to take pictures of the sisters as if they were zoo exhibits and not human beings. One Crazy Summer has strong characters, attitude and humor, which all help create an enjoyable read. It also however reveals tough truths about racism, which make it an important read.

In a recent trip to my library, I not only picked up lists of classics and genre books, but also books set in other places and about other cultures or dealing with tough topics and life changes. Hopefully, my reading experiences will continue to diversify over the upcoming months. For, after all, books should take us beyond our own experiences too.

Three sisters: Delphine, eleven years old; Vonetta, nine years old; and Fern, seven years old, travel from Brooklyn, New York, to Oakland, California, to visit their mother, Cecile. Delphine hasn't seen or heard from her mother once Cecile left right after Fern was born. As the oldest, Delphine is the responsible one-responsible for helping Big Ma around the house and responsible for her younger sisters. Why, after all this time are they going to Oakland to see their mother? Delphine and her sisters learn quite a bit in four weeks.

When I noticed that several of those who posted reviews at the store.com claimed that this story painted whites in a bad light, I decided to read it so that I could decide for myself. But even with a heightened sense of awareness about this issue, I believe that the accusations overstate the situation (though I had another issue with the story). This is the tale of three girls whose father and paternal grandmother send them off to California in the summer of 1968 to visit the mother who abandoned them years before for four weeks. Traveling alone (though under the watchful eye of flight attendants), they are the subject of scrutiny (a white woman at the airport offers them money; later in the story, a group of European tourists take their photo; and on the return trip, a white man at the airport tries to take their photo).

Once they arrive, their artist mother wants nothing to do with them. So they have to figure out things for themselves. Fortunately, the elder sister, an 11-year-old gutsy girl named Delphine, is very resourceful. She keeps watch over her younger sisters, keeps them sheltered and fed, and provides a link between her mother, siblings and her father and grandmother back home. The girls end up spending a lot of time at a sort of summer camp where Black Panthers try to inculcate their beliefs into young minds while providing social services. Initially, the girls keep going back for food, but eventually begin to bond with the (mostly) kind persons who work and spend time there. When their visit comes to a close, they have made some friends, learned a little bit about the Black Panthers, and a lot about why their mother is the way she is. My only problem with the plot is the disturbing truth behind the girls' parents' union, [stop reading now if you haven't read the book and don't want this part of the story spoiled for you] though I doubt many children will pick up what it means when a man gives a woman whose social situation forces her into accepting shelter, this thing (a roof over her head) but then takes advantage of her sexually. Better: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai, Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

Utterly charming. I finished in one sitting. The distinctive personalities, the touching on issues, the writing felt like a skipping stone: glancing over all of this depth. So many serious themes (abandonment, inequality, racism, responsibility) are touched on, not in a heavy handed way but more in fitting with the way a child may be right in the center of a situation but might not fully comprehend for years to come. Our narrator doesn't understand it all and that's just right for a child. The tone and style are almost poetic, leaving room to breathe and feel your own thoughts about it. I think this would be a great novel to open up discussion for my 5th and 6th grade students. Glad I have this novel in my library.

Award-winning young adult author Rita Williams-Garcia's first book aimed at tweens has been getting a lot of "buzz" in the children's book community, and I was eager to read it for myself. Set in Oakland in the turbulent summer of 1968, the story revolves around three sisters who are sent from New York to visit their mother, Cecile, for the summer.

Our narrator is the no-nonsense eldest sister, 11-year old Delphine, who is saddled with responsibility for watching out for her two younger siblings, Vonetta and Fern. Their dreams of a summer spent "riding wild waves on surfboards, picking oranges and apples off fruit trees, filling our autograph books with signatures from movie stars we'd see in soda shops, and...going to Disneyland" are soon shattered when they discover that their "Secret Agent Mother," a poet and a member of the Black Panthers, seems to not have a maternal bone in her body and wants nothing to do with them, not even remembering to give them dinner but finally sending them to the Chinese restaurant down the street for take-out. No one is allowed in her kitchen, where she writes poetry and keeps her printing press. She sends them off to an unusual day camp at The People's Center, run by the Black Panthers. At camp, Delphine has plenty of problems protecting her youngest sister Fern, who carries around a beloved white doll named Miss Patty Cake, from ridicule by the other children. In addition to free meals, the girls get "re-education" in revolutionary change, even though one of the girls says, "we didn't come for the revolution. We came for breakfast." But the girls learn that the Black Panthers are not just about "angry fist wavers with...their rifles ready for shooting." They are also about passing out toast and teaching in classrooms.

The author explores the different racial attitudes that existed in the 1960's with sensitivity but without shirking. While the girls wait for their mother to pick them up at the airport, for example, "A large white woman came and stood before us, clapping her hands like we were on display at the Bronx Zoo. 'Oh, my. What adorable dolls you are. My, my.'" The lady tries to give them nickels, which Delphine refuses. Another example is Delphine's explanation of colored counting, where "not only did we count how many colored people were on TV, we also counted the number of words the actors were given to say...and then there was a new show, Julia, coming out in September, starring Diahann Carroll. We agreed to shout out "Black Inifinity" when Julia came on because each episode would be all about her character."

Ms. Williams does a wonderful job capturing a unique voice for plain-spoken Delphine, who tells it like it is, narrating a story that takes place at an important time and place in our country's history. But the Black Panthers movement forms a backdrop for a novel that is essentially a family drama as three daughters try to work out their relationship with this not-very-maternal woman who is their mother. Her relationship with the girls is not sugar-coated, yet the novel is filled with humor and Ms. Williams' obvious affection for her characters.

It’s 1968, and 11-year-old Delphine Gaither has her hands full playing mother to her two little sisters, 9-year-old Vonetta, and 7-year-old Fern. She lives in Brooklyn with her father and his prim, old-fashioned mother, called Big Ma. Where’s the girls’ mother? Cecile Johnson abandoned the family before Delphine turned 5. Now Pa thinks the three Gaither girls should spend a month this summer with their long-lost mother in Oakland, California. And it will be one crazy summer.

You see, Cecile, now going by the more revolutionary name of Nzila, is much more devoted to her poetry and the Black Panther-led revolution than she is to her own family, in which she literally has no interest. She shuffles the girls, used to a pretty staid existence in Brooklyn, off to a Black Panther summer camp to keep them out of her way. Serious, self-sacrificing Delphine, already too grown up for her age, finds herself having to take care of her sisters pretty much on her own. Although already resentful of the mother who preferred a life without children to hamper her art and her freedom, Delphine never expected the cold reception she and her sisters received.

One Crazy Summer is one part the tale of a family torn apart, but it’s also a glimpse into the early days of the Black Panther movement and a reminder of what life was life for African-Americans no so very long ago. In addition, the novel serves as a glimpse into the mind of a perceptive, moral and very intelligent young girl who is wise beyond her years — and who knows it’s because she has to be.

And as for Cecile? I have to agree with Delphine’s sentiment on the first day of meeting her mother in Oakland: “I didn’t want to say Big Ma was right. Cecile was no kind of mother. Cecile didn’t want us. Cecile was crazy. I didn’t have to.” I find that other reviews find it in their hearts to — well, if not to forgive, to understand. Me? I’m in Big Ma’s corner, who couldn’t forgive Cecile’s selfishness, indifference, and irresponsibility.

One Crazy Summer recaptures the excitement and the changes of the 1960s, while also exploring the resilience of children in a less than perfect world crafted by adults. This is a children’s book that’s perfect for adults.

Delphine is used to taking care of her little sisters, Vonetta and Fern, since their mother Cecile left them when Fern was a baby. When the girls are sent from their home in New York to Oakland, CA to visit Cecile for a month, Delphine is both nervous and excited to see her mother, and unsure of what to expect. Cecile isn't at all what the girls imagined, and she doesn't seem very interested in getting to know them, either. As the girls spend their days at a summer camp sponsored by the Black Panther Party, they are exposed to new ideas that change their view of the world, and their view of their mother.

One Crazy Summer is a smart, sharp, and humorous story with three very lovable and realistic characters. The novel is narrated by Delphine, whose strong sense of responsibility and protectiveness sometimes annoys her little sisters. But there is no doubt that the girls all love each other and share a strong bond, and their optimism and determination is equally as strong. Even though the story is told from Delphine's perspective, the book is about each of the sisters and how they are changed by the month they spend with Cecile and other members of the Black Panther Party--and by how they eventually change Cecile. The dialogue is extremely realistic and well-written, and the pacing is perfect. One Crazy Summer is an excellent novel for both young and old(er) readers.

This was an amazing book. Told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Delphine, One Crazy Summer tells the story of three sisters traveling to California to spend a month with the mother who abandoned them on the day of the youngest sister's birth. They had never met her and knew nothing about her, other than what Big Ma, their grandmother, had told them. And none of it was good.
From the time they get off the plane, they find that their California fantasies of beach trips and visits to Disneyland are just that- fantasies. Their mother, Cecile is a poet and activist. On the first day of vacation, she sends the girls to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. Their education begins that day. Oakland, California is a far cry from their Brooklyn neighborhood, in more ways than one. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern must navigate their way from the way of life they've been taught by Big Ma, through the new and uncharted waters of the Black Panther movement in 1968 Oakland.
Cecile is distant, brusque, and refuses to allow the girls to enter her kitchen, making them eat take-out on the floor. Strangers visit her at night. Who is this mysterious woman who birthed them? What goes on behind her kitchen door?
Rita Williams-Garcia paints a historically accurate picture of 1968 California, of the civil rights movement as seen through the eyes of a young girl.

Read this book if.......
*you are interested in racial issues and the Civil Rights Movement
*you enjoy stories about sisters
*stories about meeting birth parents for the first time

Delphine is the eldest of three girls. Raised by her father and grandmother after her mother left the family when she was a toddler, she’s strong and responsible. On a trip from Brooklyn to Oakland, California to stay with her estranged mother, she’s in charge of her sisters. She has a lot of work to do, because when she gets to Oakland her mother is cold, unaffectionate, and unwilling to do basic things for the girls.

The girls aren’t allowed in the kitchen. There’s intrigue going on with her mother, what’s going on in her kitchen, and the men who surround them wearing berets. They’re the Black Panthers. Since their mother has them fend for themselves, they spend most of the day at a summer camp run by the Panthers. And while Delphine is getting takeout and caring for her sisters in other ways, she tries to break through her mother’s icy exterior.

This novel is captivating. It put me in the 60s, when so many social changes were taking place. The plot was amazing—I wasn’t bored for a second—and the characters felt so real that I couldn’t wait to get back together with them between readings. I didn’t want the book to end, but it did. I do have the sequel to look forward to.

Delphine and her two younger sisters are off to California to spend a month with their mother. Their mother who they haven't seen in seven years. Their mother is a poet who has renamed herself and she is active with the Black Panthers. It's the sixties and it's a crazy time with a crazy mother the girls really don't know...will they connect?

I love the sixties, and I loved this story about a black family in the sixties during the Black Power movement. It's a wonderfully new point of view for me. It was a delightful story with dynamic and fascinating characters.

In 1968, the world is in the midst of a great change. In April, Martin Luther King. Jr. is assassinated, and President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. The Black Panthers organize to promote Black Power in Oakland. All the news reports and history books rarely talk about the silent witnesses to these great societal changes. Who were the children? How did history change their lives?

In the summer of 1968, eleven year old Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, take a plane from Brooklyn to visit their mother Cecile in Oakland, California. Her father and Big Ma don't exactly approve of crazy Cecile, but keeping the children from their mother forever is not the solution either. As every good sister does, Delphine takes care of her younger sisters, especially now on this new journey and under instructions from her family to do so. Cecile isn't exactly a fairy tale mother. Rather than cook homemade meals, she gives them money to buy Chinese take-out. Cecile's kitchen is off limits. Strange men in Afros and black berets knock on her door demanding her assistance. Cecile sends her three daughters to a summer camp headed by the revolutionary Black Panthers. Delphine's summer in Oakland isn't exactly the kind of experience her teachers back home would expect in a "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essay!

In ONE CRAZY SUMMER, readers see the historical changes through the eyes of Delphine. With humor, honesty, and innocence, Delphine comments on the events unfolding before her in the way only a child can. Delphine is quite conscious of the differences between blacks and whites in society, yet she is also a girl who responds from her heart rather than from slogans or mandates from others. Delphine is intelligent, taking the initiative to educate herself and to protect her sisters, yet she is still a little girl who longs for a mother to protect her. In ONE CRAZY SUMMER, Delphine embarks on a journey that will change her forever, not only in the societal changes she witnesses but also a journey that will bring her closer to understanding her mother and herself.

ONE CRAZY SUMMER takes a reader into the heart of history through the eyes of a child. What better way to tell the story to young readers? Delphine's voice sees what history books do not. Through Delphine's eyes, Rita Williams-Garcia gives life to memorable characters who inspire the imagination. Delphine's innocence and intelligence pinpoint the essentials in a way a self-conscious adult does not. Her humor brings a delightful, refreshing view of the world before her, a view that tempers some of the tragic events that accompany the struggles of this era. No matter what one's age, young reader, young adult or adult, ONE CRAZY SUMMER leaves a reader with the wonderful lasting and speechless satisfaction of entering a world created by a master storyteller. In addition to young readers, ONE CRAZY SUMMER is very highly recommended to all those adults, white and black, who like Delphine and this reader, witnessed the unfolding of the Civil Rights Movement in their hometowns. Quite simply, no other story has spoken to me, or the child that I was back then, as does this novel. ONE CRAZY SUMMER gives voice to all those things seen, all those emotions, which often remain unspoken to others decades later. When I reached the last line of the author's notes, a tear of joy filled my eye from the thankfulness that Rita Williams-Garcia put this story in words. ONE CRAZY SUMMER is an outstanding book, a book this reader expects to win several awards.

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

Most fiction I read tends to be about white middle-class experiences. I also most often pick novels which depict my own experiences or are obviously so fantastical that they serve as purely escapist literature. If a book fits neither of these categories, chances are you will find me instead in the nonfiction section. One Crazy Summer is different from my typical read. It is the fictional experience of three sisters during the 1960's African-American revolution.

In certain ways, One Crazy Summer is about experiences which anyone can have. For example, Delphine and her sister struggle with abandonment issues, because their mom left them years ago to their father's care. As for our heroine, Delphine, she serves as a protector to her young sisters. Being the oldest naturally led to her also being the most responsible. She knows how to act quiet, say the right words to avoid danger, as well as to stay clean, cook, and shop for household items including groceries. Despite her maturity, she is only eleven. As such, she fears standing up to their mother whom they visit for four weeks. She also at times squabbles with her sisters, punches boys who tease her, and displays attitude towards prejudice shown her due to her sex, age, or color.

In other ways, One Crazy Summer is one particular time, place, and situation. The time is 1968. The place is Oakland, California. And the situation (according to the book flap) is "one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history". In the form of story, rather than through newspapers, biographies, or documentaries, One Crazy Summer educates us about the past. We learn about the Black Panther Party. We also learn about some real and fictional arrests, rallies, advertising, and revolution that occurred during the time period of the book. Finally, we learn about how children like Delphine and her sisters (who are eleven and younger) might have viewed, been effected by, or even helped bring about radical change.

In one touching and cute chapter, Dephine presents her case to her mother for buying a television. While we wait for a verdict, Delpine recalls how the sisters like to count all the shows with black characters, how many lines they were given, and even the number of commercials with black actors. In another heavier and more disturbing chapter, we are introduced to the first member of the Black Panthers. The police surprised the Black Panthers who fled inside a house for shelter. Little Bobby surrendered by taking off all his clothes except underwear to show he didn't have a gun. The police still shot and killed him. The news made Delphine angry but also afraid to protest. She now faces a choice about whether to retreat to the safety of her mother's home or to participate in a rally which holds potential for real danger.

As I noted earlier, this book is about experiences many of us share. On the lighter side, most of us have taken airplane trips, been teased about some cherished possession, stuck up for our siblings or friends, and felt attracted to the opposite sex. In one particularly fun chapter, the sisters travel by themselves on a bus to San Francisco. They see hippies, visit Chinatown, explore Fisherman's Wharf, and marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge. Yet this book is also about situations that not everyone experiences. Consider that twice during their trip, white people attempt to take pictures of the sisters as if they were zoo exhibits and not human beings. One Crazy Summer has strong characters, attitude and humor, which all help create an enjoyable read. It also however reveals tough truths about racism, which make it an important read.

In a recent trip to my library, I not only picked up lists of classics and genre books, but also books set in other places and about other cultures or dealing with tough topics and life changes. Hopefully, my reading experiences will continue to diversify over the upcoming months. For, after all, books should take us beyond our own experiences too.

Three sisters: Delphine, eleven years old; Vonetta, nine years old; and Fern, seven years old, travel from Brooklyn, New York, to Oakland, California, to visit their mother, Cecile. Delphine hasn't seen or heard from her mother once Cecile left right after Fern was born. As the oldest, Delphine is the responsible one-responsible for helping Big Ma around the house and responsible for her younger sisters. Why, after all this time are they going to Oakland to see their mother? Delphine and her sisters learn quite a bit in four weeks.

When I noticed that several of those who posted reviews at the store.com claimed that this story painted whites in a bad light, I decided to read it so that I could decide for myself. But even with a heightened sense of awareness about this issue, I believe that the accusations overstate the situation (though I had another issue with the story). This is the tale of three girls whose father and paternal grandmother send them off to California in the summer of 1968 to visit the mother who abandoned them years before for four weeks. Traveling alone (though under the watchful eye of flight attendants), they are the subject of scrutiny (a white woman at the airport offers them money; later in the story, a group of European tourists take their photo; and on the return trip, a white man at the airport tries to take their photo).

Once they arrive, their artist mother wants nothing to do with them. So they have to figure out things for themselves. Fortunately, the elder sister, an 11-year-old gutsy girl named Delphine, is very resourceful. She keeps watch over her younger sisters, keeps them sheltered and fed, and provides a link between her mother, siblings and her father and grandmother back home. The girls end up spending a lot of time at a sort of summer camp where Black Panthers try to inculcate their beliefs into young minds while providing social services. Initially, the girls keep going back for food, but eventually begin to bond with the (mostly) kind persons who work and spend time there. When their visit comes to a close, they have made some friends, learned a little bit about the Black Panthers, and a lot about why their mother is the way she is. My only problem with the plot is the disturbing truth behind the girls' parents' union, [stop reading now if you haven't read the book and don't want this part of the story spoiled for you] though I doubt many children will pick up what it means when a man gives a woman whose social situation forces her into accepting shelter, this thing (a roof over her head) but then takes advantage of her sexually. Better: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai, Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

The book I chose is One Crazy Summer. It was written by Rita Williams-Garcia. This book is about three sisters (Delphine, Vonetta and Fern) who flew from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to spend the summer with their mom. It was the summer of 1968 and the three sisters learned about the Black Panthers while trying to get to know their mom who left them many years ago.

My favorite character was the youngest sister, Fern. I like Fern because she is funny and says “surely” a lot. “Surely does!” My favorite part of the book was when Delphine, the oldest sister, had an argument with another character, Hirohito. Delphine called Hirohito a “China boy”. Then he asked, “China who?” and she said back, “China you!” It was funny because it reminded me of my brother and sister arguing. I did not like the ending though because they had to go home when they just got to know their mom. I wanted to know what happened next.

I liked this book! I would recommend this book because it is serious but also funny, interesting and entertaining. I think other kids will enjoy this book too. I give this book five stars!

Reagan Guy
Mrs. Molina
4th grade

Utterly charming. I finished in one sitting. The distinctive personalities, the touching on issues, the writing felt like a skipping stone: glancing over all of this depth. So many serious themes (abandonment, inequality, racism, responsibility) are touched on, not in a heavy handed way but more in fitting with the way a child may be right in the center of a situation but might not fully comprehend for years to come. Our narrator doesn't understand it all and that's just right for a child. The tone and style are almost poetic, leaving room to breathe and feel your own thoughts about it. I think this would be a great novel to open up discussion for my 5th and 6th grade students. Glad I have this novel in my library.

Award-winning young adult author Rita Williams-Garcia's first book aimed at tweens has been getting a lot of "buzz" in the children's book community, and I was eager to read it for myself. Set in Oakland in the turbulent summer of 1968, the story revolves around three sisters who are sent from New York to visit their mother, Cecile, for the summer.

Our narrator is the no-nonsense eldest sister, 11-year old Delphine, who is saddled with responsibility for watching out for her two younger siblings, Vonetta and Fern. Their dreams of a summer spent "riding wild waves on surfboards, picking oranges and apples off fruit trees, filling our autograph books with signatures from movie stars we'd see in soda shops, and...going to Disneyland" are soon shattered when they discover that their "Secret Agent Mother," a poet and a member of the Black Panthers, seems to not have a maternal bone in her body and wants nothing to do with them, not even remembering to give them dinner but finally sending them to the Chinese restaurant down the street for take-out. No one is allowed in her kitchen, where she writes poetry and keeps her printing press. She sends them off to an unusual day camp at The People's Center, run by the Black Panthers. At camp, Delphine has plenty of problems protecting her youngest sister Fern, who carries around a beloved white doll named Miss Patty Cake, from ridicule by the other children. In addition to free meals, the girls get "re-education" in revolutionary change, even though one of the girls says, "we didn't come for the revolution. We came for breakfast." But the girls learn that the Black Panthers are not just about "angry fist wavers with...their rifles ready for shooting." They are also about passing out toast and teaching in classrooms.

The author explores the different racial attitudes that existed in the 1960's with sensitivity but without shirking. While the girls wait for their mother to pick them up at the airport, for example, "A large white woman came and stood before us, clapping her hands like we were on display at the Bronx Zoo. 'Oh, my. What adorable dolls you are. My, my.'" The lady tries to give them nickels, which Delphine refuses. Another example is Delphine's explanation of colored counting, where "not only did we count how many colored people were on TV, we also counted the number of words the actors were given to say...and then there was a new show, Julia, coming out in September, starring Diahann Carroll. We agreed to shout out "Black Inifinity" when Julia came on because each episode would be all about her character."

Ms. Williams does a wonderful job capturing a unique voice for plain-spoken Delphine, who tells it like it is, narrating a story that takes place at an important time and place in our country's history. But the Black Panthers movement forms a backdrop for a novel that is essentially a family drama as three daughters try to work out their relationship with this not-very-maternal woman who is their mother. Her relationship with the girls is not sugar-coated, yet the novel is filled with humor and Ms. Williams' obvious affection for her characters.

I really fell hard for this book-I reviewed it for TeensReadToo.com and it recieve a Gold Star award from me-I loved it that much. It's hard to express how wonderful this book is and how much I adored it. I was pretty sure I would enjoy since I had been hearing a positive buzz around this book. But I was completely unexpected for how much this book would pull me in and not let go-I couldn't put it down.

This is a quiet book. It's not an action filled book, and there wasn't any suspense that made me keep turning pages. It was just the beautifully written story of three sisters discovering their mother and themselves. There was just something about it that really resonated with me as a reader and I had to keep reading this one-I couldn't stop.

The writing is superb-this is a middle grade novel, but the author never writes down to her audience and the characters are beautifully realistic and the dynamics between the sisters is spot-on. I loved Delphine-I think she's one of my new favorite characters in children's lit. In many ways she is wise beyond her years, being the oldest sister and having to care for her younger sisters and mediating their quarrels. But she's also a child herself and she lets herself finally be a child during this summer. The reader gets to know Delphine so much during the course of the book, that the reader ends up growing with her and Ms. Williams-Garcia pulls it off beautifully.

I think what I loved most, that even though this is a middle-grade tween book, there are so many layers that readers of all ages could read it get something different. I was honestly amazed at how much I fell into this book and how much I loved it.

One Crazy Summer has five starred reviews and I think it's extremely deserving. I really could keep gushing about this book, but instead you should get yourself a copy. This one is on my Newbery Award shortlist (along with The Night Fairy) Highly recommended for tweens and up.

This is a book that I want to tell you all about in quotes, because even in soundbites, it's so so good.

My sisters and I had stayed up practically all night California dreaming about what seemed like the other side of the world. We saw ourselves riding wild waves on surfboards, picking oranges and apples off fruit trees, filling out autograph books with signatures from movie stars we'd see in soda shops. Even better, we saw ourselves going to Disneyland.
p.3

But they don't go to Disneyland. They go to Black Panther Summer Camp. Delphine, Vonetta and Fern learn about the movement, about the Panthers themselves (who they've only seen in news stories), and about each other. Delphine, the only of the three who remembers her to begin with, also gets to learn about the mother that abandoned them.

But this isn't necessarily a book about the Black Panthers or the 60s or even finding a mother. This is mostly a sister book. There's Fern, the baby, who has carried around a (white) baby doll for as long as anyone can remember and is always ready to throw out a "surely" in support of her sisters. Vonetta who constantly seeks attention like the middle child she is, and is desperate to make friends with the most fashionable girls at camp, even at the expense of her sisters. Then there's Delphine. She promised her Pa she would take care of her younger sisters, like she always has, and it's her job to keep them out of trouble (and keep them from killing each other). She's saved up money to pay the fines on the books she checked out from the library to read to her sisters each night before bed. She plans activities for the three of them to do in order to make the most of their trip to California. She tries to stand in between her sisters and her mother; she remembers how crazy her mother can get. She's the leader.

It's Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, their relationship and interactions, that drive the story. They help each other get through what looks like a horrible situation until it becomes kind of fun. Together they're the Gaither sisters. They finish each others sentences, each knows just how to get under the other two's skin, and though they take sides two against one all the time, they all always stand up for each other in the end.

As the story progresses, the girls' mother becomes more of a real person than the dismissive, nervous woman who picked them up (late) from the airport. We also find out just how much Delphine remembers about her and how much she misses having a mother (even if she won't admit it). The relationship between Delphine and Cecile (their mother) is built on more understanding than either of them want to admit, and watching it unfold was one of the most moving parts of this story.

Overall, One Crazy Summer was a wonderful book and totally deserving of it's numerous awards! It has it all: history, humor, emotion, drama, and annoying but lovable little sisters!

Book source: Philly Free Library

When I read historical fiction for intermediate or young adult readers, I look for three things:

1. A well-written, engaging story that resonates as true to life.
2. Historical information that is subtly woven into the text and increases my knowledge of the time and place.
3. Poetic language. In other words, good use of figurative language communicated through imagery, metaphors, and similes.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia certainly meets the first two criteria.

Eleven-year-old Delphine is in charge of her two younger sisters as they fly to Oakland, California to visit their estranged mother. The year is 1968 and they haven't seen Cecile since she left when Fern, the youngest, was born seven years ago.

Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern find everything about their mother to be "crazy": her lack of maternal affection, her home, and her preoccupation with keeping her work a secret. Dismissively, the girls are told to spend their days at a Black Panthers summer camp. While there the girls learn about the movement and eventually, about the role that their mother and her poetry play in the organization.

Cecile's poetry is central to the plot, but ironically, the one thing that I felt the book lacked was poetic language. Here is an example of powerful imagery that I loved. I wished that Williams-Garcia had included more descriptions like this. Here Delphine is remembering a time back home in New York when she was a young girl:

Although no one thinks I can, I remember a time when smoke filled the house. Not coughing smoke but smoke from a woman's smooth-voiced singing, with piano, bass, and drums. All together these sounds made smoke. Uncle Darnell would say, "You can't remember that. You were two. Three, maybe." But I do. I still see, hear, and feel bits and flashes. The sounds of musical smoke....And when Uncle played the albums Cecile had left behind--the ones with piano, bass, drums, and smooth-voiced Sarah Vaughan--in my mind, smoke still filled the house. (p.81)

The image of music described as smoke filling a house is beautiful; and one that I will probably remember for months.

Although I expected that there would be some form of reconciliation between the family members before the ending; I was pleasantly surprised with how Williams-Garcia tied up the different story strands. I haven't come across many books that portray this time period so I think this novel fills a unique void in American historical fiction. Since there is only one minor male character, I think the book will appeal mainly to girls in 4-7th grade.

This book received 4 medals, which includes the Newberry Honor, Coretta Scott king award, national book award, and (I am assuming) PEN/Norma Klein Award.
This book is as exactly as it sounds: Three "colored" girl's adventure for their true mother. This book is also a solely first person viewed novel, with eleven-year-old Delphine as the host. She is the oldest of the girls which the book will be focusing on throughout the whole story. Delphine has two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. They get to go and pay a visit to their real mother over the summer, and learn many things they never expected to learn. Delphine still has memory flashbacks of the mother who abandoned her father and sisters for the reason she did not know.
This book is mainly about the days of discriminations on the skin colors. In the storyline, there are the black panthers, a group of black freedom fighters. After couples of days, they soon learn (the three girls) that their mother is one of the clauses and she is hiding something from them. Cecil (the girl's real mother) later still doesn't care of what her daughters do, but at least cares about them dearly, and in the end, she completely treats them like her kids.
This book is mostly about historical facts and family importance, so it is quite intriguing to me. Again it is a good book, if you are feeling like to read something over the night, this is the one(because I did too).

Grade 6-8
Equal Rights Movement 1960's Historical Fiction

One Crazy Summer tells the story of of three african american sisters who for one month out of their life meet the woman that gave birth tot them. The three sisters get the opportunity to spend the summer with their mother in California during the Equal Rights Movement. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern have grown to build a strong sister bond without the nurturing aspect only a mother can give to her daughters. Their father decides that its an appropriate time for them to visit their mother and learn the real reason why she left them so early in their life. Delphine,the oldest of the three sisters at the age of eleven, is the most mature and understanding of her environment.The sisters have the slightest idea of what is in toll for them at their mothers green stucco house where the kitchen is off limits and conversation is brief. The sisters begin to realize their summer with their mother was not going to be a reconciling over the time lost but learning about equal rights at a Black Panthers summer camp. The story is told through Delphine and her experiences she came across to that summer
I would introduce this book in the middle of a 1960's equal rights lesson. The book is pretty long and would be great to read out loud in the beginning of class during Black HIstory Month.
I enjoyed this book so much I have recommended others to read.

have lived a stranged life without the support of their mother and havehave always been raised by their father and grandmother

Summary:
Delphine was forced to grow up quicker than an eleven year old should. Her mother left her and her 2 sisters 7 years ago and since then, Delphine has been in charge. This doesn't change when the girls finally get to see their mother in Oakland, CA Cecile for a month during the summer of 1968- she wants nothing to do with them and Delphine, once again, has to take care of her sisters. The only guidance Cecile gives the girls is where the Chinese take-out restaurant is and how to get to the Black Panthers's summer camp where they have to spend most of their time. This summer makes Delphine and her sisters grow up even more.

What I Think:
Rita Williams-Garcia is a genius when it comes to characterization. The two books I've read by her have been VERY different, but the strength of the writing of characters was a constant in both stories. Each character is uniquely written, holds up in dialogue and are completely immersed in the story that Williams-Garcia has put them in. It is a beautiful thing and translates into fluid and poetic narrative. While reading and searching for snatches of text to share, I marked at least 17 different passages that I wanted to share. All in a novel that has a great story and history lesson rolled into one. You want to know what is going to happen to Delphine. You want to learn more about the Black Panthers. You have to keep reading because you want to know more.

In the summer of 1968, eleven year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are sent on an airplane from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to spend the summer with a mother who abandoned them just days after Fern was born. She is a complete stranger to the girls, and Delphine is not expecting much, but the reception is less than lukewarm, it's icy. Their mother Cecile lets them know right from the start that she wants nothing to do with them. She even refuses to use Fern's name, and calls her only "little girl."

Cecile sends the three girls to a Black Panther Community Center everyday so they can eat breakfast and lunch and stay out of her way while she works on her poetry. Delphine is given only enough money each day to bring home dinner, usually Chinese takeout, that the girls and their mother eat on the living room floor. No one is allowed in the kitchen where Cecile prints her poetry.

Author Rita Williams-Garcia beautifully portrays the relationship between the sisters in this story, capturing three very distinct personalities. At eleven years old, Delphine is already a mother figure to her little sisters and her care of them and her sense of responsibility touches your heart. The racial issues that the girls face, and their education at the Black Panther's People's Center, are handled in a sensitive yet thought-provoking way. One Crazy Summer, draws the reader into a historical time period and into the lives of three young girls. It is a delightful, heart-warming book.
-- Reviewed by Kristina Miranda

I gave this book as a gift to a 7th-grader whom I tutor in Washington, DC. I asked her to write a book review to help her practice her writing skills, but also to help other young readers decide whether they should read the book too. Her review appears below.

"Delphine, an 11 year old girl, with her two little sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are sent off by their father to visit their mother Cecile. Cecile lives in Oakland, California. Cecile walked out on them about 7 years ago; about the time Fern was born. This is truly about one crazy summer they spend with their mother. When they first arrive, every couple of nights, men with Afros come knocking at their door asking for materials. The girls later find out that Nzila, Cecile's poetry name, is a part of the Black Panthers and makes flyers for them to hang up and the men at the door were Black Panthers. The Black Panthers were freedom fighters and are trying to stand up to the Man. Later on, Cecile sends them to the Black Panthers camp. The Black Panthers are not a good program. They get Cecile arrested for it.

I would recommend this book to children around the ages of 10 to 14 because the other kids that were in the Black Panther camp were around this age range. The kids would be able to relate to the story better. This book is also realistic fiction. I also think that Ms. Williams-Garcia captured the time period perfectly because she read many articles and stories about this time period and found information on the Black Panthers.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story about a girl and her sisters trying to find out the missing pieces of their past and build a relationship with her mother. There was never a time when I wanted to put down this book. It grabs your attention and keeps it. I think that this book will really do well and I think that's why she won an award for it."

The bangles on the arm of Rita Williams-Garcia's character,Sister Mukumbu, triggered my memories of the late 1960's as I read this book. (As I recall, if women weren't wearing bangles, then they expressed themselves with tie-dye shirts and strongly scented oils - among other things). If any of this is familiar to you, then you'll really enjoy this book. If not, I invite you to take in the sights and sounds of people engaged in protest efforts during the late 1960's. Our attention is held by the actions of eleven-year old Delphine who bravely anchors herself to the adult role of supervising her younger sisters - Vonetta (who craves attention with such force that she'd be willing to go onstage during a riot) and Fern (who needs security with such passion that she hangs on to her Miss Patty Cake doll with a death grip). Flown to Oakland, CA (virtually against their will), they are destined to spend their summer with their seemingly indifferent mother, Cecile. Instead, the girls find themselves mostly in the care of the Black Panthers. They discover that the group is made up of brothers and sisters that hope to protect the poor by helping them with food, clothing, and medical needs - regardless of race. Written for those children who witnessed the turmoil of the 60's, and who were part of the necessary changes that subsequently grew from protest efforts, Rita Williams-Garcia does an impressive job of recreating the climate of the period - from a child's point of view. Richly steeped in the culture of the late 60's, this girl's story becomes a woman's story through a birth scene and through the changing view that the girls acquire of their mother (who turns out to be a poet). Although there are some moments when Delphine's maturity is almost too adult to believe, the characters are drawn with a bounty of realism and depth - and they are touching and memorable. The children in this book ultimately reveal that some of the protest violence of the 1960's wasn't about a bunch of kids acting out for the heck of it. It was, instead, about fighting to be included in the economy with sufficient depth to meet basic needs -which are universal to all human beings. A beautifully wrought book that certainly deserves its recent receipt of the Coretta Scott King Award!

One Crazy Summer takes place in Oakland, California in 1968. 11-year Delphine and her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern were abandoned by their mother Cecile seven years ago. The girls are sent to Oakland to spend one month with their mother. The girls are excited about the visit because they want to know why their mother left them, and get to know her better.
When they arrive, Cecile does not have much time for them, so she sends the girls to a summer camp sponsored by the Black Panther Party. While at the camp they learn about the Civil Rights movement, and attend rallies and protests.
One Crazy Summer is a very interesting story, because you cannot imagine the things that are mentioned in the book happening in our lives today. The story started out very sad, because the girls were abandoned by their mother when they were very young. I could not imagine living life without my mother. Reading the book made me feel grateful that I have my mother and father to take care of me. The book was educational because I learned some things about the Black Panther Party and how African Americans were treated during that time. One Crazy Summer was also funny to read about some of the exciting things the girls did for fun.
I would recommend this book to parents and children because it is a good book to read as a family. You will learn some things about history, and it will make you appreciate all that you have!

I can't understand how anyone would give this a 1 star rating. My six year old daughter and I just got done reading this book and we loved it from beginning to end. Yes I had to do a little extra research on my end to make sure I could explain things clearly to her, but that was a plus to me. We both learned from this book. Needing to know why the father sent them in the first place isn't really that relevant to me! It's their mother they and they should know her is enough for me. This is one of the best books we have ever read together. Just ordered P.S. Be Eleven and I'm vert excited about it!

This book is AWESOME for ALL children of color. We read this book as part of our home school lesson and my girls and I ENJOYED this book so much that we not wan to stop reading!! We are ready to move on the Be Eleven which is the next book to this series. Thank you for keeping US in mind when writing this book. My girls were able identify and relate with the sisters. We laughed so much!! It also reinforced our lesson plan about the BPP movement. THANK YOU MY SISTER!!

This book is not what I imagined it would be about. The story was told through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl who have been abandoned by her mother as a young child. While trying to bond with her mother during a four week visit the protagonist has a deeper understanding of her race, the history of the Black Panthers and why her mother deserted her. I am not sure if children can relate to the message in the book due to the time period of the setting.

Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are off to Oakland, CA to spend the summer with their mother, Cecile. But this is no happy reunion, and Oakland is not all sunshine and Disneyland. Cecile wants next to nothing to do with her daughters, having walked out on them 7 years earlier. Plus, it's 1968, and the Black Panthers are working hard in this poor community to gain rights and spread the word.

Cecile, or Sister Nzila, is involved, albeit grudgingly, in the cause. Throughout the four weeks they spend in Oakland, Delphine and her sisters get mixed up in one thing after another, attending the Black Panthers day camp and learning about the revolution and its people.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and the recipient of a Newbery Honor, this middle grade novel certainly deserves them. Narrated by 11-year-old Delphine, the writing is sharp and to the point. Delphine doesn't dance around issues (unless it comes to her own feelings about certain things). The writing is excellent, with language perfect for older elementary students and middle schoolers. I was pulled right into the story, could feel the tension between Cecile and her daughters, the unspoken words that Delphine was just dying to say yet too afraid to let out.

I loved how all of the characters were so fully realized. Cecile in particular struck me as particularly complex and layered. It's clear she never really wanted to be a mother, at least not in the traditional sense. She doesn't take care of her children as a mother is expected to, and many would say she is a bad mother. But she knows what she's fighting for, and will not back down in the face of oppression. She's passionate about her poetry; Delphine calls it praying, as Cecile bends over her work. Cecile is an incredibly strong and independent woman, admirable at least for that, even though she proves herself to be very flawed in other regards.

And how many books for younger readers are there about the Black Panthers? I learned a lot from this book about that part of American history; not much of it was covered during my formal education besides a few mentions in AP U.S. Names are mentioned and a bit of their histories are thrown in, and interested readers are given just enough to find more information through their own research. (This would be a great companion to a school unit about the Civil Rights Movement.)

Williams-Garcia writes this in her acknowledgments: "I wanted to write this story for those children who witnessed and were part of necessary change. Yes. There were children" (p 217). I will not forget anytime soon that children were involved in this revolution, thanks to Delphine and One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer takes place in the summer of 1968, a year of tumultuous change in the United States. Eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are on their first airplane ride to Oakland to visit their mother who abandoned them seven years ago. They are filled with both trepidation and excitement, as they leave the safety of their dad and grandma to reacquaint themselves with a mother who didn't want them.

Delphine tells their story and her voice rings loud and clear. She is the oldest and takes her responsibilities seriously. She is in charge of her sisters, and makes sure that they (and everyone else) understand that. The other sisters are beautifully drawn also. Vonetta is all "ham and show," always itching to be the center of attention. And Fern is the baby of the family, a tad needy and always clutching her baby doll.

When the girls meet their mother, Cecile, their worst fears are realized. She's late to pick them up at the airport, no hugs, clipped sentences and no home cooked meals. She's not exactly vying for mother of the year. She's a poet, and her kitchen is mysteriously off limits to the kids. She hands them money for take-out Chinese food, and forces them to attend a Black Panther-sponsored summer day camp.

As readers we learn so much about what was going on at the time, and we see it through the eyes of these three young sisters. We watch as they come to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panthers, Huey Lewis and the true meaning of Revolution. When Delphine learns that they are supposed to participate in a rally, her fear is palpable. She's worried about the danger and tells one of the counselors that she doesn't want to participate, that she has to take care of her sisters. Sister Mukumbu tells her:

"We look out for each other. The rally is one way of looking out for all of our sisters. All of our brothers. Unity, Sister Delphine. We have to stand united."

Williams-Garcia does a beautiful job depicting the charged atmosphere that was such a part of the summer of 1968. And while there's danger in the air, there's also an incredible feeling of community amongst the people involved at the "summer camp." The rally is a pivotal point for each of the girls. For in their own ways, each one of them changes and matures during their month in Oakland. Their initial perceptions of many things are challenged, and by the end of the month they see things very differently.

One of the most satisfying aspects of the book for me is Delphine's journey. She discovers so much about herself, and about the mother that left her. For although Cecile never emerges as any sort of mother role model, you get a better sense of who she is, and why she did what she did.

One Crazy Summer is one of those rare middle-grade books that I didn't want to end. Williams-Garcia does a masterful job writing about a time period I think kids will find fascinating and educational. There's no better way to learn about about history than by viewing it through the eyes of a child. Delphine is the perfect narrator for one of the most fascinating, turbulent periods of American history. I highly recommend One Crazy Summer.

I want to encourage everyone to read ONE CRAZY SUMMER about three children who were sent to Oakland, CA to live with their crazy mother during the summer of 1968. These resilient girls, led by eleven-year-old Delphine, learn to fend for themselves, attending a free summer camp run by the Black Panthers. They eat breakfast every morning by joining a food line and learn some valuable lessons of what it means to have freedom, civil rights, and a strong personal identity. Their mother is not a likable character - she's selfish, uncaring, and detached. But not all is lost as Delphine gains some insight into the reasons behind her mother's actions toward her children. A historically powerful novel, this is a perfect addition to every middle grade classroom.
ONE CRAZY SUMMER is definitely deserving of its Newberry Honor, National Book Award Finalist Award, and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award.
I received a copy of this novel at the BEA.

Children who read One Crazy Summer will feel as if they thrown into the Twilignt Zone. In other words many readers will not realize that the plot of the story portrays the lives of many people who lived the 1960's in Oakland, CA. Yet, I didn't like the portrayal of Cecil, the mother of the children, as an uncaring mamma. However, that is my personal opinion. Most important, it does not in any way take way from this powerful story. In addition, I applaud the author's decision not let the children talk Cecil into giving them a TV, she bought them a radio. African American kids watch more than TV any other ethical groups which is probably a factor in African American students achieving the lowest SAT scores in this country- see the 2011 Northwestern University Study, "Children, Media, and Race
Media Use Among Whites, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American Children." Finally, I think that many kids would enjoy learning about the Black Panthers from this inspiring work of fiction.

Over the last couple of years, I have had quite a few books connected with the Civil Rights movement come across my TBR pile. Most of them have been excellent, and I have learned something from all of them, whether I was reading historical fiction or historical accounts. Rita Williams Garcia introduced me to yet another aspect of those years that I knew next-to-nothing about in her novel One Crazy Summer (Scholastic 2010).
Delphine leads her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, to visit the mother who left them. They fly across the country to Oakland, California, for the summer of 1968, to get to know the mysterious Cecile. Even once they are living in her house, Cecile remains a mystery, but Delphine is not stubborn and bossy for nothing. She will do whatever it takes to protect her sisters and get answers from Cecile. She might even learn something about herself along the way.
Delphine’s first surprise (after Cecile kicks them out of the house for the day) is her encounter with the Black Panthers. Behind the headlines she heard back in New York City, she discovers that the Black Panthers distribute food to hungry children in the neighborhood and run a day camp for kids at the Community Center. Before she quite knows how it happens, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are practicing parts to perform in a demonstration at the community park. Before the demonstration is over, will encounter even more surprises.
Williams-Garcia tackles some serious issues in this novel–racism, abandonment, and families–and she does it with wit and humor. Delphine is an unforgettable character, who is much stronger than she realizes. As she finds her voice, she discovers the power of poetry and the power of the people and the power of herself.

Eleven-year-old Delphine and her two sisters, Vonetta and Fern, live with their father and Big Ma, their guiding light grandmother, in Brooklyn. Their birth mother, Cecile, is in Oakland, California, doing her own thing during the summer of 1968. However, against her wishes, Delphine must spend her summer vacation with Cecile. She hopes she can put together some of the mysteries of her childhood and her mother's life, but is not excited about leaving home and having to continue to take care of her younger sisters in a strange place.

Cecile is a revolutionary, and having kids isn't really her main focus. She isn't a completely absent mom, but neither is she a particularly curious or protective one. She works with the Black Panthers, the revolutionary black movement that fostered controversy throughout the late '60s and early '70s. Like their Greenwich Village equivalents, these activists saw their activities as upstanding and necessary as a response to the craziness of the world at the time. It's a fascinating period to set a coming-of-age story against, and Rita Williams-Garcia does it without making the story too dark or frightening.

ONE CRAZY SUMMER captures both the unpredictable energy of the time and sets Delphine and her sisters right down in the midst of the some of the most politically charged and psychedelic experiences that closed out a decade of extreme change in the United States. When Cecile ends up getting arrested, the girls, especially Delphine, learn a valuable lesson about political intent and the democratic system. Delphine is a thoughtful, sweet 11-year-old, so the author has the opportunity to see this remarkable cultural period through new but attentive eyes, which makes the book a genuine page turner as well.

Family is such an average topic for books written for this audience, but Williams-Garcia finds new and interesting ways to discover the ins and outs of "family" in various incarnations. The Panthers are a family, too, and Cecile finds them easier to deal with than the family she created biologically. But as time goes on, her maternal instincts start to make an appearance, and she and her girls find common and uncontroversial ground they can tread together towards a new future where their own family shares Cecile's favors with her political family.

ONE CRAZY SUMMER is an excellent book --- brave, bold, funny, sad and endlessly interesting --- and will start many worthwhile discussions with your favorite young reader.

#18 Book Read in 2012
One Crazy Summer (YA)

Delphine and her two sisters have grown up without their mother; she left them and moved cross country. When Delphine is 11 she and her sisters are flown out to CA to spend a month with their mother. Their mother has cahnged her name and is involved with the Black Panthers. She is distant from the girls. Delphine begins to learn about the organization and what they are fighting for and also learns about her mother.

This was a good, quick read. I did not know much about the Black Panthers and this book does not go into overwhelming detail about the organization but gives some background on it. The sisters are well written and I was curious to see what sort of relationship they would have with their mother by the end of the book.

I borrowed this book from the public library.

[...]

Gold Star Award Winner!

It's 1968 and Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are being sent to California to visit the mother that abandoned them soon after Fern was born. The girls have grand ideas about a mother who will hug them and take them to Disneyland.

Instead, their mother, Cecile, doesn't want anything to do with them, cares more about her poetry, and sends them for Chinese take-out every night. She's more concerned about her work and sends the girls to a Blank Panther-run summer camp during the day. The girls learn about revolution and family in a summer they will never forget.

It's hard to express how wonderful this book is and how much I adored it. I was pretty sure I would enjoy it, since I had been hearing a positive buzz. But I was completely unprepared for how much this book would pull me in and not let go. I couldn't put it down.

This is a quiet book. It's not an action filled book, and there wasn't any suspense that made me keep turning pages. It was just the beautifully written story of three sisters discovering their mother and themselves. There was just something about it that really resonated with me as a reader and I had to keep reading this one; I couldn't stop.

The writing is superb. This is a middle grade novel, but the author never writes down to her audience, and the characters are beautifully realistic and the dynamics between the sisters is spot-on. I loved Delphine - I think she's one of my new favorite characters in children's lit. In many ways, she is wise beyond her years, being the oldest sister and having to care for her younger sisters and mediating their quarrels. But she's also a child herself, and she lets herself finally be a child during this summer. The reader gets to know Delphine so much during the course of the story that the reader ends up growing with her - and Ms. Williams-Garcia pulls it off beautifully.

I really could keep gushing about this book, but instead you should get yourself a copy. Highly recommended for tweens and up.

Reviewed by: Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen

Coretta Scott King Award winning author, Rita Williams-Garcia, writes the story of three sisters and their unforgettable summer. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern leave their grandmother, Big Ma, and father to travel across the country to Oakland, California to meet their mother whom they haven’t seen in seven years. When they arrive in Oakland their mother, Cecile, is distant and acts more like a “secret agent” than a mom, and is unhappy with her sudden parental responsibilities. Not only is Cecile unwilling when it comes to parenting, the sisters soon notice that she jumps every time there is a noise at the door and is very secretive about her kitchen. She wears disguises when out in public, and even goes by a different name. To escape her parenting duties, Cecile sends the girls to a Black Panther run community center. The center is a summer camp program that provides breakfast for the community and teaches children about the Black Panthers and the Black Power Movement.

The story is narrated by the eldest daughter Delphine as she struggles to understand the mother who abandoned her, take care of two younger sisters, and find her place in the Black Panther Party. As their crazy summer continues, the sisters grow as they learn more about the organization and their mother. Williams-Garcia is able to successfully write a story about adventure and discovery while simultaneously teaching about the historical context of the Black Power Movement. The topics were easy to understand, and presented cultural history in a way that was interesting and easy to learn for children and young adults.

Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer does a wonderful job writing this touching story about three girls, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern who experience a summer like no other. They were abandoned by their mother seven years prior and are sent by their father to get to know her. They travel from their home in Brooklyn to see their mother in Oakland, California that they do not know. Unfortunately, they are not welcomed by her and are forced to care for themselves, but luckily they already know how. The mother demands that they stay at the People's Center after eating breakfast there, they must not to leave, and they must join the Black Panther Camp. Delphine, the eldest, had hopes for her mother but comes to terms that she is crazy. The author takes the reader through a wonderful story filled with black history, black pride, and the Black Panther movement. I personally enjoyed it. This would be a great book that could be included in the classroom library or perhaps used in a history lesson. I think I will definitely include it on my books over "history."

Delphine, Vonetta and Fern experience an unusual summer with their estranged mother Cecile in Oakland, California, in 1968. This book takes a more realistic look at the Black Panther Party and the things they tried to achieve in the Black American community. Upon arrival and the very next day their mother Cecile sent her daughters to the community center for a free breakfast, where they stayed and learned what is happening in society. Cecile, a poet and activist in her own right, though not motherly or loving, slowly reconnects with her daughters. These are the children of revolution who learned their rights and helped the Black Panther Party meet the basic needs of people through community service. Williams-Garcia threads the history through this book from the perspective of an eleven-year old girl Delphine, who is seeking the approval of the mother she never knew, and experiences the first romantic curiosity with a boy named Hirohito.
Winner of Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and a Newbery Honor Book, Williams-Garcia does an incredible job in showing the concept of double consciousness and two-toned sensibility in Black Literature. It also became starkly clear to me how hard it is for someone to constantly be aware of where they are and who they’re talking to, and switch behavior and language according to their audience. The fact that it still happens today shows us how much we still have to understand and work on. This one crazy summer is life changing not only for Delphine and her sisters, but also for me.

In the summer of 1968, three sisters, Vonetta, Fern, and Delphine, travel across the country to California to meet the mother who had abandoned them years before. One Crazy Summer, a historical tale that is both funny and powerful, is a story about family, friends, and sacrifice. More than just a retelling of a tumultuous year in American history, One Crazy Summer is a novel that provides new perspectives to its readers. The Black Panthers, a topic not typically broached in children’s literature, blends seamlessly into the story of the three sisters when they are sent to a community center run by the group. New York Times Bestselling Author, Rita Williams-Garcia, thoughtfully redefines how readers should look at the Black Panthers, by addressing misconceptions through the eyes of the sisters and their family. The character of Cecile, the children’s mother, is one example of the complex nature of the novel’s characters and the interest it holds for a broad audience. While Cecile, “mammal birth giver, alive, an abandoner,” may seem to be a straightforward villain for children reading the book, adults and older teens, with a greater understanding of the social turmoil of the time, may have a deeper understanding of her character. One Crazy Summer has won many awards including the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, the Coretta Scott King Award, and was a National Book Award Finalist. This funny, moving, and powerful novel is a must read for children and adults alike.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, and Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated two months after Martin Luther King Jr. These three men were huge influences in the Black community, but they weren’t the only influences.

Classrooms and textbooks rarely discuss the other side of the 1960’s: The Black Panther Party. In One Crazy Summer, three sisters are similar to many children today. They knew a lot about Martin Luther King Jr. and his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement; however, they knew very little about the Black Panther Party.

Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, take a summer trip to Oakland, California in 1968 to visit their mother, Cecile. Cecile, a member of the Black Panther Party, is not your typical mother. She doesn’t show her children much attention and she doesn’t give them the love they’re yearning for; however, she introduces them to a new world where they learn about the true meaning of the Black Panther Party. Although skeptical at the beginning, Delphine and her sisters’ warm up to the various topics they’re learning from different Black Panther members.
Although the purpose of their summer trip was to find love from their mother, Delphine and her sisters gain a lot more. They learn about Huey Newton, Bobby Hutton, and the purpose of the Black Panther Party. They learn why knowledge and power in the Black community is so important. They learn why it’s important to love being Black.

The summer of 1968 brings many changes for first-person narrator Delphine Gaither and her two sisters, Vonetta and Fern when their father send them to Oakland, California to visit their estranged mother, Cecile. Delphine, 11, is the responsible, caring, and mature mother to Vonetta, 9, and Fern, 7, which Cecile would have been. They arrive from Brooklyn, where they live with their father and Big Ma, with the dreams of meeting Tinker Bell, but their dreams are shattered by Cecile who wants nothing to do with when they arrive and sends them to a camp run by the Black Panther Party. Through the story of these three young girls, readers are able to see the historical changes in the 1960s and the personal journey that brings her closer to understanding the events of the Black Power Movement and the relationship between herself and her mother.

Williams-Garcia introduces the readers to the three girls are chaotic and eventful summer as they navigate the foreign city with Black Panther Party members and a neglectful mother. The girls’ interactions with the Party sheds a positive light, showing the good deeds they do for the community. Newbery Medal winner Williams-Garcia offers a fictional account of real-life events in the eyes of an eleven-year-old that uncovers a multitude of themes about the radical time of 1968. The presence and portrayal of the Black Panther Party sparks conversations of Civil Right, injustice, black pride, and racial prejudice. Giving the mother the freedom to write poetry.

One Crazy Summer is a story of three girls who travel across the country to visit a mother who never wanted them. At first, I was drawn to this book because of the picture on the cover that showed three sisters walking together. It reminded me of my sisters and me and I thought that I would be able to relate to this book. But this book is much more than a story about family, it takes you on a journey back to the year 1968 and the civil rights movement. Upon their arrival in Oakland, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern find themselves in the midst of the Black Panther Party, a group founded to empower African Americans. To their surprise their mother is an integral part to the party and tells them they must attend a Black Panther summer camp. I found this book to be a great source of historical fiction because it taught me a lot about what life was like to be an African American during the civil rights movement and how they had to fight for their rights. Seeing this time period through a child's perspective made the plot even more fascinating because we do not have any historical figures from that time period that were young and could be relatable for children. Delphine proved to be the role model of the story as she always put her sister's needs before her own and always kept a level head throughout this `crazy summer.' Williams-Garcia did a wonderful job of making all of her characters authentic and consistent to the time period which made this such a realistic story. Although I did not get the neat, happy-ending I wanted, it answered many of the questions I had throughout reading this book. I never felt any compassion towards the girl's mother, Cecile/Nzila until the very last few pages of the book. Williams-Garcia uses Delphine's thoughts and reflections to give us a glimpse of the reasons behind Cecile's actions and we are able to understand why she did what she did. Overall, I thought it was a good book but not one I would feel inclined to read again.

Great way to explore the Black Panther party and how it compares to the other civil rights movement methods of the 1960's era. Also ripe for connections to current events in Ferguson and across the country in regards to police actions toward minorities. I've read it with my 6th grade Language Arts class the last two years and found it to be a ripe jumping off point for deeper conversations!

One Crazy Summer

I love the sixties, and anything about the sixties. Many middle school students, girls in particular, go through a stage where they dig the sixties, too. It's no wonder; the sixties were an exciting time, and there was a lot going on: the music, the protests, the flower children, the Black Panthers. One Crazy Summer, a National Book Award Finalist, is an evocative depiction of this happening time. The story is told by Delphine, an eleven year-old girl, who, along with her two sisters, Vonette, nine, and Fern, seven, lives in Brooklyn with Pa and Big Ma, her paternal grandmother. The girls' mother Cecile, a poet, left them when Fern was a baby and now resides in Oakland, California.

In the summer of 1968, Pa decides it is time for them to go visit their mother. Delphine dreams of Disneyland, sunshine, and movie stars, but when they get to California, they find it considerably less magical. Cecile has no time for them: She is busy writing poetry on the walls and printing flyers for the Black Panthers. Instead of Disneyland, they are sent to the Black Panther Community Center every morning for breakfast. They stay to play in the park and take classes from the Panthers. Every night they eat takeout Chinese because Cecile does not want them in the kitchen. After a time, Delphine decides to buy groceries and cook dinner herself because takeout food is sometime food, not for everyday eating. Against Cecile's wishes, Delphine insinuates herself into the kitchen, where she cooks and cleans, but leaves Cecile's work alone.

Although she doesn't get to Disneyland, Delphine does treat her sisters to a San Francisco excursion, just the kind of day-trip I'd like to take. When they step off the bus, they are greeted by hippies and flower children. They visit Chinatown, where they eat dumplings and window shop, and then climb aboard a cable car and head to Fisherman's Wharf to see the Golden Gate Bridge. Some intrigue and surprises await the sisters upon their return to Oakland.

One Crazy Summer is a good peek back into the turbulent sixties, one that middle school readers will enjoy, and presents several interesting issues to get them rapping. One of the questions this book poses is what is a woman's place? To take care of her children? To practice her art? As the summer unfolds, Delphine and her sisters forge a new relationship with their reluctant mother, and she with them. As impossible as it would seem to empathize with a mother who has deserted her children, by book's end Williams-Garcia has me doing just that. Also, she challenges the stereotype of the Black Panthers as an extremely violent organization outside the law. I knew that the Black Panthers were at times unfairly targeted by the law; unarmed Bobby Hutton, for instance, had been gunned down by the police, but I certainly never considered the organization as nurturing. Yet, in One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia presents us with just that. At the Black Panther Community Center, children of all races are fed, and black children are taught pride and strength and unity.

[...]

One Crazy Summer follows the journey of three African-American sisters as they visit their estranged mother in 1968 Oakland, California. Traveling from Brooklyn, NY to California is a journey in itself but the real adventure begins when the girls encounter their mother for the first time and spend the next four weeks trying to understand her and her absence from their lives. This story also chronicles the Black Panther movement of the time and the role it played in all the lives of the characters of the book. When all is said and done, it really was one crazy summer!

Rita-Williams Garcia hooks the reader from the beginning as she begins the tale by describing the three sisters: Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. Your heart is hooked from the start as these inseparable sisters embark on their month-long excursion to California. It is clear from the beginning the oldest, Delphine, is in charge and the care-taker to her sisters. The book is also written from her perspective and her voice. Vonetta, the middle sister is the show-off, the ham, who loves accolades but also deeply loves her sisters. Fern, the baby of the family, brings joy and laughter to this trio and shows her true colors towards the end of their journey. You can't help but love these three and cheer for them on their voyage of self-discovery and adventure. Their story of survival is inspiring as they combat racism, abandonment, and identity issues with strength, courage, and wisdom beyond their years.

This book is easy to read and Rita-Williams Garcia does a great job of developing the characters and drawing the reader into their lives and the adventures they encounter along the way. She also does well in incorporating the black panther movement and its impact on the girls, their mother, and the surrounding community. She gives a view of the movement that was unknown to me and does so through the eyes of the sisters. This story is sweet and would be great for teens who understand the effects of racism but also for those who have never experienced it or the time period of this piece. One Crazy Summer is enlightening, entertaining, and heart-wrenching tale of three sisters who survive and thrive on journey they will never forget.

Now and again I like to read YA books so that I might recommend them to others (young folks, educators, parents...). I thoroughly enjoyed One Crazy Summer and now my daughter is reading it. I appreciated the development of the characters and how more was revealed as we approached the end of the book, end of the visit. It also encouraged me to reflect on the complex relationships that exist between mothers and daughters...most are doing the best they can with what they have, what they know and who they are. I highly recommend this book.

I picked up this book at a book festival nearly 2 years ago. I'm happy I finally got around to reading it. It's a wonderful story. The story focus on three sisters in the voice of the oldest sister Delphine.
I won't give away any of the story but I recommend this book for both boys and girls. It's lessons to be learned.

An Outstanding read!

This book was witty, humorous, thought provoking, profound and Historical.
The author painted a flawless picture about three young sisters who travel to Oakland California in 1968 to visit the mother who abandoned them. This book will take you on a journey that will stay with you for a very long time. This book is definitely a keeper. Bravo to Rita Williams-Garcia for a job well done!

Delphine doesn't know what to expect when she and her two little sisters fly cross-country in the summer of 1968 to visit Cecile, the mother who left them years earlier. Cecile, a dedicated poet, considers the girls an unwanted distraction, and sends them to attend a summer camp run by the Black Panthers. The story of this unforgettable summer isn't just a tale of a mother and her daughters, but of a child rediscovering and embracing her racial identity. Lyrical prose and fully-explored characters make this an excellent read for any age. Recommended for Ages 9-12.

don't think younger children learn about the Black Panthers till 7th or 8th grade and I like how One Crazy Summer is a book for younger kids about a part of African American (and ultimately, American) history that is not always talked about.

The characters are well written with interesting characteristics. Anyone who is the oldest of siblings will identify with Delphine. Delphine was my favorite (in large part due to her being the oldest as I am so I could identify with her), although at times I felt that she acted a bit too grown-up for her age (she's entering the sixth grade), but then again that is common with the oldest. Delphine is very candid and she was definitely the best choice to narrate the story. Vonetta is the second youngest and she's struggling between having loyalty to her sisters and being accepted by the children of Oakland who also attend the Black Panthers People's Center. The children especially like to make fun of Fern because she carries a white doll around with her all the time and they think she's ashamed to be black. This embarrasses Vonetta. Fern is a cute, precocious child (I think between the age of 5-7) who has one of the best scenes in the whole book at the end.

Learning about the Black Panthers through the girls' eyes is one of the best parts of the book. They see this strange African American men who wear all black, black berets and have Afros. They refer to each other as "brother" and "sister". Oftentimes we only see negative images of the Black Panthers and although they were violent, they also had a number of good programs. They offered free breakfast to kids, educated the and taught them to be Black and proud. I also loved reading about famous African Americans of the time, including Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali, I never knew his non-Muslim name was Cassius Clay!).

The ending is satisfying and I would be interested in seeing a sequel when the girls are older. One Crazy Summer has a little bit of everything; history, action, romance and humor.

I disliked this book from beginning to end. It was assigned to my 6th grader for a summer project. The book is about three girls who go to visit their mother who abandoned them when the youngest was an infant. Their father and grandmother seem to be good people who really care about them. Their mother couldn't care less, and she says in the book that she should have gone to Mexico and got rid of them when she had the chance. After being with their mother and her environment, they end up having taken up some of her attitudes over what thier father and grandmother taught them. Part of my dislike of this book was that it was assigned to 6th graders and touched on events they know nothing about, framed in ways that leave them without an understanding, and the questions they were assigned were worthless - asked what book one sister read to them, which was really insignificant, especially in light of the material presented. This book, if it is read by kids at all, really needs to be read with a parent who has an understanding of the history of the 1960's. I would skip this and find one that is more uplifting, where the characters grow to be better people.

The description on the back cover describes a "heartbreaking, funny tale." There is nothing funny about this story. Imagine my surprise as I read with my 8-year-old about the Black Panthers, child abandonment, child neglect, and a mother who tells her youngest child that she should have went to Mexico [to have an abortion] rather than give birth to her. Why would the father and grandmother blindly send the girls off for an entire month to be left in the care of the mother who had abandoned them - a woman who has no job and no phone? Cecile's cold demeanor and child neglect is cringeworthy. She tells them that if they want to eat, they must walk (alone in an unfamiliar city) to a Black Panther center, and to not bother returning to the house until evening. She gets arrested, and the children are alone for days. Cecile eventually tells her 11-year-old daughter about her own mother dying, being treated badly by her aunt, and being homeless at age 16 when she accepted an offer from a man and his brother to stay at their home. This would eventually be the girls' father. The Black Panthers are portrayed as heroes, although the press reports them as violent. The Black Panther-run community center has a summer day camp for children. The kids use crayons and markers to make protest signs, and are taught how to "deal with the police." WOW. This is a disturbing read for kids.

Even though i have one more chapter of the book left i have to say i love this book. it tells you about the story of three girls whos mother abandoned them years ago. he makes them eat chinese dinners in the living room won't spend time with her daughters. instead she sends them to a free breakfast at the center then go to a Sumner camp about teaching childeren there rights. when delphine decides she has had enogh shetakes charge and trys to run the house.
VERY EXCELLENT BOOK FOR KIDS.

One Crazy Summer written by, Rita Willams Garcia, Is a strong, powerful story, with strong, powerful characters. It's a tale of three sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, each of whom have a powerful voice. Delphine is the wise, motherly, oldest sister who keeps close watch over Vonetta and Fern. The dialogue used between the characters suggests an interesting story from the very beginning as they travel on a plane to visit their cold, distant mother. The sisters are literally biting down on their fears as they embark on this journey. Furthermore, One Crazy Summer is memorable story filled with cultural insight and unique, family bonds. It is an all-consuming read that is sure to jolt the emotions of its audience.

This is not a fun or even intriguing historical fiction novel to read, though it may be useful in junior or senior high as a resource in the study of the history of race relations. One should not generalize from this telling on aspects of black family life: A mother who fails at mothering, a black grandmother who prefers the "establishment" ways too often, a father who shacked up with a too-young "woman"--producing three children; a woman who eventually abandons the partnership and her own children. In other words, it's to be taken as a tragic tale about the breaking up of a family which happens to be black--and what that entails--in the latter 60s in the United States.

The book is basically about an independent-minded, eleven-year-old Delphine (who is the teller of the tale), and her mother, Cecile, who has long since abandoned her and her sisters (and still doesn't seem to much care about them). It's also about the determination and resourcefulness of Delphine in trying to understand her disappointing mother. Nevertheless, I often wonder why the author doesn't concentrate on Delphine's father who got her mother pregnant at the young age of 16 and eventually fosters three girls, all of whom become characters in the story.

Although the author lets the mother, Cecile, off rather easy at the end of the book--because this character had a hard-way-to-go when she was a child and teen--the truth remains that she is basically unaffectionate and self-centered when it comes to interpersonal relations, even if she is more altruistic when it come to being devoted to black causes and equal justice for all.

A few reviewers complain that today's young people won't understand the story as well as they could because they've never heard of the Black Panthers nor are familiar with some other historical content. But I feel the comments and context make it clear that such references deal with black groups fighting for equality and against being discriminated against by the white establishment and its cultural enforcers, the white police.

What kept me reading was my curiosity about whether Cecile, the mother, would change in her relationship with her daughters. She indirectly spoke to her youngest daughter with "Should have gone to Mexico to get rid of you when I had the chance." She remained consistently unaffectionate and aloof and resentful that her daughters were even visiting her at the urging of their father, her former partner: "Didn't ask no one to send you here, no way" and, likewise, "No one told y'all to come out here [from New York City to California]."

And thus the story unfolds with a resentful "mother" and her equally disappointed and resentful children who have been basically strangers to each other. In some ways that makes for an interesting read, in other ways not--and as the title says, it is one crazy summer visit.

Apparently, this book is better received than not since it has a sequel. I am not enamored enough to follow the characters.

Historical Fiction Junior Novel: Grade 5 or 6 through Senior High

This book was a glimpse into a formative time in U.S. history, told from the perspective of an 11-year-old girl. It brought the social welfare work of the Black Panthers to life, as well as some of the real-life problems the Panthers and their community faced. I am grateful to have found this book.

My 10 year old daughter read this book in just one weekend. She loved it. This is what she had to say about it....

" One Crazy Summer is an hilarious book. Join Delphine,Vonetta,and Fern in Oakland California in the summer of 1968. After flying from Brooklyn to see thier runaway mother,they find themselves doing unexpected activitives and all the while partipating in a big pot of trouble. From going to Black Panther "Summer School" to not being aloud in their mothers kithen, they find strange actions and ideas. Then all of a sudden they are swepted up into Black Panther riots and arrests. Then after alittle struggling,weeping,and strength,thier is finally peace and happiness. Before they know it thier crazy summer is over and they are flying back to Brooklyn."

I am a conservative woman who chose to read this book as I am looking for books to recommend to my kids. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. It is written in first person from Delphine's, the eldest sister, point of view. Her deadpan "statement of facts" way of telling the story is funny. She is in situations that have the potential to be very emotional, yet she reports the events as just mere facts which makes it funny. I really liked the way the struggles of racism were told in personal ways, like hearing what a cop calls your beloved dad, counting the "colored" people on tv, and being warned by Big Ma (grandma) not to make a "grand negro spectacle" in front of white people made the racism personal and exposed how ridiculous and hurtful racism is.

The reason I don't rate it higher than 3 starts is because the book never explained why the girls' dad sent them to their mother whom they didn't really know for a month. It really isn't that plausible that a good dad and grandma, which they seem to be, would do that. The mom had abandoned them like 6 or 7 years ago, and they are sent to live with her for a month. The mom is neglectful and unloving, though Delphine gets a small glimpse of why she is that way at the end yet not enough to really explain everything.

Also, if my children read this, I'll have to do a lot of explaining. For starters, characters in the book are members and/or friends of the Black Panthers. I'd have to explain what that means, as the book explains very little. The Black Panther summer camp and free breakfast seem like a pretty good deal in the book. The fact that the Black Panthers were socialist isn't explained. Sure, the blacks had reason to speak up for their rights, but the Black Panther party wasn't some idealized organization merely about sticking up for one's constitutional rights and ending police brutality.

This book meets common core standards. If it becomes required reading in my kids' classes, I will have to ask why. I would want to make sure that the history of the Black Panther party and Marxism isn't taught as a solution to racism.

Overall, I enjoyed it and probably will read the sequel sometime.

I chose the rating of a five because I thought this was an amazing book... my reasoning behind giving this book a five star rating is because it is a book that shows the African American girls who have to fly out to visit there mother who abandoned them at birth but there mother doesn't want them there also it shows what the time was like when they were there b such as there mother made them buy there own food also the food that they are eating was fat food every night was fast food.... also during the time they were there she sent them to summer school because she doesn't want them to be at her house bothering her over all 8 think that this book deserves an rating of a five...I would recommend this book to people who enjoy books that have the context of comedy! I wouldn't recommend this book for the people who do not enjoy books that are funny also I thought this book want so good the reason I say that is it is kind of racial against African Americans

Eleven year old Delphine and her two younger sisters were abandoned by their mother. With a chance to reconnect with their mother, they face a harsh reality. When they arrive at their mother's house in the summer of 1968, they do not receive a warm welcome. Instead, their mother is distant and eager to send them away to a summer camp. While there, they are introduced to a whole new point of view. This story is an incredibly heartrending, yet comical journey on finding out a big piece that was missing from these little girls life's.

This book was so fascinating and lovey. It was my first time reading it and I would love to read it again. I read this book at Gault elementary school and I was in fifth grade. The charecters had so much personality and so much power. I am reading the second book and it is just wonderful too. It was very well written by the author, Rita Williams-Garcia. I would definitely recommend this book. It is a wonderful book and I hope that whoever reads this review will read the book as well.

Interesting black history fiction. Would just suggest that if children are given this to read, historical perspective can be brought in to bring some balance to the emotions and impressions that this story brings out.

This is a great, quick read for tweens. The chapters are short and the first person narrator draws the reader in...the audio companion was true to Delphine's "wiser than her years" voice. I loved it, as I stayed a few chapters ahead of my daughter so that I could ask her questions and elaborate on some of the topics foreign to her. A great read and fully recommended! Currently downloading the next novel by this fantastic author!

I think this book was sad. It really didn’t catch my attention. I always got lost or got distracted easily. I am not sure if you would like it but to me it was a boo boo. I encourage you to read it if you love historical fiction. I am not interested in historical fiction. Its author is by Rita Williams -Garcia. If you like historical fictions …….. BUY IT! Happy Reading! :)
-N.

This book about 3 sisters is a very good children's story.
I think while this book is on sale with the store I am going
to purchase a couple more and give as birthday gifts to
some kids in my neighborhood. Summer will be be here
some and this will be a good read for children.

One Crazy Summer is a great book for anybody who enjoys an inspirational and heartfelt story. It tells the summer of three sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. The story takes place during the summer of 1968, when people were divided between black and white. During this time the group called The Black Panthers recruited numerous people to fight for their cause. This story tells of how the sisters spent the summer with their mother who abandoned them several years ago. During the summer they begin to help fight for black people's rights, they make new friends, and in the end they inspire a crowd of people and receive their mother's admiration. In my opinion this is a great book to read if you just want to relax.

I bought this fork my 9-year-old, who wasn't interested (maybe because I pushed too hard.) So I decided to read it. I loved this book. The characters are fabulously drawn and endearing. The historical background is so interesting. I recommend this book for everyone, probably age 10 and up.

i just started to read dcf books at the begining of the summer. all of the ones i've read so far have been amazing. this one ism about three girls who go to see their mother they have never seen before for their summer vacation. not sure what happens yet, but i would highly suggest this book.

i just started to read dcf books at the begining of the summer. all of the ones i've read so far have been amazing. this one ism about three girls who go to see their mother they have never seen before for their summer vacation. not sure what happens yet, but i would highly suggest this book.

One Crazy Summer is a great book for anybody who enjoys an inspirational and heartfelt story. It tells the summer of three sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. The story takes place during the summer of 1968, when people were divided between black and white. During this time the group called The Black Panthers recruited numerous people to fight for their cause. This story tells of how the sisters spent the summer with their mother who abandoned them several years ago. During the summer they begin to help fight for black people's rights, they make new friends, and in the end they inspire a crowd of people and receive their mother's admiration. In my opinion this is a great book to read if you just want to relax.

This book is about three sisters who travel out to Oakland, California to spend their summer with their crazy poet mother. The girls don't have much memory of their mother and their mother has the least bit interest of having her girls around. This topic is a tough one to read because mothers should always be loving their children. Its unfortunate how the girls were treated, and its not right. I would recommend this novel for grades 6 through 8, an age which would understand what is going on. Since this book has some heavy topes and fighting between children and mother I don't think I would encourage this book in a classroom unless there was a time in history that this pertained to.

I think this book was sad. It really didn’t catch my attention. I always got lost or got distracted easily. I am not sure if you would like it but to me it was a boo boo. I encourage you to read it if you love historical fiction. I am not interested in historical fiction. Its author is by Rita Williams -Garcia. If you like historical fictions …….. BUY IT! Happy Reading! :)
-N.

This book about 3 sisters is a very good children's story.
I think while this book is on sale with the store I am going
to purchase a couple more and give as birthday gifts to
some kids in my neighborhood. Summer will be be here
some and this will be a good read for children.

One Crazy Summer is a great book for anybody who enjoys an inspirational and heartfelt story. It tells the summer of three sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. The story takes place during the summer of 1968, when people were divided between black and white. During this time the group called The Black Panthers recruited numerous people to fight for their cause. This story tells of how the sisters spent the summer with their mother who abandoned them several years ago. During the summer they begin to help fight for black people's rights, they make new friends, and in the end they inspire a crowd of people and receive their mother's admiration. In my opinion this is a great book to read if you just want to relax.

I bought this fork my 9-year-old, who wasn't interested (maybe because I pushed too hard.) So I decided to read it. I loved this book. The characters are fabulously drawn and endearing. The historical background is so interesting. I recommend this book for everyone, probably age 10 and up.

i just started to read dcf books at the begining of the summer. all of the ones i've read so far have been amazing. this one ism about three girls who go to see their mother they have never seen before for their summer vacation. not sure what happens yet, but i would highly suggest this book.

i just started to read dcf books at the begining of the summer. all of the ones i've read so far have been amazing. this one ism about three girls who go to see their mother they have never seen before for their summer vacation. not sure what happens yet, but i would highly suggest this book.

One Crazy Summer is a great book for anybody who enjoys an inspirational and heartfelt story. It tells the summer of three sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. The story takes place during the summer of 1968, when people were divided between black and white. During this time the group called The Black Panthers recruited numerous people to fight for their cause. This story tells of how the sisters spent the summer with their mother who abandoned them several years ago. During the summer they begin to help fight for black people's rights, they make new friends, and in the end they inspire a crowd of people and receive their mother's admiration. In my opinion this is a great book to read if you just want to relax.

This book is about three sisters who travel out to Oakland, California to spend their summer with their crazy poet mother. The girls don't have much memory of their mother and their mother has the least bit interest of having her girls around. This topic is a tough one to read because mothers should always be loving their children. Its unfortunate how the girls were treated, and its not right. I would recommend this novel for grades 6 through 8, an age which would understand what is going on. Since this book has some heavy topes and fighting between children and mother I don't think I would encourage this book in a classroom unless there was a time in history that this pertained to.

Such a heartbreaker of a book. Very well-written. Reminded me of a Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt. I read this with my eight-year-old, and she loved it, but I think she would have gotten more out of it in another year or two.

I ordered this book for my nine-year-old daughter. I read it aloud to her, and we were both riveted. It is a powerful, extremely well-written novel. It made me want to read all the rest of her work. I highly recommend this great book.

It is refreshing to find a story written from the perspective of three young girls, traveling to find the mother who has left them, and plunked down in the middle of the turbulent rise of the Black Panthers.
One Crazy Summer

I read this book to my third graders as our after lunch "chapter book." I thought it was going to be too difficult for them to understand, but I was wrong! They LOVED it! I loved it too. Best children's literature I have read in a long time. Excellent!

This book has had a lot of Newbery hype, so I was looking forward to it.

I liked the characters: 11-year-old Delphine who looks out for her younger sisters, is smart and sensible and mature beyond her years. Her little sisters Fern and Vonetta sort of lump together, since the story focuses on Delphine, but their relationship is genuine -- not picture perfect (and thus unrealistic), but admirable nonetheless.

The story is set in the late 60's in Oakland, California. The sisters are put on an airplane from Brooklyn to visit their poet mother, from whom they've been estranged (and who doesn't really want to see them now). When the girls get there, they don't get any mothering, although they do get to know her a little bit more, as they become involved in a Black Panther protest.

Seems a bit heavy for even an older middle grade reader, right? The tone is not heavy, but I'm just not sure it would be interesting. Heavy issues like disability, race, and political injustice as told through a child's eyes seem more matter-of-fact and less shocking, but while I think it's valuable for kids of this generation to read about the race struggles of our recent past, I'm not sure that the political Black Panther elements would transfer well.

I liked this book well enough, but I didn't love it.

I listened to the audio version of this book, which did not add or subtract from the telling in any way.

This book has had a lot of Newbery hype, so I was looking forward to it.

I liked the characters: 11-year-old Delphine who looks out for her younger sisters, is smart and sensible and mature beyond her years. Her little sisters Fern and Vonetta sort of lump together, since the story focuses on Delphine, but their relationship is genuine -- not picture perfect (and thus unrealistic), but admirable nonetheless.

The story is set in the late 60's in Oakland, California. The sisters are put on an airplane from Brooklyn to visit their poet mother, from whom they've been estranged (and who doesn't really want to see them now). When the girls get there, they don't get any mothering, although they do get to know her a little bit more, as they become involved in a Black Panther protest.

Seems a bit heavy for even an older middle grade reader, right? The tone is not heavy, but I'm just not sure it would be interesting. Heavy issues like disability, race, and political injustice as told through a child's eyes seem more matter-of-fact and less shocking, but while I think it's valuable for kids of this generation to read about the race struggles of our recent past, I'm not sure that the political Black Panther elements would transfer well.

I liked this book well enough, but I didn't love it.

I listened to the audio version of this book, which did not add or subtract from the telling in any way.

One crazy summer really didnt interest me too much. This was the first time i had ever heard of the "Black Panther Party." I did feel bad that the mother wasn't interested in them and would just leave them on their own while she wrote her poetry but other than that it was ok.

Circa: 1968
Three young sisters (-12) fly from New York to Oakland, CA to visit their mother who deserted the family when the girls were toddlers.
Upon the girls arriving in Oakland, we find that altho' the mother has been estranged from her children for 8 years, unfortunately, this mother hasn't changed much. She's still abusive, neglectful and totally self-absorbed (in the Black Panther movement and writing poetry). Nevertheless, the girls develop an unconditional fondnesss & acceptance of their mom, a behavior typical of neglected children and pets, which I find quite disturbing.
So, WHY did the father insist his children "needed" to meet their mother, who was a homeless waif he met sleeping on a park bench when she was 16?
I don't know!
ONE STAR!

my mock newberry club (composed of 12 children and teens) read this book. we all gave it it one star. white people were not all bad back then and the panthers were way to racial. i love learning about history but not if i know the book is full of lies and black preduges in the 60's.