Congratulations to Rita Williams-Garcia, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Coretta Scott King Award, Newbery Honor, and National Book Award Finalst. As the awards indicate, this book is well worth your time.
In this book Rita Williams-Garcia opens the door to 1968 and the unconventional family of Delphine, Vonnetta, and Fern, three young, yet powerful, sisters. One Crazy Summer uses Delphine's point of view to tell the sisters' story of their summer in Oakland, California with their mother, who they haven't seen in seven years. Oakland is a far cry from Brooklyn, where they live with their protective Pa and Big Ma. As the girls adjust to the intense and cold behavior of their mother, they discover their individual and relational strengths. Not only does their relationship with each other and their mother grow, but they develop an entire new view of the world thanks to the people they meet in Oakland.
On a personal note, I'm guilty of trying to categorize characters as antagonists or protagonists with everything I read. I like things clear cut and simple. When this story began I quickly threw Cecile (aka Nzila), the girls' mother, into the antagonist category. How could a mother abandon her three precious daughters? However, along with Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, I was reminded that no one is all good or bad. We all have tough choices in our lives. We all make mistakes.
Rita Williams-Garcia uses this work of historical fiction to remind readers that finding peace in life is a matter of perspective and attempting to understand the opposing viewpoint. As a friend of mine often says, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood". I'm sure there is some famous person I should credit for that quote, but I'm giving the credit to my friend - she'll know who she is! Thanks to these sisters, I was better able to understand Nzila's point of view and the bigger picture she saw for her daughters.
Rita Williams-Garcia uses this work of historical fiction to remind readers that finding peace in life is a matter of perspective and attempting to understand the opposing viewpoint. As a friend of mine often says, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood". I'm sure there is some famous person I should credit for that quote, but I'm giving the credit to my friend - she'll know who she is! Thanks to these sisters, I was better able to understand Nzila's point of view and the bigger picture she saw for her daughters.
From a historical perspective, One Crazy Summer takes the reader into some of the inner workings of the Black Panther operations of 1968, a time of much turmoil in the United States. The girls, having been thrown from the safeguarding of Big Ma to the streets of Oakland, find solace in the care of the Black Panthers. Thanks to their mother, the Black Panthers, and their own observations, the girls gain a new perspective on life.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it, One Crazy Summer is worth a read. Surely is... as little Fern would say.
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