One Crazy Summer

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: HarperCollins/Amistad. ISBN 978-0-06-076089-2

Plot Summary:

Delphine and her two sisters, Vonetta & Fern, were abandoned by their mother, Cecile, seven years ago shortly after Fern was born. The girls were raised by their father and their grandmother, Big Ma. It’s summertime 1968, and the girls are sent to Oakland, CA on their first plane ride to visit their mother.  Cecile meets them at the airport to pick them up, but seems bothered and uninterested. Delphine now knows she’ll have to take care of her sisters, this is not the vacation they envisioned while in New York. Instead of caring for her daughters, Cecile sends the girls daily to eat breakfast at the Black Panther's People Center, and then tells them to stay out of the house until dinnertime, when she’ll send them to pick up takeout to eat on a sheet on the living room floor.  Delphine learns a lot about what identity is, about her mother, the Black Panthers’ fight, & how she has to help keep the bond strong with her sisters.

Analysis:

Williams-Garcia throws the reader head first into this story as it kicks off with the girls in a plane hitting turbulence as they are on their way to see their estranged mother.  The last time they saw her, Fern, the youngest, was just born, she is now 7 years old. They don’t know much about her or her life in Oakland, CA. Much of who the girls have become is because of the upbringing from their paternal grandmother, Big Ma.  Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern get caught up in learning about their mother and how strong she is even though she may not be the maternal type during their stay there, not because she shares much with them, but because the time they spent in the Black Panthers’ People Center. Williams-Garcia incorporates many facts about the Black Panthers and the Civil Rights movement without taking away from the story.  The reader can gain some insight about some of the subtle and informational facts that are included. The girls return to New York with a better understanding that though this summer may have been crazy, they did manage to get the one thing they came to California for, a hug from their mother.

Review Excerpts:

2011 Coretta Scott King Author Award

2011 Newbery Honor Book

2010 National Book Award Finalist

2011 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Reviewed by KIRKUS, January 2010.  “The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page.”

Reviewed by SLJ, Fuse8 Production, Review of the Day: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 BY ELIZABETH BIRD.  “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.” http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2010/02/02/review-of-the-day-one-crazy-summer-by-rita-williams-garcia/

Review in NYT, Seize the Time, Children’s Books By MONICA EDINGER Jan. 14, 2010.   “In “One Crazy Summer” Williams-Garcia presents a child’s-eye view of the Black Panther movement within a powerful and affecting story of sisterhood and motherhood.”  https://nyti.ms/2J8H4KD

Connections:

Social Studies Connection-Civil Rights Movement -Great book to kick off or wrap up a unit on Civil Rights Movement/Black Panther Group.

Counselor’s Corner-Counselor could use with a child that is going through a hard time with a parent.  Child could see that though adults may do something that isn’t in their best interest (Cecile left her 3 daughters), the adult isn’t a bad person altogether.