Reviews

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

efinestead's review

4.0

Summer, 1968. Three young girls fly across the country to Oakland, California to spend the summer with their absent mother. Fern, the baby of the group, is faithfully attached to her doll Miss Pattycake while Vonetta, the middle daughter, loves being at the center of attention and will do almost anything to have the spotlight shine on her. The eldest, 11 year old Delphine, spends most of her time trying to keep everything from falling apart. When they meet their mom Cecile, who goes by Nzila now, their expectations for the summer are shattered. Disneyland and beach trips go out the window. She is not what they expect in a mother - tall, dressed in men’s clothes, unable to cook dinner - and they are not what she expected either. The three girls spend their summer in a Black Panther summer camp, learning the motivation and strength behind the movement. As they attempt to find their place in Oakland, they are faced with their mother’s obsession with her poetry, conflict between the police and the Black Panthers, and their own awareness of themselves as Black. Throughout the novel, Delphine is torn between following the advice of her grandmother and her father, to assimilate into white American culture, and the new examples shown to her by her mother, in which carving out your own space is desireable. Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, the Scott O’Dell Award, and a Newbery Honor book, One Crazy Summer will capture the hearts and minds of young readers.

allicatca's review

5.0

What an incredibly well-written, insightful, and impactful book. My children are only 6- and 8-years-old but I will make sure they read this when they are teenagers.

scribeitphilly's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“I’m here for lunch. Not the revolution!”
~Vonetta

In this story you meet Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. Three sisters that are on their way to spend the summer with their mom. Cecile, their mother, left when Delphine was younger, and Vonetta and Fern where to young to remember her.
The girls thought they were going to get to their mom and have this fantastic summer that they had been fantasizing about. Cecile squashed all of that on day one. Instead they learned about black history, the Black Panthers, who their mom really was, and how to survive away from the family they knew.

This is a great buddy read for you and a child. I really enjoyed Delphine and her sisters, and although their mom wasn’t much to be desired you get her story. It doesn’t justify her behavior, but you did get to understand her.
It’s a great conversation starter. 

Title: One Crazy Summer
Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
Genre: YA Lit
Pages: 218
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

vtsarahd's review

4.0

Memorable characterizations - loved the portrayal of the sister relationships in this book! Delphine is a strong character that can serve as an interesting discussion point for many young readers.

tcbbroadway22's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

cdace8's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I absolutely loved this book! These sisters were so much fun to follow for the month they were with their mom.

I also loved seeing the community side of the Black Panthers as I think in so many history texts that is missing and many people don't know about the wide spread community work that they did.

It also showed how they used their youth to recruit and "help" the cause, which is a practice still used today by all kinds of organizations....this is a practice I am not generally a fan of but is widely accepted in the US even today.

For middle grade book it did a good job of showing the culture at that time in that neighborhood. So it did leave most if out the darker side of the Black Panthers in order to keep it age appropriate

bookandateacup's review

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

abaugher's review

5.0

beautiful story, beautiful girls. I want more of this. PS Be Eleven, here I come!

gmamartha's review

4.0

Historical fiction. Oakland, California in 1968. I got into this one and kept reading til the end. Related to the characters.

roseleaf24's review

4.0

I loved the way Williams-Garcia was able to convey so much about the times and the environment without ever losing the voice of Delphine or slipping into exposition. This was an engaging story, very accessible for middle grade readers, but full of life and interest for the rest of us, too.