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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
The Gaither sisters are back for their third and final adventure, and this time they're heading into the heart of the south. In the summer of 1969, Delphine and her sisters set off for Alabama to spend time with their father's extended family. But while the girls love spending their summer climbing trees, gathering eggs, and getting to know their relatives, they get more than they bargained for when they must come to terms with what it means to be a young black person in the south. Rita Williams-Garcia explores the complex relationships between young and old, black and white, and urban a rural with beautiful language, warm humor, and unflinching honesty. Returning and new readers alike will adore Delphine and her family, and those reluctant to pick up historical fiction will be especially pleased this latest and last adventure.
The Gaither Girls are visiting their grandmother in Alabama. Boy oh Boy is it different that New York and Oakland. This is the last in the trilogy and I am so sorry that we won't hear from them anymore
I rated this 3 stars after finishing it earlier today, but after a few hours of thinking it over, I actually think this one was 4 stars. The first book is still the best, but this one was very good as well.
I liked this one better than the second book, but not as much as the first in this series. Overall would recommend the series.
I love the Gaither sisters. This time, they’ve gone down to Alabama for the summer, and spend time with Big Ma, Ma Charles (her mother) and Darnell, who’s cleaned up.
Delphine’s been charged with looking out for her younger sisters, and she takes it very seriously. Vonetta and Delphine snipe almost constantly at each other as they settle in, while Fern confounds her grandmothers with her preferences and opinions. I was at times wincing at the opinions expressed by Big Ma, with her internalized racism and her disgust with feminism, while laughing out loud at the back and forth needling between Big Ma and her half-sister.
There's something about these stories that I love, and it includes the humour, of which there is plenty in the series. And while Rita Williams-Garcia touches upon a number of societal and fairly heavy family issues, they're presented from Delphine's now 13-year old perspective and don't overwhelm. I think what I love the most in these books about the Gaither sisters is the love between the members of this family. Delphine, Vonetta and Fern might all repeatedly get on each others' nerves, but they are a tight and deeply loving group. I kept wondering what these girls would be like in their 20s as I neared the end of this book. Unless Rita Williams-Garcia ever returns to this family, I'll just have to content myself with this and the two previous books about these wonderful girls.
Delphine’s been charged with looking out for her younger sisters, and she takes it very seriously. Vonetta and Delphine snipe almost constantly at each other as they settle in, while Fern confounds her grandmothers with her preferences and opinions. I was at times wincing at the opinions expressed by Big Ma, with her internalized racism and her disgust with feminism, while laughing out loud at the back and forth needling between Big Ma and her half-sister.
There's something about these stories that I love, and it includes the humour, of which there is plenty in the series. And while Rita Williams-Garcia touches upon a number of societal and fairly heavy family issues, they're presented from Delphine's now 13-year old perspective and don't overwhelm. I think what I love the most in these books about the Gaither sisters is the love between the members of this family. Delphine, Vonetta and Fern might all repeatedly get on each others' nerves, but they are a tight and deeply loving group. I kept wondering what these girls would be like in their 20s as I neared the end of this book. Unless Rita Williams-Garcia ever returns to this family, I'll just have to content myself with this and the two previous books about these wonderful girls.
It's summer again and time for the Gaither sisters to have another adventure. This time they are heading south to spend the summer in Alabama with Ma Charles and Big Mama. Alabama isn't like Brooklyn or Oakland and the sisters have to mind what they say around non-family members. There is plenty going on in the way of family drama. Turns out Ma Charles has a sister just across the creek. Ms. Trotter and Ma Charles don't get along ever since they were introduced to each other in kindergarten. I guess when your father chooses to wed two different women and set up houses on opposite sides of the creek it is hard to get along. Big Mama has a suitor. Mr. Lucas lives next door and has been trying to court her for years.
The sisters get to spend time learning about their family history from both Ma Charles and Ms. Trotter. They also spend time with cousin JimmyTrotter, who lost his whole family except Ms. Trotter in a horrible accident. Of course, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern don't always get along and cause their own drama. A fight over milk ends up in tragedy and helps bring the sisters together with their entire family.
I really enjoyed this series. I love that each summer the sisters have spent in a different location learning different things. I really liked the family history that was revealed in this book. As the afterwards says, many Black families had white in their backgrounds and many also had Native American ancestors. I like that the girls were exposed to the racial prejudices of the South during the 1960s, which was totally different than what they were used to in Brooklyn and Oakland. My favorite part is always the sisters themselves though. As the oldest of three girls, I can definitely relate to Delphine and her attitude towards her sisters. You love them, but you don't always like them and you for sure don't always get along. Of course, that really only applies when you are young. Once you get older it doesn't really matter as much.
The sisters get to spend time learning about their family history from both Ma Charles and Ms. Trotter. They also spend time with cousin JimmyTrotter, who lost his whole family except Ms. Trotter in a horrible accident. Of course, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern don't always get along and cause their own drama. A fight over milk ends up in tragedy and helps bring the sisters together with their entire family.
I really enjoyed this series. I love that each summer the sisters have spent in a different location learning different things. I really liked the family history that was revealed in this book. As the afterwards says, many Black families had white in their backgrounds and many also had Native American ancestors. I like that the girls were exposed to the racial prejudices of the South during the 1960s, which was totally different than what they were used to in Brooklyn and Oakland. My favorite part is always the sisters themselves though. As the oldest of three girls, I can definitely relate to Delphine and her attitude towards her sisters. You love them, but you don't always like them and you for sure don't always get along. Of course, that really only applies when you are young. Once you get older it doesn't really matter as much.
As Rita Williams-Garcia wrote when she signed this book for me, "Worth the journey."
I absolutely loved following the journey of The Gaither Sisters through these three books...I also think the stark differences in setting could make for a powerful student inquiry as they look at the time period of the 1960s in California, NY, and Alabama for African Americans.
I absolutely loved following the journey of The Gaither Sisters through these three books...I also think the stark differences in setting could make for a powerful student inquiry as they look at the time period of the 1960s in California, NY, and Alabama for African Americans.
This will probably work well as assigned reading in 4th-6th grades, or a classroom read-aloud, as young readers might experience a growing attachment to the characters as I did. However, I was completely bored by the first 50 pages, and only really became fully engaged when , which was 3/4 into the story.
I would like to ask if the voices of the two younger sisters and all the various grand-relations seemed trite and stereotypical to other readers - or if they felt authentic, whole, and respectful. In my opinion, only Delphine's internal monologue gave meaning to their various performances, and she wasn't an entirely reliable source. After so many harsh dialogues & conversations, each of which struck me as a "last straw" kind of statement, I gave up expecting the one strong hug or deep eye-to-eye gaze that would signal a final, true, and transformative loving connection. Instead, it seemed there was nothing more than a few sheepish "sorry"s and a more cheerful sing-songy back-and-forth that meant no further hostilities. Is there a universal signal of true, deep acceptance, or is it possible I missed it because I'm outside of this culture?
It may be that I am so far away from the cultural group represented here in time, place, and ethnicity, that I am missing what the author intended as obvious signals of true comfort and acceptance - by the two generations of sisters, by the absentee parents, and by the love-interest (Big Ma & Lucas) -- all of whom seem to have grown closer and "made up" by the end, without the author celebrating that moment of change in the text by even one sentence to draw our attention to the why & how of it.
Maybe I want too badly for a book for children to demonstrate how we all might overcome our hostilities in these mundane, soap-opera family squabbles that inevitable bubble up in either small meannesses or gigantic betrayals. If the author wasn't trying to do this, I can't fault her for failing me. Yet, I sense the author did intend to tell a story that might be an object lesson - but she left out the part where readers are lead to examine the moment when the balance tipped, when the character "got it." And without a focus on that moment, we readers can't make use of this story even as a metaphor, let alone an example.
Delphine forgives her uncle Darnel, she irons one set of sheets for Big Ma, and she hugs her long-lost mother - but what made the difference? (...and speaking of Darnel...these 3 girls seem to be on a music fast, and have entirely forgotten their near-obsession with both music & fashion.)
I note that two characters (JimmyTrotter & neighbor Lucas) consistently behave in ways that are universally seen as loving, accepting, and supportive -- they consistently give their time, effort, hard work, and compassion without a complaint, a sigh, or an end in sight. That they are reluctantly allowed to participate in the family affairs is little solace. When JimmyTrotter is shorted on the eggs, and only one feeble voice objects briefly before giving up, I pretty much hated this family.
As mentioned, by the end, I had started to care about them all somewhat, but it took a colossal effort.
Spoiler
the tornado hitI would like to ask if the voices of the two younger sisters and all the various grand-relations seemed trite and stereotypical to other readers - or if they felt authentic, whole, and respectful. In my opinion, only Delphine's internal monologue gave meaning to their various performances, and she wasn't an entirely reliable source. After so many harsh dialogues & conversations, each of which struck me as a "last straw" kind of statement, I gave up expecting the one strong hug or deep eye-to-eye gaze that would signal a final, true, and transformative loving connection. Instead, it seemed there was nothing more than a few sheepish "sorry"s and a more cheerful sing-songy back-and-forth that meant no further hostilities. Is there a universal signal of true, deep acceptance, or is it possible I missed it because I'm outside of this culture?
It may be that I am so far away from the cultural group represented here in time, place, and ethnicity, that I am missing what the author intended as obvious signals of true comfort and acceptance - by the two generations of sisters, by the absentee parents, and by the love-interest (Big Ma & Lucas) -- all of whom seem to have grown closer and "made up" by the end, without the author celebrating that moment of change in the text by even one sentence to draw our attention to the why & how of it.
Maybe I want too badly for a book for children to demonstrate how we all might overcome our hostilities in these mundane, soap-opera family squabbles that inevitable bubble up in either small meannesses or gigantic betrayals. If the author wasn't trying to do this, I can't fault her for failing me. Yet, I sense the author did intend to tell a story that might be an object lesson - but she left out the part where readers are lead to examine the moment when the balance tipped, when the character "got it." And without a focus on that moment, we readers can't make use of this story even as a metaphor, let alone an example.
Delphine forgives her uncle Darnel, she irons one set of sheets for Big Ma, and she hugs her long-lost mother - but what made the difference? (...and speaking of Darnel...these 3 girls seem to be on a music fast, and have entirely forgotten their near-obsession with both music & fashion.)
I note that two characters (JimmyTrotter & neighbor Lucas) consistently behave in ways that are universally seen as loving, accepting, and supportive -- they consistently give their time, effort, hard work, and compassion without a complaint, a sigh, or an end in sight. That they are reluctantly allowed to participate in the family affairs is little solace. When JimmyTrotter is shorted on the eggs, and only one feeble voice objects briefly before giving up, I pretty much hated this family.
As mentioned, by the end, I had started to care about them all somewhat, but it took a colossal effort.