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One Crazy Summer

by Rita Williams-Garcia

3.99 · rating details · 2,372 ratings · 698 reviews

Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the

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Hardcover, 218 pages

Published January 26th 2010 by Amistad (first published 2010)

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One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Newbery 2011

2nd out of 148 books — 308 voters

Mock Newbery 2010/2011

3rd out of 55 books — 64 voters

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Jan 14, 2011

Wilhelmina rated it

Shelves: african-american, juvenile-literature, historical-fiction

I do not ordinarily read middle-grade books unless I am sharing them with my grandson, but I was drawn to this beautiful book initially because of its subject matter - children in Oakland during the early days of the Black Panther Party. But this book is so much more than its historical setting. I fell head-over-heels in love with the narrator of this book, Delphine, and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. With a group here on Goodreads, I recently reread the wonderful short story collection ...moreI do not ordinarily read middle-grade books unless I am sharing them with my grandson, but I was drawn to this beautiful book initially because of its subject matter - children in Oakland during the early days of the Black Panther Party. But this book is so much more than its historical setting. I fell head-over-heels in love with the narrator of this book, Delphine, and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. With a group here on Goodreads, I recently reread the wonderful short story collection Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara. We all loved Bambara's strong, resilient African American girls, and Delphine is certainly a full-fledged member of that sisterhood. Smart, brave, and responsible far beyond her age of 11-going-on-12, Delphine has looked after her younger sisters along with her father and Big Ma since her mother abandoned the family seven years earlier. When Pa decides that the girls need to get to know their mother, they travel to Oakland where they encounter a very different mother than the one they pictured. Their experiences in Oakland with their mother, Cecile/Nzila, are perfectly related through through Delphine's eyes. Part of Williams-Garcia's brilliance is that she keeps Delphine's point of view, but through Delphine, we come to know her sisters, the political climate of the time, and the other characters in the book, including Cecile/Nzila. Although no one would argue that Cecile/Nzila is anything but a truly terrible mother, Williams-Garcia, through Delphine, gives us a glimpse of the reasons behind her actions and we are able to feel compassion for her - no small achievement!

There is no neat, happy conclusion to this story, and it would not be believable if there were. But there is growth on everybody's part and there is greater understanding. And, above all, there are Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern - beautiful, wonderful girls that I will never forget. Yes, this is a middle-grade novel, but it is so richly layered and beautifully written that I suspect that many readers of all ages will treasure this book. Many thanks to Rita Williams-Garcia for Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern and this dazzlingly beautiful book. (less)

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Aug 26, 2009

Monica Edinger rated it

Shelves: historicalfiction

My New York Times review.

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Feb 23, 2010

KT rated it

Shelves: all-time-favorites

Eleven-year-old Delphine has taken care of her younger sisters Vonetta, age nine, and Fern, age seven, ever since their mother left the family just after Fern was born. Her life growing up in 1960s Brooklyn with her father and grandmother, Big Ma, has been happy and predictable, and Delphine has never thought much about Cecile, the mother she never really knew, except for an occasional vague longing for her and a few flashes of memory.

When her dad sends the three sisters to Oakland,...moreEleven-year-old Delphine has taken care of her younger sisters Vonetta, age nine, and Fern, age seven, ever since their mother left the family just after Fern was born. Her life growing up in 1960s Brooklyn with her father and grandmother, Big Ma, has been happy and predictable, and Delphine has never thought much about Cecile, the mother she never really knew, except for an occasional vague longing for her and a few flashes of memory.

When her dad sends the three sisters to Oakland, California, for a month during the summer of 1968 so the girls can get to know their mother, Delphine does not have high expectations for her – and that’s a good thing, since Cecile seems to resent their very existence. Her hospitality extends only as far as having cleared out a guest room for them to share, and sending them off each morning to the Black Panthers’ free breakfast program and a day of children’s programming at the Panthers’ community center. Cecile – known in the Black community as Nzila -- is a poet who needs time and space uninterrupted by boisterous children so she can write and print her poems on the printing press she has set up in the kitchen.

Delphine steps up her own mothering of the younger girls, and the sisters quickly adapt to their new way of life, even though they find it all a bit strange. As the oldest and most thoughtful of the three, Delphine is initially resistant to the political indoctrination they get from the Black Panthers every day, especially from Crazy Kelvin, the vocal Black Separatist with the gigantic afro, who immediately criticizes Fern for carrying around her white baby doll, Miss Patty Cake, by pointing at her and saying, “What’s wrong with this picture?” But gradually Delphine begins to see that the women who run the camp are kind and caring, and certainly a lot more maternal than their own mother, and many of the things she’s learning about political process and revolution will come in handy when she decides it’s time to start standing up to Cecile.

Rita Williams-Garcia’s fresh, funny novel resonates with depth and meaning that comes through the brilliant characterizations, sparkling dialogue, and a stunningly realistic recreation of a time and place that all leads to a surprising, yet wholly satisfying resolution. She’s created a small masterpiece of a middle-grade novel that will have broad child appeal. (less)

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Jan 18, 2011

Margaret Boling rated it

Shelves: elementary

11/25/2010 - National Book Award Finalist; saw review on CCBC. The plot/setting sound interesting. This would be interesting to talk with Nicci about.
1/12/2011 ** Well, now that this has won the Newbery Honor and the Coretta Scott King Award, our library copy won't renew. If I want to read it, it will have to be before the 28th.

1/16/2011 ** On the back cover, Jacqueline Woodson writes, "an amazing and beautifully written story" and "this novel is just glorious...more

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Jan 18, 2011

Abigail rated it

Recommends it for: Young Readers Who Enjoy Family Stories and/or Historical Fiction

Recommended to Abigail by: The Horn Book

Shelves: childrens-fiction, newbery

It's the summer of 1968, and three Brooklyn girls - precociously responsible eldest sister Delphine, attention-hungry middle sister Vonetta, and unexpectedly observant baby sister Fern - find themselves in California, dispatched for a month-long visit with the mother who abandoned them years ago. But although Cecile manages, just barely, to pick them up at the airport, it couldn't be any more obvious that she has no desire to become better acquainted with her daughters, preferring to isolate her...more

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Oct 04, 2010

Nina rated it

Shelves: children

I have one major quibble with this book and am trying to figure out how much it really matters. The geography is off. There is a Magnolia street in Oakland, but there is no Orchard (they walk to Orchard, past the library, to find the Center). There was in the 1800s, but it was changed at the turn of the century to 30th street (which was near a library in 1968). I'm suspecting that Williams-Garcia got old info. Also, and to me more importantly: there's no hills in this part of Oakland. Whereve...more

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Jan 07, 2011

Mary Ronan Drew rated it

Recommends it for: Absolutely no one.

Shelves: library-book

This book is a dramatic revisionist history of the Black Panther Party. The book is not particularly well written and most of the "facts" are incorrect. There is a sudden, sentimental, and entirely unbelievable character change at the end. Serious, hard-working and loving characters are disparaged. A mother who abandoned her husband and three children to become a poet and find herself is presented positively.

I read this children's book as a potential Newbery winner. I think...more

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Oct 18, 2011

Laura rated it

Shelves: abandonment, csk-award, family-problems, fiction-historical, jail, school-age, travel, history, newbery

I really enjoyed this book - the characters were very well developed, the writing strong, and the message very touching. Three sisters travel across the country in the summer of 1968 to meet a mother they never knew, only to find themselves in the middle of the Black Panther movement. I love books that look at historical events from a child's point of view while also creating a full and developed picture of who that child is and how those events shape their small worlds. Newbery Honor Book 20...more

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Dec 03, 2011

Lisa rated it

Shelves: young-adult

One Crazy Summer is a great book about three girls spending the summer of 1968 with their estranged mother Cecile, who's become involved with the Black Panthers in Oakland, California. Cecile sends her daughters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to what's essentially Black Panther summer camp for kids--which the girls think is pretty whack, at least at first. I liked this book so much, and I especially loved the narrator, the eldest sister Delphine, who has to make up for Cecile's complete lack of m...more

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Nov 29, 2011

Jamie Skube rated it

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Three girls named Delphine, Vonetta and Fern were being sent off to Oakland to meet their mother that left the family. The girls live with their grandmother and father in Brooklyn New York. This will be the first time they have seen their mother, Cecil, sense they have been born. The girls are going to going to Oakland for the summer.

Cecil is not the type of mother you may think she is. Cecil does not really care that her kids are t...more

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Nov 28, 2011

Davina Cuffee rated it

1. Junior Book-Historical Fiction

2. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are sisters who were abandoned by their mother seven years ago. When they are sent to visit their mother in California, they realize she’s not “mother material” after all.

3a. The maturity of Delphine; realness of the story

3b. Many 11 year old we know are not focused on what going on in the home, and playing, listening to music, drawing, etc. are more important; however, Delphine is not your typical 11 y...more

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Nov 04, 2011

Nichole Hurst rated it

Shelves: adolescents, culture, i-3-5-6, lit-circles, independent-reading, read-aloud, realistic-fiction, social-studies, themes, topics, unit-plan, ci-546-wide-reading-project

This book tells the story of three black sisters whose mother abandoned them and left them to live with their father in Brooklyn, NY. The story is told through the perspective of the oldest sister, Delphine. One summer thier father decides to put them on a plane to California to visit the mother that left them behind seven years ago to pursue a career as a poet. The three sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are ambivalent about visiting their absent mother for four weeks. Upon arrival they are ...more

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Oct 31, 2011

Ashton Livsey rated it

Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary: Three girls, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, were abandoned by their mother when they were young. They go to spend the summer with her in California, knowing in part that she is not the typical mother. As the summer goes on they make new friends, learn about the problems going on in the world, and begin to understand their mother.
Critique: a) The characters in this story are amazing in that they are complex and discover things about themselves and other...moreGenre: Historical Fiction
Summary: Three girls, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, were abandoned by their mother when they were young. They go to spend the summer with her in California, knowing in part that she is not the typical mother. As the summer goes on they make new friends, learn about the problems going on in the world, and begin to understand their mother.
Critique: a) The characters in this story are amazing in that they are complex and discover things about themselves and others as the story progresses.
In the beginning you see the characters for what they are seen as on the outside, except for the three young girls. The story is told from the point of view of Delphine. She is able to describe herself as responsible and having to please everyone around her. She describes her sister Vonetta as being a show stealer and wanting attention. Fern is seen as being the baby and depending on her doll for comfort. Their mother, Cecille, is seen as an abandoner who is crazy and unloving. As the story progresses you see each character change in the eyes of Delphine and you see Delphine realize that she does not need to be the responsible one all the time. She needs to be a kid once in a while.
The kids start the story being afraid of visiting their mother and are very nervous. Seeing her at the airport for the first time, they say she looks more “like a secret agent than a mother” (pg. 18) and will not call them her children, only says they are hers. In the end the children come to know their mother for who she has become and as they are leaving California, they run “over to hug [their] mother and let her hug” them (pg. 215), a complete 180 from the beginning. This shows the growth of their relationship and the understanding of who each other are and what they need in life.
Curriculum Connection: This is a great story to talk about black rights in the time of the 1960s. It talks about famous people such as Muhammad Ali and the Black Panthers. A teacher can use this to talk about how life was for blacks in this time, while reading a touching story. The teacher can also talk about the different cities and states that were more in to fighting for equal rights. (less)

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Oct 02, 2011

Beth Nieman rated it

Recommends it for: Middle-school kids

Shelves: land-of-enchantment-award

This book deals with serious topics, but doesn't feel preachy or heavy-handed. I think the main reason for that is Delphine, the narrator, is such a likable character. She has a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders for her younger sisters, but she thinks for herself and manages those responsibilities well. Like most siblings, they both enjoy each other and also get on each others' nerves. Delphine accompanies her younger sisters to Oakland, CA, to visit the mother who abandoned them to go w...more

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Aug 27, 2011

M. rated it

I really liked this book--stayed up way too late to finish it. It's 1968 and Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, African American girls, live with their father and grandmother in New York City. Their mother left after Fern was born and now lives in Oakland, CA. Their father decides they need to know their mother and sends them to Oakland where the girls encounter a whole new world. In New York they were strictly raised and carefully monitored; in Oakland, their mother, Cecile (or Nzila,the poet, as...more

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Jul 25, 2011

Maureen E rated it

Shelves: historical, middle-grade-and-younger

Opening: "Good thing the plane had seat belts and we'd been strapped in tight before takeoff."

It's the summer of 1968. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern have been sent to Oakland to meet their mother, who left the family just after Fern was born. It's a tense time for the world, a tense time for African-Americans, and a tense time for the three girls, who are leaving the safety of their father and grandmother to meet the mother they never really knew.

Delphine and her sist...moreOpening: "Good thing the plane had seat belts and we'd been strapped in tight before takeoff."

It's the summer of 1968. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern have been sent to Oakland to meet their mother, who left the family just after Fern was born. It's a tense time for the world, a tense time for African-Americans, and a tense time for the three girls, who are leaving the safety of their father and grandmother to meet the mother they never really knew.

Delphine and her sisters are a nice example of a family story. Here, while the adults have not managed to stay together, the sisters have. Despite any number of fights, they are unquestioning in their love and support for each other. They can also back each other up, without even discussing it. They do this a lot in the book, and the chorus their words make reinforces the point: even if Cecile is not who they are expecting, they have each other. Which isn't to say that they don't have their fraught moments.

I loved Delphine. I loved her voice, which is fresh and funny in some places and thoughtful in others. I just opened it to a random page and found this:
"Vonetta was a perfectionist, but only about certain things. Things that would get her noticed or earn her applause. Big Ma said Vonetta wouldn't be such a show-off if Cecile had picked Vonetta up more when she was a baby hollering in her crib. I didn't need a flash of memory to recall Vonetta's crying. She cried loudly and a lot."

Delphine is also such an oldest child. I'm one myself and I could totally recognize the kind of responsible-for-the-world reaction that Delphine has. As an oldest child, I felt a lot of sympathy for her struggles. :)

Williams-Garcia really managed to illuminate a group (the Black Panthers) and time in history without once feeling preachy or overly pointed. This is mostly because her characters are actual people, not cardboard heroes or villains. Nor are they talking points for modern politics. They're complex people in a complex time and Williams-Garcia refuses to water them down or simplify them. I really appreciated that.

Book source: public library
Book information: Amistad (HarperCollins), 2010; middle grade(less)

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Jul 09, 2011

Eva rated it

Shelves: y-a, b-fiction, racial

This is a Blue Hen nominee which is the reason I noticed it this week at the library, along with Jake by Audrey Couloumbis, which I'm reading now.
There are a lot of things I loved about One Crazy Summer, not the least of which was Delphine. Delphine, the main character, is mature for her age, caring for her two younger sisters and making all of the wise decisions usually left for a parent. At the same time, she's still a pre-teen and that peeks out every so often. This all makes her very r...moreThis is a Blue Hen nominee which is the reason I noticed it this week at the library, along with Jake by Audrey Couloumbis, which I'm reading now.
There are a lot of things I loved about One Crazy Summer, not the least of which was Delphine. Delphine, the main character, is mature for her age, caring for her two younger sisters and making all of the wise decisions usually left for a parent. At the same time, she's still a pre-teen and that peeks out every so often. This all makes her very relatable to many, many people. Delphine is a pre-teen black girl living in the Bronx, N.Y./Oakland, CA. I'm a 33 year old white woman living in the suburbs. Yet I was able to relate.
I love that the author included many different types of characters in the story. Crazy Kelvin was the full fledged racist which was needed IMHO for a story like this and there were others who were a few rungs below Kelvin on that particular ladder. Yet most of the characters were not racist. As much as these people were concerned with the state of things at this time, and with their race, there was no racism from these certain characters. (Race is a touchy subject with me so I was very happy for this.)
I saw one or two reviewers mention the problem with the Oakland streets and landscape. I want to mention that if I was familiar with Oakland, and if I knew this to be true, it would have affected my rating. Something like that does mess up a story to a certain point for me. Being that I don't know Oakland and I don't know the people speaking of the discrepancies it didn't matter to me here at all. But, if they are correct, and it sounds as if they are, I think it'd have been fairly easy to change a few aspects of the book so this wouldn't have been an issue.
For example, instead of Hirohito gliding down the street on his go-kart there are a number if different ways to show what was shown here, an activity on a flat surface. But in the end this didn't affect me as I said.
I'd certainly recommend this to anyone interested in good YA, race issues, the period of the Black Panthers in CA., etc.
I'd be interested in reading something else by Williams-Garcia if I can find something that grabs my interest like this did.

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Jun 26, 2011

Lauren rated it

Shelves: books-i-reviewed

The story of One Crazy Summer opens with three girls flying across the country to meet there mother. When I say "to meet," I do not mean "to meet up with." They are going to meet their mother for the first time in years--since she left them as babies and toddlers in the care of their father in Brooklyn. After a long flight from New York to San Francisco, the girls find themselves face to face with the woman who chose to leave, and this is where the "crazy summer" be...moreThe story of One Crazy Summer opens with three girls flying across the country to meet there mother. When I say "to meet," I do not mean "to meet up with." They are going to meet their mother for the first time in years--since she left them as babies and toddlers in the care of their father in Brooklyn. After a long flight from New York to San Francisco, the girls find themselves face to face with the woman who chose to leave, and this is where the "crazy summer" begins.

We hear this story in Delphine's practical and no-nonsense voice. At eleven-years-old, she is the eldest sister and has basically been the mother her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern never had. Delphine is serious and dignified and often must be the peacemaker between her sensitive little sisters. But what makes Delphine such an engaging protagonist is that every now and then, her kid side comes through. It is heartbreaking because you realize that even though she has taken charge in her mother's absence, it is only because someone had to. Delphine needed (and still needs) a mother just as badly as her little sisters, but as the oldest, she had to step up and be there for her sisters.

This isn't just your average coming-of-age, mother-daughter story, though. Did I mention that it is set in 1960s Oakland, California at the peak of the Black Panther movement? Definitely not your typical middle-grade/young-adult story setting. It soon becomes clear that Cecile (Delphine, Vonetta and Fern's mother) is involved in the movement in some mysterious way. In fact, on their first morning in California, Cecile sends the girls to the Black Panther day camp, where they encounter ideas and personalities that they have never faced before. It is fascinating to see the Black Panther activities through Delphine's eyes. She starts out suspicious, but soon Delphine (along with the reader) starts to see that the Black Panthers are about a lot more than the violence that the news and media (both then and now) portray them to be. One thing is for sure: that "crazy" summer is to be a summer of change--in Delphine, in her mother, in the world.

This is excellent writing about a part of American history that is rarely represented in historical fiction--especially for the under-twenty set. It's great for readers who think they don't like the historical fiction genre because the setting is not oppressive to the story. It provides the perfect frame to a moving story about a girl learning to want a mother's love again after years of having to deal without it.(less)

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Jun 24, 2011

Jessie rated it

Shelves: summer-2011, young-adult

This book is a Newberry Honor, and the Coretta Scott King winner for 2011. ***stop here for spoilers *** It is the story of three sisters, 11, 9 & 7 who go from Brooklyn to California to see their mother who had left them for a month one summer in 1968. This is right in the middle of the Black Power movement. They go to a summer camp that teaches them Black rights, paints signs, and holds rallies. Their mother is a poet and she is taken to jail, but it was others who were supposed to be ...more

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May 31, 2011

Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it

Shelves: clean-enough, kids, liked, read-in-2011, addicted-to-ya, audiobooks

Can I say that I really love the cover? I think it covers Delphine's personality perfectly.

I did like the narrator of the story, She made Delphine sound so real. I think she did a great job with other voices as well, such as the girls. The mother's voice was believable. She really made her sound annoyed. She did not do a good job with the boy voices though. Poor Hirohoto (sp?) sounded like he was drowning!

I've never really cared to read a story about Black Panthers, and t...moreCan I say that I really love the cover? I think it covers Delphine's personality perfectly.

I did like the narrator of the story, She made Delphine sound so real. I think she did a great job with other voices as well, such as the girls. The mother's voice was believable. She really made her sound annoyed. She did not do a good job with the boy voices though. Poor Hirohoto (sp?) sounded like he was drowning!

I've never really cared to read a story about Black Panthers, and to be honest, had I know this one had a side story about black panthers, I never would have listened to it. But I didn't and by the time I realized it, I wasn't going to stop. The kids basically attend a camp that is run by black panthers. There, they feed and teach the kids.

Even though there are other things going on in the story, it's mainly about Delphine and her sisters. Delphine is only eleven but she acts more like she is the mom and they are her children. She cooks for them, does their hair, makes sure they act like they have sense, makes sure everything is in order, really everything the mother should have been doing. It's sad because Delphine never really complains about it. She just accepts it for what it is, her job to protect her sisters. And that's just sad. Delphine and the rest of the kids are the ones that made it interesting. Fern was cute. Though I don't believe she talked the way that seven year usually talks. I thought for a while that she was maybe 3 or 4. Vonetta seemed like she was going to be a handful when she reached her teen years!

I like how Delphine tells her stories. I loved the part where she talks to the other girl about Hirohoto. Oh wow, that's drama to an eleven year old! Delphine couldn't believe she set herself up for a certain comeback. It was one of those comebacks that end all other comebacks and Delphine walked right into it. That part made me laugh. It really showed that Delphine was still very much a kid. (view spoiler)

I felt bad how Cecile treated the girls and even told them (more than once) how she didn't want them there. It made me mad because it wasn't like the girls were bad. They were good girls who wouldn't even had bothered her if Big Ma hadn't sent them out there (which didn't seem like anything Big Ma would do). She could have at least tried to act civil with them and be a little more caring. It's the reason why I didn't find the ending believable. She had spent hardly any time with them throughout the summer, and when she did it was one sister – and Cecile spent the time telling her what NOT to do.

Though I enjoyed it, I don't know if I could recommend it to others. It's a fast listen, but it's not really a story that could appeal to everyone. Overall, I am glad that I listened to it though. A lot of the interactions between Delphine and the other kids reminded me of when I was a kid.

P.S. This is a kids book, there is a mention of a teen that was killed, but nothing graphic.
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May 17, 2011

Emily Michelle rated it

This is a great book. It's very readable--ridiculously readable. I picked it up to skim through the first few pages and ended up reading the entire thing that night, because Williams-Garcia's spare but evocative prose sucks you in and you read because you want to know what will happen but also because her writing is such a pleasure. The characters are interesting and layered and well drawn and the author paints them clearly with just a few words. The sisters, especially, are delightful, and I lo...more

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May 03, 2011

Beverly rated it

Shelves: good-girl-books

I don't know if readers too young to remember the events that are the background of One Crazy Summer will love the novel as much as I did, but it is still a wonderful historical fiction/realistic family story. I was the same age as oldest sister, Delphine, in the summer 1968, and I remember from the TV news and adult conversations the events Delphine is experiencing. I, too, could not figure out if the Black Panthers were good guys or scary guys. But I was watching it on TV; Delphine was living ...more

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Apr 19, 2011

Eileen Corbett rated it

One Crazy Summer tells the story of three young African American sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, who travel from their home in Brooklyn to stay with their mother in Oakland, California for the summer. The girls do not know much about their mother and they long to get to know her and understand what prompted her to leave them seven years earlier. Unfortunately, Cecile wants nothing to do with her daughters. Instead she sends them to a day camp where they receive free breakfast and indoct...more

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Mar 27, 2011

NebraskaIcebergs rated it

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 Cr...moreMost 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.(less)

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Mar 21, 2011

Erin rated it

Shelves: historical, fiction, juvenile, multicultural

I really enjoyed the first 90% of this book and then felt put off by the ending some. This book has a lot of fun, a lot of good story, but even better a lot of meaty stuff regarding ideas of race, color, power, poetry, freedom, culture, community, selfishness, and perception that can either sort of float by, hopefully to be re-engaged by children at a latter date, or, even better, be unpacked by a good teacher. The characters are really inviting and feel as endearingly real as the little touche...more

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Mar 18, 2011

Penny Johnson rated it

I was excited to read this book. It received numerous awards: Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King, National Book award. But I was drawn to it even more for another reason. The story takes place in Oakland CA in 1968. I was living just east of Oakland in 1968, and I was just a bit older than Delphine, the voice of this book. So I knew I would identify a great deal with the events of the story.

And I did. Delphine and her two younger sisters suddenly find themselves heavily involved w...more

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Mar 13, 2011

Tahleen rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, middle-grade

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. Th...moreDelphine 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.(less)

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Mar 03, 2011

Janet rated it

This indelible portrait of siblings on an unasked-for adventure, clear across the country from home, in revolutionary times and a colorful locale, is so deserving of its many awards and more. Eleven-year-old Delphine has the care of her two younger sisters as the three are sent from Brooklyn to Oakland to spend the summer with their long-absent mother. Cecile turns out apparently not to have retained an ounce of motherly instinct or care, and leaves her daughters to their own devices, though s...more

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Mar 01, 2011

Lynn rated it

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I liked the protagonist, 11 year old, Delphine, and her sisters, Vonetta and Fern very much. The time and place - Oakland 1968 intrigued me, too, but I had a hard time getting past the whole situation - 3 little girls sent all the way across the continent by themselves to spend the summer with a mother who left them when the youngest was still a nursling, and who in no way wants to see them now. Was life really that much different then than it is no...more

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Feb 22, 2011

Sweet on Books rated it

Shelves: melissa-y, independent-reader-jr

• One Crazy Summer is the story of Delphine, Vonetta, Fern, and their mother Cecile, during the summer of 1968 in
Oakland, California.
• During the summer of 1968, Oakland was the center of the Black Panther movement.
• This is a work of historical fiction, told from the unique point of view of an eleven year old girl.
• This book has garnered a mass of awards this year, including: 2011 Coretta Scott King Award, 2011 Newbery
Honor Book, 2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Histo...more• One Crazy Summer is the story of Delphine, Vonetta, Fern, and their mother Cecile, during the summer of 1968 in
Oakland, California.
• During the summer of 1968, Oakland was the center of the Black Panther movement.
• This is a work of historical fiction, told from the unique point of view of an eleven year old girl.
• This book has garnered a mass of awards this year, including: 2011 Coretta Scott King Award, 2011 Newbery
Honor Book, 2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction, and 2010 National Book Award Finalist.
------------------------------------------------------------
Delphine is our young narrator and in her brief eleven years she has seen a lot. She has watched her mother up and leave. She has learned how to make and keep Pa (their father) and Big Ma (their paternal grandmother) happy and to take care of just about every need of her two strong-willed younger sisters. Many times, while reading this book, I forgot just how young she was. During the summer of 1968, Pa decides it's time for the girls get to know their mother, Cecile, and puts them on a plane to Oakland, CA. With Big Ma's words in mind, "...Now don't go making a big, old Negro spectacle of yourselves", Delphine keeps the girls happy on the plane. Their dreams of Disney and Hollywood are quickly dashed when they arrive at Oakland airport and meet their mother, Cecile. As they wait and wait to be picked up, they finally notice a tall woman behind a large hat and sunglasses. She is looking at them but not approaching them. That is Cecile. The girls tell the flight attendant they have found their ride, and off to Cecile's house they go.

Upon arrival, Cecile tells the girls to hand over the money their father gave them and to get lost. Delphine remains ever vigilant, taking care of her sisters during their four week stay, while making sure they stay out of Cecile's hair so she can write her poetry. The girls end up spending most of their time at the Black Panther Center, where they attend camp and get free breakfast. The reality of this movement is very different than what the girls saw on TV about the Black Panthers back in Brooklyn. Delphine wonders why they never showed the generosity of this group on the television, and only showed the protests that inevitable turned violent. Without even realizing it, the girls get a valuable lesson in their identity and culture.

Williams-Garcia tells a story of a time that I, as a forty-one year old woman, knew not enough about. She has created an engaging, beautifully written story, that teaches and entertains. The characters are drawn so authentically. Delphine is currently my favorite heroine in all of children's literature. This is a must read story for children and adults of all races and creeds. It is the universal story of the triumph of the human spirit. This would make a terrific book club selection. There is so much to learn and so much to discuss.(less)

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"I was born in Queens, N.Y, on April 13, 1957. My mother, Miss Essie, named me 'NoMo' immediately after my birth. Although I was her last child, I took my time making my appearance. I like to believe I was dreaming up a good story and wouldn’t budge until I was finished. Even now, my daughters call me 'Pokey Mom', because I slow poke around when they want to go-go-go.

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