It is stunningly, superbly written. The impact haunts long after the last page is read.

Eleven year old Delphine has a story to tell, unsure of the ending, she is ever ready to vocalize her thoughts and feelings. She is upset, confused, angry, spunky and self righteous.

Her mother Cecile left seven years ago, slamming the door as she never looked back. Abandoning Delphine, tiny little baby Fern and two year old Vonetta was effortless. While their father and grandmother provided love and security, young Delphine became mother to her siblings.

In the summer of 1968, they were sent to Oakland, California to stay with a mother who was none too happy to see them. Instead of embraces, they received neglect. Instead of a welcome, they were once again reminded they were not wanted.

Instead of spending time with her children, Cecile sent them to a summer camp run by members of the Black Panthers.

Deftly weaving this important historical time frame with the poignancy of three struggling little girls, the author does a superb job of depicting both the turmoil of the civil rights movement and the internal tumult of the children.

This is more than a coming of age story of a young girl; It is also a tale of a movement struggling to succeed against incredible odds.

During one crazy summer Delphine learns more than she bargained for, including the fact that like the Black Panthers, her mother's beginning was filled with complicated obstacles.

The author is a master of telling a poetic tale of three little girls in search of a mother's love and the difficult struggle of anything in life that is worth fighting for.

Read, laugh, weep and sigh at the sheer beauty of a complicated situation filled with the contradictions of anger, hurt and understanding leading to forgiveness.

Highly recommended.