I absolutely loved "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia. As you can see from the cover, this book has won a lot of awards and it deserves them. Delphine has taken care of her sisters ever since her mother left them alone with their dad. It was still a good life, living with her dad and grandma, but her mom was a completely absent person. Until the summer of 1968her dad decides to send them from their home in Brooklyn, New York, to visit their mother, Cecile, in Oakland, California.
The problem is, Cecile doesn't really want them. The children are then left in the care of a woman who forbids them to enter the kitchen and sends them off to the Black Panther summer program down the street to fend for themselves.
I just fell in love with Delpine and all her oldest sibling characteristics. She had to grow up much to quickly and it shows. She and her sisters have several adventures of their own. They travel the city, they learn about the Black Panthers and their mission, which is vastly different from what they had learned from the tv and their grandma. It's the story of an important time in our history and an inside, child's view into the black panthers. It's a story of growth and understanding. It's not a nice and tidy ending but it is satisfying and complete. I would love for all of my children to read this book. I highly recommend it for all ages.
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