REVIEW OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK #2: ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia

 

One Crazy Summer

 Review by Lucinda Zamora-Wiley

 1. Bibliography:

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Quill Tree Books, 2011.

2. Brief plot summary:

One Crazy Summer follows Delphine and her younger sisters Fern and Vonetta as they head from New York to Oakland, California, to reunite with their mother, Cecile, who abandoned them seven years prior in order to embrace a freedom and life that the girls cannot even fathom. Told from Delphine’s perspective as an intelligent eleven-year old African-American girl, the reader is able to process the frustration that Delphine and her sisters experience when their mother picks them up at the airport and offers no warm welcome or kindness. Instead, Cecile makes it clear that she never asked for her daughters to visit and makes it clear that all three of them are an imposition on her creative work as a publisher and poet. In order to get them out of her home and hair, Cecile sends Delphine, Fern, and Vonetta to the local Black Panthers summer camp program every day for the four weeks that the girls are “stuck” with her in Oakland; at the camp, the girls get free breakfast and lunch, as well as education about Civil Rights from some powerfully intelligent and compassionate teachers who are also activist-members of the Black Panthers. Set in 1968 right after MLK’s assassination, Williams-Garcia paints an authentic portrait of a strong big sister who’s had to grow up and mature faster than she should have. At first cautious and a bit afraid of the Black Panthers and what they stand for (thanks to rumors that abound about the Panthers), Delphine quickly learns that there are strong, just principles that propel them in their activism and desire for social and racial justice. Over the four weeks of togetherness, Delphine begins to understand life from her mother’s perspective; Delphine begins to understand that her mother is making extraordinary contributions to the advancement and empowerment of people of color. And while there may not be incredible warmth between  the girls and their mother by the end of their crazy summer together—which even included the arrest and release of their mother from jail—there is a newfound respect and admiration of their mother as a strong, authentic Black woman who is inspiring resistance and change right where she lives…and Cecile finds herself developing a sense of pride in her eldest daughter, Delphine, which is the beginning of a meaningful relationship for them both.

3. Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to each genre:

Williams-Garcia creates an enthralling novel aimed for middle-grade readers that explores an authentic portrait of The Black Panther movement and its contributions to community-building and advocacy for social and racial justice during the 1960s Civil Rights era. While it may seem hard to believe that a single father would impose his three daughters on an ex-wife/ mother who does not seem to want an extended visit from her daughters, the reader is quickly engaged in a realistic plot line and setting that helps suspend any criticism of father or mother. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern quickly learn that their expectations of Disneyland and other idyllic dreams of mother-daughter time are out the window, and they’re going to have to rely on themselves to make it through this crazy summer in Oakland. Williams-Garcia illustrates the authentic conflict that many Blacks in the 60s faced—whether or not they were “Black enough.” For instance, one Black Panther gives Fern grief for owning a white-skinned baby doll and openly mocks her. History in this novel is authentically portrayed; there is no sugar-coating here. Rather, the reader is forced to ponder universal and timeless conundrums like divorced parents, parental abandonment, and racial injustice—including the racially motivated murder of a young Black Panther, Bobby Hutton; and the unjust arrest of Huey Newton, a leader of the Black Panthers. This historically accurate portrayal of Oakland in 1968 builds ethos for our author, Williams-Garcia, who respects her young readership enough to honor them with believable, strong female characters who learn important life lessons. No matter the history going on in the background of this novel, the story is one of a young black girl who is beginning to blossom into her true self, with a new appreciation for her mother for being willing to live authentically true to her own calling and values—counter-cultural as they may be.

4. Awards won (if any) and review excerpt(s):

·       Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

·       Coretta Scott King Award

·       National Book Award Finalist

·       ALA Notable Children’s Book for Middle Readers

* School Library Journal writes, “Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading.”

* “In One Crazy Summer Williams-Garcia presents a child’s-eye view of the Black Panther movement within a powerful and affecting story of sisterhood and motherhood.”—from The New York Times

* The Horn Book writes, “The setting and time period are as vividly realized as the characters, and readers will want to know more about Delphine and her sisters after they return to Brooklyn.”

5. Connections:

·       History and English teachers can collaborate on a research project that enables students to investigate facets of the 1960s Civil Rights era—including Malcolm X, The Black Panthers (especially in relation to California in this era), MLK, and more.

·       Have students read the follow-up pair of books that completes this trilogy written by Williams-Garcia: book 2: P.S. Be Eleven and book 3: Gone Crazy in Alabama.

·       Just as Delphine researches the root meaning of her own name, students can interview their parents to see what the inspiration for their given name was, as well as learn more about the etymological roots of their first name and/ or last name—the culminating project could be the creation of a “coat of arms” that symbolically represents what they’ve learned about their name/ identity.

·       Have students read further about some amazing African-American poets worth discovering/ appreciating: from Gwendolyn Brooks to other Black poets of the Renaissance Era like Langston Hughes…all the way to important Black poets of the modern era, such as Kevin Young, Kwame Dawes, and more.