One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer review by Sarah Bartholomew 

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2010.

ISBN 9780060760885

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern travel from Brooklyn to Oakland, California to visit their mother who left them when Fern was just a baby. They have just one month to try to learn all they can about their mother that abandoned them. The year is 1968 and these young sisters see the fight for equality first hand when they join a summer camp sponsored by the Black Panthers. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

One Crazy Summer provides a unique viewpoint of the end of the Civil Rights Movement that took place in the 1960s. The story is told through the eyes of three young girls who grew up in Brooklyn, taught by their father and grandmother to keep a low profile so as not to draw increased attention to themselves because of the color of their skin. When they move to Oakland for a month, this viewpoint is challenged as the girls begin spending time around Freedom Fighters and the Black Panthers. Their way of life is turned upside down as their mother takes a backseat in parenting and, in multiple ways, neglects her daughters. Williams-Garcia creates a vivid setting that allows the reader to not only understand the physical layout of the story, but the political and social issues going on at this point in history. Each character reacts to the changes in their lives differently, and they develop in unique ways while still becoming closer as a family. A lot of events happen in the month span that the story takes place without the plot feeling forced or rushed. Williams-Garcia did a fantastic job creating a novel that addresses racial inequality, abandonment, and other tough topics in a kid-friendly way that will help readers to better understand the world around them. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

2010 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST

2011 CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD

2011 NEWBERY MEDAL HONOR

2011 SCOTT O’DELL AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 

From Kirkus Review: “Delphine is the pitch-perfect older sister, wise beyond her years, an expert at handling her siblings...while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page.”

From Publishers Weekly: “Delphine’s growing awareness of injustice on a personal and universal level is smoothly woven into the story in poetic language that will stimulate and move readers.”

From School Library Journal: “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.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Gather other works by Rita Williams-Garcia

P.S. Be Eleven ISBN 9780061938641

Gone Crazy in Alabama ISBN 9780062215895

Gather other Civil Rights Era works featuring a black female protagonist 

Robinson, Sharon. Child of the Dream. ISBN 9781338282818

Patrick, Denise Lewis. Melody: No Ordinary Sound. ISBN 9781683371403