Book Review of One Crazy Summer

1.       BIBLIOGRAPHY

Williams-Garcia, Rita. 2010. One Crazy Summer. New York: Amistad, HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0060760907

2.       PLOT SUMMARY

Set in the late 1960s, One Crazy Summer is a story of three sisters--eleven year old Delphine, nine year old Vonetta, and seven year old Fern--who bravely leave their father and grandmother in Brooklyn to fly to Oakland to seek the mystery that is their absent mother, Cecile.  Cecile, who is a talented poet and involved in the Black Panther movement, left the girls seven years ago and has not been a mother to them since.  The three girls long to know and be known and, of course, to love and be loved by the woman who birthed them.  Yet, Cecile is distant and unloving, sending the girls to a Black Panther summer camp during their month-long visit.  As their grandmother Big Ma had said at their departure to fly to Cecile, “’Better come on and get some loving now…’” and Delphine determined, “She hadn’t had to finish the rest about how this might be the last time in a long while for kissing and hugging.  A flash of memory told me Cecile wasn’t one for kissing and hugging.”  The story is poignantly narrated by Delphine, who is responsible and measured well beyond her eleven years.  She skillfully cares for her animated sisters, and the three girls learn an astounding amount through their adventures about holding their heads high, owning their power, and standing up for themselves, no matter what.   

3.       CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Authentically placed in dynamic 1960s America, Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer will etch its strongly spoken truths onto the spirits of its readers.  Each character is fully believable, and the dialogue and narration are consistently graced with brilliant timing and content.  The plot and the subplots are realistic to the time period of the late 1960s and are written beautifully in a style that is understandable to young readers even though the concepts are profound.  The three main characters live and breathe the essence of their setting, yet they are always connected to the deeper, timeless truths and realities of being young girls with a mother who is choosing not to love them.

  “It was the pure excitement of seeing the world,” Delphine internally muses as she takes a moment to enjoy the sighting of the Golden Gate Bridge on the day trip to San Francisco.  She is never a victim and never internalizes her mother’s inability to love, modeling for her sisters to follow suit—power that lines up with the power of the Black Panther movement.  Delphine keeps her perspective and somehow shields herself and her younger sisters from her mother’s narcissistic brokenness.  Upon learning Cecile’s story, Delphine concludes, “She told me everything I wanted to know and too much.  It was too much.  I’d have to take it out one piece at a time to look at it.”

When the girls recite Cecile’s (Nzila’s, as she named herself) poem, “I Birthed a Black Nation” at the Black Panther rally, they seem to be affirming that they accept who their mother is and they will love her, even if they are never loved back.  What is true power if not this?  At the close of the novel, Cecile looks at Delphine, and we see her heart turn slightly toward her daughter.  We know that she hugs back when all three daughters run to hug her goodbye.  Williams-Garcia’s voice is a gift to readers as she captures this revolutionary time period in America and creates a humorous, unforgettable tale that truly succeeds in connecting and teaching all those lucky enough to read it.

“Extras and Activities” included at the end of the book give readers numerous excellent ideas for further study of the Black Panther movement and women poets who wrote at the time period during which this book is set.

Grades 3 and up

4.       REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

From Booklist:  “Strong-willed, responsible Delphine stirringly narrates this vibrant novel about the subtle ways political movements affect personal lives as well as the universal story of children discovering a reluctant parent’s love.”

From The Horn Book Magazine:  “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 with their radical new ideas about the world.”

5.       CONNECTIONS

Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2011, Winner, Author

John Newbery Medal, 2011, Honor Book

National Book Award, 2010, Finalist, Young People’s Literature

Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2011, Winner

An English class connection lesson could be to also read Williams-Garcia’s books Be Eleven and Gone Crazy in Alabama, focusing particularly on character studies as the story of Delphine and her sisters continues.

A history class connection could be to research and study the Black Panther movement using accurate, authentic resources and documents, ensuring thorough coverage of Huey Newton, Bobby Hutton (Lil’ Bobby), Bobby Seale, Kathleen Cleaver, Eldridge Cleaver, and other prominent political activists of this movement.

An English, specifically poetry, connection could be to discuss and analyze the poem “I Birthed a Black Nation,” and have students write an in-depth essay about what the poem means to them and how they can be a force of positive change in the world that celebrates and honors diversity.