LS5603: Historical Fiction 1—“One Crazy Summer” by Rita Williams Garcia

There are more awards on that cover than people!

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. ISBN 978-0-06-076088-5

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
Delphine, only 11 years old, and her two younger sisters visit their estranged mother in Oakland, California in the turbulent summer of 1968. They spend a month with their mother, a poet, who left them  years ago who wishes they weren’t there, and who sends them to a Black Panther summer camp.   

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity
            Delphine makes for a very pragmatic and sensible main character. Unlike her younger sisters, both prone to overacting and vying for attention, she considers herself someone who has a “plain face and plain words.” Her plain voice, as she calls it, makes the book a straightforward, compelling read when combined with her apt assessments of the world and her wry sense of humor. As the oldest in the family, she has had the majority of the burden of responsibility at her feet since her mother left, and the whole book is shadowed with concerns about her sister and not becoming a “grand Negro spectacle” while being in public. Williams-Garcia does an excellent job of not making this into a book of history and dates—the history is merely a backdrop to the concerns Delphine has. And while most teenagers have never had to worry about going to a rally that could end up dangerous, taking care of younger siblings, having a name that gets made fun of, or even liking boys is something many can relate to.

Although none of the characters in the book are real, the events that are talked about in the Black Panther summer camp and the people they talk about were. For example, Bobby Hutton, or “lil’Bobby” as they call him in the book, was a sixteen-year old Black Panther who was shot more than twelve times by police after he surrendered and had stripped to his underwear to prove he was not armed. In the book, there are newspaper articles and a rally held in his name.

The time period is one that has very few YA books written about it, as it is still recently enough in history that many people who lived through it are still alive. However, for children who read this book (appropriate for grades 4-7), it’s often a history that gets very little time in school—most schools discuss the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, but the Black Panther movement, which happened at the same time, receives very little discussion. It’s also written a little simpler than many other books about the same subject that are meant for high school students, making it an excellent book for readers in middle school. Even for an unfamiliar setting, readers will recognize the famous names thrown around to give a sense of time, such as Muhammad Ali or JFK.

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

·         Newbery Honor Book

·         Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

·         Coretta Scot King Award

·         National Book Award Finalist

·         New York Times bestselling author

·         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." 

·         From Booklist: " Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion. Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent’s love."

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other books by Rita Williams-Garcia

Like Sisters on the Homefront ISBN978-0140385618

Every Time a Rainbow Dies ISBN 978-0688162450

No Laughter Here ISBN 978-0064409926

P.S. Be Eleven ISBN 978-0061938627 (sequel to One Crazy Summer)

Other books about the civil rights movement in the 1950s-1960s

Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals, ISBN 978-1416928827

The Lions of Little Rock by Krisin Levine ISBN 978-0142424353

The Rock and the River by Kekla Bagoon ISBN 978-1416978039

Fire in the Streets by Kekla Magoon, ISBN 978-1442422315