Rita Williams-Garcia follows up her 2011 Newbery Honor–winning One Crazy Summer with another beautifully crafted, frequently funny chapter in Delphine's coming-of-age journey.
The book begins with Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, flying home from a life-changing experience in Oakland, Calif., getting to know their mother, Cecile, and learning about her ties to the Black Panthers. Many changes await back home in Brooklyn, N.Y. Papa is getting married; Uncle Darnell returns home from Vietnam; and, instead of Delphine getting Miss Honeywell (with her stylish clothes and "fun projects") for sixth grade, as planned, Delphine gets Mr. Mwila from Zambia.
Williams-Garcia captures Delphine's inner struggle between the taste of independence and strength she gained in her mother's home, and the feeling of slipping backward under paternal grandmother Big Ma's iron fist. The author touches on the lasting scars of war--often unseen--through Delphine's exchanges with her uncle, as well as lighter moments from the era, such as the Jackson Five's debut on television. Delphine solidifies her relationship with her mother by writing for advice and checking out her theories. (Her mother's postscript sign-off gives the book its title.)
Not only does Williams-Garcia integrate pivotal events from history, but she also keeps her focus on the universal concerns of childhood--a need to belong to a family, friends and a larger mission. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness