Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York, NY: Amistad.
One Crazy Summer was written by Rita Williams-Garcia and was published in 2010. It won the Coretta Scott King award in 2011. In the story, three sisters are sent from their home in Brooklyn to stay with their mother in California, who abandoned them as young children. While in Oakland, California, the girls are forced to spend time at a local center run by Black Panthers in the heat of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. Throughout the story they must fend for themselves as their mother refuses to have a real role in their lives. They experience many ups and downs during their crazy summer and finally learn a little more about their own mother along the way.
The events of the story take place during a pivotal time in the civil rights movement thus this book could be used in conjunction with the social studies curriculum. Students could have debates or discussions about racism and equal rights for all citizens. Further, they could also investigate different political movements, such as the Black Panthers.
Williams-Garcia created very strong characters especially, Delphine who was independent, reliable, and responsible. She took care of her younger sisters when her mother would not. Her sisters, Fern and Vonetta, were also very strong characters with a lot of charisma and spunk. One thing that I had a hard time with throughout the novel was my extreme disdain for the girls’ mother, Cecile. At the end of the novel, Cecile does start to warm up to the girls just a bit, but I still felt very negative about her character’s lack of motherly instinct and emotion toward her own children. Overall, though, the novel’s message of growth and understanding is one that children would enjoy. 
(Image retrieved from amazon.com)
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