Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are on their way back to Brooklyn from Oakland where they have spent the last little while getting to know their mother, Cecile. Delivered unceremoniously back into the arms and admonishments of Big Ma, and back to Herkimer Street and Pa, Delphine knows that she has changed, but she surely didn't expect things in Brooklyn to have changed as well.
First off, Pa has lost his long face. He's whistling Tempations songs, instead of Old Man River. Right off, he wants to have a conversation with the girls, but Big Ma beats him to it. "Your Pa is keeping company with a woman in Brownsville." (p. 36) Marva Hendrix is her name, and while Vonetta and Fern think this is fine and silly, Delphine is not so sure.
Next, Uncle Darnell is back from Vietnam. But he isn't the same either. The old Uncle D would be smiling and singing and laughing, but now, he seems distant and sick. He wakes up shouting and isn't so interested in his nieces.
Readers follow Delphine's journey into sixth grade as she navigates a changing family, grows her friendships, and figures out how to have a relationship with her distant mother.
P.S. Be Eleven is simply a joy to read. Each character is here for a reason and adds to the story. Delphine's voice is so perfect as are the voices of those around her. Williams-Garcia paints a picture of Bed-Stuy in the 1960s, and she weaves the historical details in seamlessly. This book seems timeless and should be on everyone's must read list!
Last time I had a book in hand on the train to ALA, it was Grace Lin's
Where The Mountain Meets the Moon. This time I took along
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, and was pleased as punch when I closed the book upon arriving at Union Station.
Delphine is trying to keep her younger sisters
Vonetta and Fern calm as they jet through turbulence on the way to go meet their mother Cecile in California. Delphine has an inkling of the turbulence she and her sisters may be in for once they get to Oakland. She has vague memories of being with Cecile in their kitchen in Brooklyn while she wrote on the walls and muttered to herself. She also knows that Cecile left soon after Fern was born. After that, Big Ma moved from down South to Brooklyn and took up right where their mom left off.
Now the girls are about to spend their summer with Cecile, just because Daddy says it's time. Cecile didn't send for them, or ask about them, but they are coming anyway. When they finally land, the stewardess hands them off to Cecile -- a strange woman in a pair of man's pants, gigantic sunglasses and a scarf. Not one for affection, she tells them to follow her and strides off. After a commute that involves a particular taxi and a bus ride, the girls enter into Cecile's house. It's more than the girls thought it would be based on all of the talking that Big Ma had been doing.
But it's not quite homey. The girls are banished from the kitchen, and are told to head to the back bedroom that they would all be sharing. There's no food in the house, no television, and it becomes obvious quite quickly, that the girls won't be depending on Cecile for any entertainment this summer!
The morning after they arrive, Cecile directs Delphine and her sisters to the People's Center to get some breakfast. She tells them that it will be easy to find. After all it's "
black folks in black clothes rapping revolution and a line of hungry black kids." (p. 57)
This sets the stage for the slow reveal. The story is one of family, of politics, of race and friendship. Williams-Garcia has seemingly effortlessly woven in the feel of the time period (1968), and allowed a window into Oakland and the reality of the Black Panther movement; whether it be senseless arrests or educating children. There are enough jumping off points to bring on a study of the time period, but the story never veers into message territory. Delphine is the epitome of the 11 year old. She's a responsible first born who is trying to figure her mother out, while finding her own self at the same time.
I was amazed upon finding the reality of Cecile's existence. All of the characters in this book are multifaceted, and remind the reader to look a little deeper.
A must read.
Mary Rodgers and screen writer Heather Hach team up for this loose companion to Freaky Friday with hilarious results. Hadley is a stressed out middle schooler living in the shadow of her picture perfect sister. Tatum looks like a goddess, is super nice, and seems to have everyone under her spell. Hadley on the other hand, lives for good grades, has her path to the Ivy Leagues all mapped out, and has hair that just hangs there.
Hadley just switched planners to the Super Student Planner Plus and somehow managed to space out and not write in the fact that her oral presentation on To Kill a Mockingbird is due TODAY. Hadley is freaking out so badly that her two best friends Soup and Nan can’t even sympathize. Hadley’s only hope is appealing to her hippie dippy teacher Ms. Pitt’s (call me Carol) granola like nature. Maybe she’ll cut Hadley a break.
Not.
From the title we all knew what was coming, we just didn’t know who. Well this time it’s Hadley and Ms. Pitt who are presto-chango existing in each other’s bodies and desperately trying to find out how to switch back before a) Miss Pitt has her English Chair interview with the School Board and b) Hadley goes to the I Hate Monday dance and hopefully talks to dreamy Zane.
This author combination really works. The dialogue is spot on and laugh-out-loud funny. Even though Hadley is an intense girl and her constant comparing herself with her sister borders on annoying, she never crosses into that territory. Hadley learns that maybe Tatum isn’t quite as perfect as she seems, and perhaps she herself needs to lighten up a bit, and see herself as others do. Ms. Pitt, on the other hand, could take a lesson in time management and realizing that she can’t be the best teacher for everyone.
Fun.
Sounds great! I will request it at the library. Thanks for the review; I love the title.