Historical Fiction: One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. HarperCollins Publishers, Jan 2010. 224 pages, $16.99,  9780060760885.

    11-year old Delphine and her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern lived most of their lives in Brooklyn without a mother. In the summer of 1968, their father sent them to Oakland to spend time with their mother and get to know her better. However, their mother is cold, rude, and not motherly. She would rather spend all her time creating poetry than care for her children. Because she wants them out of her way, she sends them to a Black Panther People's Center. The girls join the summer camp, learn more about the group, and contribute to a movement. 

    The time and place are historically and politically accurate. Williams Garcia references 1960s culture by including “The Mike Douglas Show" payphones, radios, television, and historically-accurate speech patterns. She adds historical events, like the Black Panther Movement and protests against the Vietnam War, that reflect the values and spirit of the time. She references real people like Huey Newton, Bobby Hutton, and the Kennedys. The segregation and discrimination remain true. The sisters spend most of their time in predominantly black Oakland, far from the predominately white San Francisco. White people treat the sisters like animals in a zoo or believe they will steal. Even Big Ma, the girls’ grandmother, believes that personal behavior reflects Black race. She believes calling white people Sir and Ma’am is a sign of respect .

    The children and the mother are well-developed and have strong personalities. The story has believable sibling dynamics by showcasing times of disagreements and times of love. Delphine, the narrator of the story, is mature for her age. Because her mother left, she had to take care of her sisters, learn to understand them and help mitigate their arguments. Delphine is a responsible girl with an unfair burden. By the end of their visit, her mother stresses that Delphine should enjoy being a child while she still can. As for their mother, the reader learns how her troubled childhood led her to crave a life of independence. She sees her poetry as a way to fight for things she believes in. Williams-Garcia also shows a gentle side of the Black Panther Movement. The girls learn to appreciate their message to help and protect lives. Plus, not everyone in the Black Panther Movement was violent. Sister Makumbu, for example, is a well-intentioned and kind teacher. 

    Since the themes reflect events like the Black Panther and Civil Right movements, they adhere to facts. Their fight appears real to current-day readers. After all, people are still fighting for justice and against police brutality. At the same time, the story also deals with abandonment and the importance of names. A name is how people know you. Their names are gifts their mother wanted to give them. Overall, Williams-Garcia writes the story clearly and directly.