Historical Fiction and Contemporary Realism

 

One Crazy Summer. By Rita Williams-Garcia. Quill Tree Books, 2011. 240 pages. $9.99. ISBN 9780060760892

Ages 9 - 11. On a flight from New York City to Oakland, Delphine keeps reminding herself of what Big Ma told her before she and her little sisters took off, "Oakland's nothing but a boiling pot of trouble cooking." The girls have big dreams about a month in California: Disneyland, surfing, and spending time getting to know the mother who walked out on them. When they land, they learn that their ideas for the summer are nothing like what is really going to go down. Set in the late 1960s, One Crazy Summer, is about an eleven year-old who's had to grow up taking care of her younger sisters but has always had the security of her Pa and grandma at all times. Out in Oakland, their mother doesn't even want to talk to them and constantly reminds the girls that they were unwanted. Forced to fend for themselves, the girls find breakfast and a camp with the Black Panther-supported community center. Over the course of the month, the girls learn about themselves as Black girls, that the media portrays a very different view of the Black Panthers, and how to find independence from each other. Dephine's narration comes across as a clever, bold eleven-going-on-twelve year old which creates an immensely endearing characters that young readers can relate to. Williams-Garcia gently informs the reader about social justice issues and historical events during the time, but more importantly educates on examples of casual racism at the hands of strangers they meet but also within the characters themselves.

Before the Ever After. By Jacqueline Woodson. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020. 176 pages. $17.99. ISBN 9780399545436

Ages 10 - 13. Zachariah 44 is a Super Bowl-winning tight end who loves the game of football, but something is breaking inside of him. His symptoms include: memory loss, migraines, difficulty regulating his emotions, shaky hands, and the inability to remain focused. But the plethora of doctors they visit don't know what's going on. This novel-in-verse is told from the perspective of his son, ZJ, and is set in upstate New York from 1999-2000. ZJ and his mom are forced to sit by and watch as Zachariah spirals downward into the effects of what we now know as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). This degenerative brain disease affects people who are repeatedly hit in the head, but for ZJ he feels like his dad is slowly disappearing and he's desperately trying to keep him present using their mutual love for music. Though this story is set over twenty years ago, this reads like a contemporary piece aside from references to Y2K. ZJ and his friends read like any middle school group of guys who spend the weekends skateboarding, playing football, and simply being present in each other's lives. ZJ's narration is conversational, but he's also vulnerable as he's learning to cope with his emotions by channeling them into the music he writes with and for his dad. Middle school readers will find instant similarities between themselves and ZJ because the tone easily fluctuates been happy memories and the unsureness about what the future holds for him and his family. This narrative voice coupled with the minimal text and short chapter concept of a novel-in-verse makes the book an excellent choice for reluctant readers or as a classroom read aloud.