Coretta Scott King Book Award: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer is the 2011 Coretta Scott King Book Award winner.  The story depicts a humanizing look at a point in history filled with turmoil and prejudice.  The book chronicles the journey three sisters take when they go to stay with their mother who left them when they were very young and as they come to terms with their abandonment while gaining an understanding of the life their mother choice over them.  What I found fascinating with this book is that the author doesn't specifically go about making the the story a lesson in history, or providing a happy resolution for any of the characters.  Instead, the story plays out in a humanistic fashion. The era is the late sixties during a time of change for American, specifically for African-Americans.  The oldest of the sisters, Delphine, holds the most resentment towards her mother, although she does well to hold it in, deep inside her.  The book, written mainly from her point of view, shows her transformation and awareness that things are always the way she has been taught to believe.  While she never quite gets the affirmation from her mother that she longed for, she did develop a new and different appreciation and understanding for her mother.

What I appreciated most about this book is how the author allowed me to connect emotionally with Delphine and I felt her pain, her resentment, and her growth throughout the story.  While on the surface, it would seem as though the character isn't one I could directly relate to, the author's choice of worse and storytelling ability, created that emotional bond, which allowed me to connect.  Possibly, one other reason for the connection is that I thoroughly enjoy reading novels written about this time period.  I find the eras of the sixties and seventies to be one of such significant growth and change in this country. So many pivotal moments that helped to shape our country today took place during this time.  This book takes an engaging look at this time and while the era is not a critical component of the story, it creates a backdrop that serves to helps readers understand the African-American perspective of that time.