I don’t know why I haven’t read anything by Rita Williams Garcia, but her books, PS Be Eleven and One Crazy Summer have been on my TBR for ever!
I love this book so hard! Look at those little Minnies on the cover; arent they ADORABLE?? Those little sisters are your typical bickering siblings. Except they live in late 1960s New York and are sent to stay with relatives in the South. This was a pretty typical phenomenon back in the day. Kids needed to get some home trainin from Big Mama and also learn to appreciate the things they had up North.
Now I never lived in Alabama but lived in Texas but I KNOW things are very different for Blacks in the South than they are in the North. I was an adult when I lived in Texas and while the South has a certain charm to it, it also lacks a certain backwardness racially that needs to get straightened out.
I guess that’s the bit that RWG wanted the reader to understand: that even kids understand when they are treated differently because of their race. Look at Brown Girl Dreaming by my GIRL Jackie Woodson. They live in New York and also travel to the South and are warned about watching their mouth and their manners.
Don’t let the racial overtones get the best of your judgement. This book is FOR EVERYONE. White kids can learn about segregation but they will also see themselves in this book. They’ll see that all siblings argue and that the older bossy sister is no different from their own older bossy sister.
Love is love, and family is what it’s all about.
I read this book as part of the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon.
This also qualifies for the Diversity Reading Challenge!