[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, everyone.
The Book Boys are back.
And we read One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia.
And we really enjoyed
this one, right?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Check out our review.
One Crazy Summer is the first
book in a three book series
called The Gaither Sisters.
And it's by author
Rita Williams-Garcia.
This is an award-winning book.
It's got a Newbery Award.
It's got a Coretta
Scott King Author Honor,
and it's a National
Book Award finalist.
So at the root of
this story, you
have three young girls who are
trying to experience childhood
in a normal way.
They're trying to figure
out who their mother is
and why she abandoned them.
They're finding out who
the Black Panthers are,
and why society
sees them one way,
but the sisters know
them to be different
from their own experience.
And they're experiencing
political climate
in two different cities,
Brooklyn, New York,
and Oakland, California.
So the power within a name
is a huge theme in this book.
We have Cecile, who
chooses the name Nzila.
Everyone in the
community center calls
her Nzila, who doesn't believe
that a name can control her.
On the other hand,
we have Delphine,
whose name defines her.
She thinks that there's no
possibility of changing it
because that's just who she is.
The right to choose
one's own name
is a theme that's heavily
explored in this story
and also in Nzila's poetry.
The sister's mother,
Nzila, is a poet.
Poetry is a big
theme in this book.
The black community
in Oakland used poems
to express their resistance.
In this book, you learn a
lot about the Black Panther
movement.
You learn about
Huey Newton, who is
one of the co-founders
of the movement.
You also learn about Bobby
Hutton, the youngest member
ever to join the
Black Panther Party.
You learn about the
Black Panther newspaper,
and their protocol
for protests, and what
it's like to be fully immersed
in a political movement.
You learn about the
things the Panthers teach
each other to stand up
to police brutality.
You learn a lot about
sisterhood and family.
I think above all
else, you learn
about the hard and long road of
enacting revolutionary change.
I really enjoyed this book.
I thought it was a well-written
piece of historical fiction
that told a serious yet humorous
story in a very succinct way.
I'd recommend this
book to any reader
who enjoys reading
about the struggles
and power of sisterhood.
I'd recommend this book
for any reader looking
to get into a great series.
I'd recommend this book
to any teacher who's
looking to spark a discussion on
inequality or the civil rights
movement.
