Rita Williams Garcia focuses on Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern returning to Brooklyn New York with a new idea of independence. After spending the summer with their mother and the Panthers they realized that life is changing for them and their grandmother does not approve. Their lives are changing and is seems like everyones growing up. The girls are reminded by their mother to stay of the age eleven and not grow up too fast. this book teaches children about the changes that come when they grow up and to realize that is good to still feel like a child even though people are changing and growth is happening. This novel is great for older children possibly in 4-5th grade. ( )

The one crazy summer of 1968 has ended. Delphine is back in Brooklyn and entering sixth grade. Her pa has a lady friend, Miss Marva Hendricks. Along with her sisters Vonetta and Fern, Delphine has fallen in love with the Jackson 5. Their Uncle D returns from Vietnam a changed man. Big Ma is as disapproving as ever.

So this is a slice of life, episodic book. As with [b:One Crazy Summer|6609764|One Crazy Summer|Rita Williams-Garcia|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347436965s/6609764.jpg|6803731], I wasn't crazy about the lack of plot. However, this book had more energy than its predecessor, and I was able to get through it without chronic "Where's this going?" fatigue. (I think I used to have more patience for everyday life books without much plot, but reading so much YA lit has ruined me.)

Things I'll remember about this book:

-Delphine coming to grips with Merriam Webster not being a lady.
-Will I remember Fern's favorite word? Surely will.
-What does it mean to be eleven years old? Is Delphine too responsible for her age? Is she trying to grow up too fast? ( )

Loved this. I just closed the book, and already I miss the girls' finger snapping, singing, dancing, and bickering in my head. As though the time and place of this book aren't great enough, these three sisters are some of my favorite, true-to-life, so-real-I-hear-them-and-see-them siblings I've ever met in a story. I love how this book captures how prickly friendships can be at this age, and what a lonely feeling that can be. This one is a gem. I definitely could've used it when I was eleven. ( )

Great details on growing up African American in the 60s. Also on being sisters.
SPL Global Reading Challenge 2016 ( )

Eleven-year-old Brooklyn girl Delphine feels overwhelmed with worries and responsibilities. She's just started sixth grade and is self-conscious about being the tallest girl in the class, and nervous about her first school dance. She's supposed to be watching her sisters, but Fern and Vonetta are hard to control. Her uncle Darnell is home from Vietnam and seems different. And her pa has a girlfriend. At least Delphine can write to her mother in Oakland, California, for advice. But why does her mother tell her to "be eleven" when Delphine is now twelve?