One Crazy ­Summer: The Graphic Novel

Gr 3-7–A summer trip from New York to California offers three sisters profound, funny, and sometimes difficult lessons in the nature of family and the complexities of racial identity. In the late 1960s, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern live with their father and their proper, strict grandma, but embark on a trip to visit their estranged mother on the opposite coast. On arrival, they find their mother distant and harsh—she doesn’t cook, she doesn’t hug, and she sends them off most days to the Black Panther’s free breakfast and summer camp program. Each sister reacts differently: Delphine acts as a surrogate parent, upholding Grandma’s old-fashioned values; Vonetta longs to fit in with kids with radically minded parents; and Fern, who was an infant when their mother left, wonders why her mom won’t call her by her name. This graphic adaptation of Williams-Garcia’s novel of the same name captures the intricacies of an essential cultural moment in Black history, while remaining intimate, humorous, and heartrending. In particular, the girls’ realization of how much their mother’s political convictions matter to the local community will deeply affect readers as well. Miller’s bright, energetic illustrations work perfectly to help readers experience the story through a child’s watchful eyes.