P.S. Be eleven

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Title:

P.S. Be eleven

Author:

Williams-Garcia, Rita

ISBN:

9780061938627

9780061938634

9780061938641

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

274 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

Sequel to: One crazy summer.

Abstract:

The Gaither sisters return to Brooklyn, where they adapt to new feelings of independence while managing changes large and small, from Pa's new girlfriend to a very different Uncle Darnell's return from Vietnam.

Reading Level:

Ages 8-12.

Subject Term:

Sisters -- Juvenile fiction

African Americans -- Juvenile fiction

Historical fiction.

Holds:

Available:

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... MCML South Regional Library - The Woodlands	Juvenile Books, circulating	jF Wil	Searching... Unknown
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Summary

Things are changing in the Gaither household. After soaking up a "power to the people" mind-set over the summer, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern return to Brooklyn with a newfound streak of independence. Pa has a girlfriend. Uncle Darnell is home from Vietnam, but he's not the same. And a new singing group called the Jackson Five has the girls seeing stars.

But the one thing that doesn't change Big Ma still expects Delphine to keep everything together. That's even harder now that her sisters refuse to be bossed around, and now that Pa's girlfriend voices her own opinions about things. Through letters, Delphine confides in her mother, who reminds her not to grow up too fast. To be eleven while she can.

An outstanding successor to the Newbery Honor Book One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven stands on its own as a moving, funny story of three sisters growing up amid the radical change of the 1960s, beautifully written by the inimitable Rita Williams-Garcia.

Notes

Rita Williams-Garcia graduated from Hofstra University. She has written several books including Blue Tights, Every Time a Rainbow Dies, Fast Talk on a Slow Track, One Crazy Summer, and No Laughter Here. Like Sisters on the Homefront was named a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. She won the PEN/Norma Klein Award. She currently teaches at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the Writing for Children and Young Adults Program. She won the Coretta Scott King awards in 2016 with her title Gone Crazy in Alabama in the author category.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-In Williams-Garcia's sequel (2013) to her Coretta Scott King award-winning One Crazy Summer (2010, both Amistad), the three Gaither sisters-Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern-return home to Brooklyn after an eventful 28-day reunion with their estranged poet mother in Oakland, California. They are full of "Power to the People" and independence as they finish up their summer and begin another school year. Told through the eyes of sixth grader Delphine, the eldest sister, listeners join the girls as they navigate the changes in their lives during 1968, including the return of their beloved Uncle Darnell from Vietnam who just isn't the same, their Pa's new girlfriend, and the arrival of the Jackson Five on the music scene. Delphine confides her worries and thoughts in letters to her mother, who reminds her daughter not to grow up to fast-to "be eleven." The novel has strong African-American female characters. The Gaither girls mature and adapt to the changes happening around them. Sisi Aisha Johnson does a superb job of creating a unique voice for each character. The sisters like to finish each other sentences, and Johnson's distinct vocal changes keep each girl's voice clear. She captures the humorous moments as easily as the thoughtful ones, producing a smile one moment and bringing tears to your eyes the next. Featuring an excellent text and superb narration, this is a must-have for school and public libraries looking for well-written historical fiction offering insight into the African-American experience of the 1960s as seen through a young girl's eyes.-Terri Norstrom, Cary Area Library, IL (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Delphine and her sisters return to Brooklyn from visiting their estranged mother, Cecile, a poet who sent them off every day to a camp run by the Black Panthers in Williams-Garcia's Newbery Honor-winning One Crazy Summer. It wasn't the California vacation they expected, but the experience rocked their world. Big Ma, their grandmother, is no longer just a stern taskmaster, she's an oppressor. Delphine, who again narrates, loses interest in magazines like Tiger Beat and Seventeen: "When there's Afros and black faces on the cover, I'll buy one," she tells a storeowner. Reflecting society at large in 1968, change and conflict have the Gaither household in upheaval: Pa has a new girlfriend, Uncle Darnell returns from Vietnam a damaged young man, and the sixth-grade teacher Delphine hoped to get has been replaced by a man from Zambia. Though the plot involves more quotidian events than the first book, the Gaither sisters are an irresistible trio. Williams-Garcia excels at conveying defining moments of American society from their point of view-this is historical fiction that's as full of heart as it is of heartbreak. Ages 8-12. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.