Beach-loving surfer Alberta has been the only black girl in town for years. Alberta's best friend, Laramie, is the closest thing she has to a sister, but there are some things even Laramie can't understand. When the bed and breakfast across the street finds new owners, Alberta is ecstatic to learn the family is black — and they have a 12-year-old daughter just like her.
Alberta is positive she and the new girl, Edie, will be fast friends. But while Alberta loves being a California girl, Edie misses her native Brooklyn and finds it hard to adapt to small-town living. When the girls discover a box of old journals in Edie's attic, they team up to figure out exactly who's behind them and why they got left behind. Soon they discover shocking and painful secrets of the past and learn that nothing is quite what it seems. Award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert's debut middle-grade novel explores race, identity, and family.
"The author of the journals was Constance, a young woman who apparently worked as a nanny in the building during the 1950s.... While Alberta and Edie juggle the awkward, sometimes-painful dynamics of middle school friendships, bullies, and racism, their research into the journals leads the girls to a discovery of family and racial dynamics that transcends time. Colbert’s middle-grade debut, centering black girls who represent a range of experiences, deserves a standing ovation. Alberta’s narration is perceptive and accessible as she navigates race in America in the past and present." — Kirkus Reviews
Recommended Age | 10 - 13 |
---|---|
Author | Brandy Colbert |
ISBN | 0316456381 |
Publication Date | Mar 10, 2020 |
Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
Language | English |