In her first novel for middle graders, distinguished author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the moving story of three sisters who travel to turbulent Oakland, California, in 1968 in search of the mother who abandoned them.
Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. And even though Delphine must look after her sisters during a summer trip to California to visit Cecile. To get them out of her hair, their mother decides that the girls will attend a day camp run by the Black Panthers. There, the sisters are transformed from naive “colored girls” into strong, proud black girls who become an important part of the community.

Acclaimed author Rita Williams-Garcia writes with insight and humor about family, politics, and identity in this brilliant middle-grade novel.