P.S. Be Eleven (Gaither Sisters, #2) in Mock Newbery 2026

Mar 06, 2014 Shari (Shira) rated it it was ok

Shelves: childrensbooks, african-americans

Sequel to ONE CRAZY SUMMER, but not nearly as good. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are back home in Brooklyn and must face some big changes in their family. Parts of the story were delightful, like the girls' obsession with the Jackson Five. There were some abrupt incidents (SPOILER ALERT!) like Big Ma moving back to Alabama. There were also some incidents that did not make sense and made me a little angry. When a wonderful book like ONE CRAZY SUMMER comes along, I understand why the publisher want ...more

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Jul 12, 2013 Shannon rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013

In many ways I liked this more than ONE CRAZY SUMMER. The book so accurately reflects the fervor one has after being part of a thrilling activity away from home, then trying to transition to the old way of life. I also appreciated seeing the political and social conflicts occurring within a family. Plus, all the characters are just delightful to follow.

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Aug 12, 2013 Dest rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, tween, bipoc, school, historical-fiction, audio

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 One Crazy Summer, I wasn't crazy about the lack of plot. However, this book had more energy than its predecessor, and I was able to ...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Monica Edinger rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Reviewed on blog and below.

A huge fan of Rita Willliams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer, I was incredibly happy when it got a great deal of award-love and recognition. I mean, who could not be taken with those three sisters going off to spend the summer in California with the Black Panther mother they never knew? And who could not want to know what happened to them when they went home to Brooklyn?

Happily, we find out in the sequel, P.S. Be Eleven . Taking off immediately after the girls return fr Reviewed on blog and below.

A huge fan of Rita Willliams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer, I was incredibly happy when it got a great deal of award-love and recognition. I mean, who could not be taken with those three sisters going off to spend the summer in California with the Black Panther mother they never knew? And who could not want to know what happened to them when they went home to Brooklyn?

Happily, we find out in the sequel, P.S. Be Eleven . Taking off immediately after the girls return from California, their life in late 60s Brooklyn is all about changes. Delphine is starting sixth grade with a teacher she wasn't expecting, Vonetta and Fern are becoming more independent, their beloved uncle Darnell is back from Vietnam and not doing well at all, Pa has a new girlfriend, and Big Ma is struggling with all of it.

And Delphine is struggling too-- to make sense of her world, her family, her friends, and herself as she moves through this pivotal year. Her mother Cecile is on the other side of the continent, but her letters consistently and repeatedly remind Delphine to be eleven, to not grow up too soon, to be herself.

As in the first book, time and place are vividly evoked. I was particularly moved by the girls' adoration of the Jackson Five, their efforts to make it to a concert...and what happened about that. And Williams-Garcia does the small epiphanies of youth with exquisite perfection. Say Delphine learning the hard truth about her beloved dictionary, the tiny rare moments alone with her father, her growing awareness of the painful aspects of the lives of the adults around her, aspects completely unrelated to her or her two sisters.

This won't matter to young readers, but boy did reading this make me feel old! I was certain The Archie's "Sugar Sugar" was older than the time of this book as I recalled having to listen to it ad nauseam during Driver's Ed. But indeed I did that in 1969 and that was the year of that bubblegum hit. So I was older than Delphine in 1969.

But never mind about that -- all that matters is that young readers today are going to delight when they re-encounter Delphine and cheer as she ponders difficult things around her, learns, enjoys, and is, as her mother urges, (even after she turns twelve): eleven. ...more

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Jan 16, 2014 Tamsyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, children-s, mock-newbery, fms

I enjoyed this sequel more than I liked the previous book. The sisters arrive back home in Brooklyn after the trip to get re-acquainted with their mother in Oakland, CA. Back to living with Pa and Big Ma, their southern grandmother, who is both strict and on the old-fashioned side when it comes to clothes and gender roles. I enjoyed Delphine's correspondence with her mother, where she asks "grown up" questions, prompting the title response. Filled with realistic ups and downs of childhood, where ...more

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Sep 12, 2013 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013-award-possibilities

I liked this even better than One Crazy Summer. The writing is so joyful and natural and real. I don't think it's a GREAT standalone--I think there's a lot about Cecile that would be confusing (and some of it was confusing because I don't remember everything about her very well)--but it is doable. I love this cover, too, even though it doesn't match the text; I think of it kind of as, this is how Delphine and Vonetta and Fern felt on the INside. ...more

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Mar 05, 2014 Karen Gibson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-114-book-project, historical-fiction

I liked this sequel even better than the Newbery Honor ONE CRAZY SUMMER. Great read that I didn't want to put down. ...more

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May 21, 2013 Kris Springer rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-newbery-reads

Entertaining, powerful voice telling the story. Loved the 1st one--One Crazy Summer, so this was great to follow the characters' stories. True pre-teen voice telling the story and will be a good read for kids and tweens. Only criticism is that it's a bit hard sometimes to get into the story if you haven't read the 1st one--lots of references to the characters in the 1st book. ...more

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