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Gaither Sisters #2
P.S. Be Eleven
In this exquisite sequel to the New York Times bestseller One Crazy Summer, the Gaither sisters return to Brooklyn and find that changes large and small have come to their home.
After spending the summer in Oakland with their mother and the Black Panthers, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern arrive home with a newfound streak of independence, and the sisters aren't the only ones who have changed. Now Pa has a girlfriend. Uncle Darnell returns from Vietnam a different man. But Big Ma still expects Delphine to keep her sisters in line. That's much harder now that Vonetta and Fern refuse to be bossed around. Besides her sisters, Delphine's got plenty of other things to worry about-like starting sixth grade, being the tallest girl in her class, and dreading the upcoming school dance (her first). The one person she confides in is her mother, Cecile. Through letters, Delphine pours her heart out and receives some constant advice: to be eleven while she can.
The sequel to the Newbery Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award winner One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven stands on its own as a funny, moving story of three sisters coming of age in the turbulent 1960s.
After spending the summer in Oakland with their mother and the Black Panthers, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern arrive home with a newfound streak of independence, and the sisters aren't the only ones who have changed. Now Pa has a girlfriend. Uncle Darnell returns from Vietnam a different man. But Big Ma still expects Delphine to keep her sisters in line. That's much harder now that Vonetta and Fern refuse to be bossed around. Besides her sisters, Delphine's got plenty of other things to worry about-like starting sixth grade, being the tallest girl in her class, and dreading the upcoming school dance (her first). The one person she confides in is her mother, Cecile. Through letters, Delphine pours her heart out and receives some constant advice: to be eleven while she can.
The sequel to the Newbery Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award winner One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven stands on its own as a funny, moving story of three sisters coming of age in the turbulent 1960s.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2013
About the author
Rita Williams-Garcia
36 books737 followers"I was born in Queens, N.Y, on April 13, 1957. My mother, Miss Essie, named me 'NoMo' immediately after my birth. Although I was her last child, I took my time making my appearance. I like to believe I was dreaming up a good story and wouldn’t budge until I was finished. Even now, my daughters call me 'Pokey Mom', because I slow poke around when they want to go-go-go.
"I learned to read early, and was aware of events going on as I grew up in the 60s. In the midst of real events, I daydreamed and wrote stories. Writing stories for young people is my passion and my mission. Teens will read. They hunger for stories that engage them and reflect their images and experiences."
Author of four award winning novels, Rita Williams-Garcia continues to break new ground in young people's literature. Known for their realistic portrayal of teens of color, Williams-Garcia's works have been recognized by the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, PEN Norma Klein, American Library Association, and Parents' Choice, among others. She recently served on the National Book Award Committee for Young People's Literature and is on faculty at Vermont College MFA Writing for Children and Young People.
"I learned to read early, and was aware of events going on as I grew up in the 60s. In the midst of real events, I daydreamed and wrote stories. Writing stories for young people is my passion and my mission. Teens will read. They hunger for stories that engage them and reflect their images and experiences."
Author of four award winning novels, Rita Williams-Garcia continues to break new ground in young people's literature. Known for their realistic portrayal of teens of color, Williams-Garcia's works have been recognized by the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, PEN Norma Klein, American Library Association, and Parents' Choice, among others. She recently served on the National Book Award Committee for Young People's Literature and is on faculty at Vermont College MFA Writing for Children and Young People.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 824 reviews
July 21, 2013
It's entirely possible that I love this continuation of the Gaither sisters' small saga even more than the first award winning smash of a novel, but that could just be proximity talking. Since I just finished this lovely sequel and am still hearing the Jackson Five in my head, smelling Big Ma's cooking, and seeing Mr. Miwila's sixth grade classroom, my deep love of Rita Williams-Garcia's lyrical, heartfelt writing is still fresh. But I can already tell that this is a book that will stick with me, not just because of all the rich sensory details, but because every time I have to to explain to a parent why a child should wait to read an abiding classic that is currently over their head, I will invoke the words of Delphine's mother when she explains to Delphine why she should wait to read Things Fall Apart: "You can read all its words. Even the African words. But you will not know what Achebe is saying. It is a bad thing to bite into hard fruit with little teeth. You will say bad things about the fruit when the problem is your teeth." Imaginative, concise, true. Just like this gem of a novel.
August 5, 2022
The men mostly shook his hand and thanked him for doing his duty. But one man said, "I wouldn't go to no foreign country and shoot up poor people." Vonetta got mad and said, "My uncle did not go to Vietnam and shoot up poor people." Fern said, "He shot the enemy." I didn't say anything. I listened to what the newscasters said about the soldiers harming civilians and doing worse. But I also knew my uncle didn't do any of those things while he was in Vietnam. I just couldn't open my mouth. (PG. 130)
I don't think One Crazy Summer needed a sequel but here we are. It wasn't as great as the first one in the series but it was readable and some historical parts were interesting, like Uncle Darnell's return to civilian life from the Vietnam war. It deals with the after effects (PTSD, nightmares, etc) and the drug use of the veterans. But being from an eleven-year-olds perspective we see glitches of information that a young kid that age wouldn't understand. Delphine is mature for her age but still lacks whole information so we see her worries and confusion.
Good book for YAs and adults. I really like this author and I am glad she does some historical fiction in her novels because kids need to know these things even if it is misinformation or what they call "boring." Digging into history and being curious is important and it will be lost or lied about if we don't talk about it with our youth.
I don't think One Crazy Summer needed a sequel but here we are. It wasn't as great as the first one in the series but it was readable and some historical parts were interesting, like Uncle Darnell's return to civilian life from the Vietnam war. It deals with the after effects (PTSD, nightmares, etc) and the drug use of the veterans. But being from an eleven-year-olds perspective we see glitches of information that a young kid that age wouldn't understand. Delphine is mature for her age but still lacks whole information so we see her worries and confusion.
Good book for YAs and adults. I really like this author and I am glad she does some historical fiction in her novels because kids need to know these things even if it is misinformation or what they call "boring." Digging into history and being curious is important and it will be lost or lied about if we don't talk about it with our youth.
September 18, 2023
Truth be told, I didn't understand the Rita Williams-Garcia hype before reading P.S. Be Eleven. I'd read a couple of her books, notably 2011 Newbery Honoree One Crazy Summer, but wasn't convinced she belonged in the discussion with the top children's authors of her day. Her writing was never dull, chapter after chapter of engaging prose that hit the ear with the faint ring of poetry, but I wasn't sure it meshed as a cohesive piece of art with a worthwhile central message. After P.S. Be Eleven, I won't doubt Rita Williams-Garcia again. This story has potent emotional resonance, offering a distinct taste of the era in which it's set and wisdom that won't become outdated no matter how many generations come and go on this earth. Rita Williams-Garcia seems to be at the height of her powers, and it's a wonder to behold. I can hardly wait to re-immerse myself for the third Gaither Sisters book, Gone Crazy in Alabama.
"Words do more, mean more, than how they are defined. I see things visible, invisible, ordinary, and extraordinary in the world."
—P.S. Be Eleven, P. 108
Returning home to Brooklyn from spending summer visiting their mother (Cecile) in California is a big drop-off for Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. Their paternal grandmother (Big Mama) is strict as ever, quick to remind the girls that she won't give them free rein as Cecile did in Oakland. Eleven-year-old Delphine and her younger sisters are used to Big Mama's disciplinarian ways, but they aren't prepared for their father's new clean-cut appearance and jovial demeanor. Papa has a girlfriend, one he's real serious about. She makes him happy, but Delphine doesn't know how she feels about a mother figure maybe joining the family. Would Cecile approve of her ex-husband running around with another woman? Desiring to maintain a relationship with their mother, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern write letters to her, and Delphine uses the opportunity to apprise their mother of Papa's dating situation. Free spirit though Cecile is, she corresponds with her daughters throughout P.S. Be Eleven.
Changes come fast to the Gaithers' small home on Herkimer Street. Uncle Darnell returns from military duty in Vietnam, but suffers severe night terrors his first night back. Only Papa and Big Mama can calm him. Still a teenager, the war veteran shows flashes of his old teasing self, the uncle that Delphine and her sisters adored, but for the most part he's physically and emotionally distant, setting up camp on the couch and not wanting to budge from the house to establish a post-combat life for himself. Uncle Darnell has problems that could mess up his future quick if he doesn't get straightened out. Attempting to be the firm guiding hand Darnell needs, Papa insists he get a job or vacate the house, but that only causes friction between Papa and Big Mama. Her younger son is sick in places a physician can't reach, and she's not about to let him be thrown out on the streets. A devastating confrontation brews between the two stubborn personalities, one that could permanently split the family if Darnell doesn't pull himself together.
"Once you give an ultimatum, you have to mean it. You can't pull back. Sometimes your 'or else' is all the power you have and you can't be afraid to do what you threaten to do."
—P.S. Be Eleven, P. 187
This school year Delphine was supposed to have the nicest female teacher on staff, but on the first day she finds a small man with a thick African accent at the head of her class. Mr. Mwiba, a native Zambian, is on a teacher exchange program to the U.S., and will lead Delphine's class this year. Mr. Mwiba captures the room's attention with a mix of no-nonsense discipline, rigid decorum, and uncompromising love of learning, refusing to let students settle for less than their best. Delphine and her sixth-grade peers are the oldest kids in the school, and it's time they set an example. Mr. Mwiba and Delphine's father take education seriously, but there's time for fun, too. Delphine sticks close to her friends and learns to tolerate Danny the K and Ellis Carter, a pair of boys who turn up everywhere Delphine goes even though she finds them annoying and they feel the same about her. There's a Valentine's Day school dance coming up, though Delphine doesn't much want to attend. She's the tallest girl in the school by far, taller than every boy but Ellis, and why on earth would she want to hit the dance floor with him? Things change at home and school by the time February rolls around, shifting Delphine's perspective on the dreaded dance, and by February 14 she's ready for a night that could be kind of special. If only she can find the right company to spend it with.
The Jackson Five emerge as a musical sensation that wows every girl in Brooklyn and beyond, and the Gaither sisters aren't immune to their charm. Most everyone is gaga over the littlest brother, lead vocalist Michael, but Delphine and her siblings are divided over which Jackson they're partial to. Delphine prefers Jackie, the tall boy with the tenor voice. When the announcement comes that the Jacksons are booked for a concert at Madison Square Garden, the sisters are ecstatic. They have to find a way to be there. Grumbling about spending money to watch "teenage hoodlums" on stage, Papa agrees to put up half the cash for tickets if Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern earn the rest. That's months of saving their allowance and birthday money with minimal extraneous spending, but it's worth it to stand in that building with thousands of crazy fans and cheer on the Jackson Five. Delphine isn't sure Vonetta is up to being the treasurer for all three girls' savings, but Papa's girlfriend urges Delphine to let her try. She won't learn responsibility unless someone trusts her.
These story threads interweave and tangle in ways we don't anticipate any more than Delphine does, and the heat rises as winter temperatures drop. Our passionate opinions often result in arguing, which can lead to shouting, and there's no shortage of that in the Gaither household these days. Wave after wave of trouble hits, putting everyone on the defensive about how they conduct themselves. Contention escalates between Big Mama and Papa's girlfriend, who asserts herself in family affairs as her role increases. Papa isn't always keen on that, decisively putting his girlfriend back in her place if he perceives that she's strayed out of bounds, and her temper ignites when she thinks she's been disrespected. Certain rights come with entry into a family, and it's wrong for Papa to try and revoke them whenever his girl disagrees with him on an important issue. Darnell's problems worsen, spreading like poison to every member of the family, and most everything goes south after that. The Gaithers are in danger of irreparable harm being done to their cohesive unit, and Delphine and her sisters can only watch as the wheels come off. What's to prevent Papa from deserting his daughters as Cecile did, walking out one day and never returning? What if Big Mama leaves? Does love grow cold and die like a warm, sweet baby left out on a stoop in a winter storm? Delphine vents her frustration and fear to her mother by letter, and Cecile faithfully responds. Her answers may be poetic and enigmatic, sometimes beyond Delphine's grasp, but at least her mother's there with a word of wisdom when needed amidst this howling family storm that won't stop cycling back around. All of Big Mama's fervent prayer won't stop the ship from cracking apart as they try to stand on its crumbling deck. Can the Gaithers survive the impact of one trauma after another like monstrous hurricanes?
"Was it all right to stop loving someone you're supposed to always love?"
—P.S. Be Eleven, P. 188
It takes an excellent storyteller to get a reader's hackles raised, and Rita Williams-Garcia accomplishes that in spades in P.S. Be Eleven. There is some seriously rough going in these two hundred seventy-two pages, but it feels authentic even when parents and other authority figures treat the kids under their care very unfairly. That's how adults in charge tend to act under pressure, as if they automatically know best and objections from kids are by nature frivolous and not worth listening to. Kids have no recourse but to swallow the injustice with barely a peep of dissent. Fair-minded people who read P.S. Be Eleven will come away with the conclusion that being a kid is a tough business because every area of your life is subject to adults who can change it on a whim. The story's wisdom is as clear and beautiful as its high-pressure drama is upsetting, and Cecile is a wonderful source of it. Her most remarkable insight is her caution against Delphine reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart when she's too young, before she has the life experience to mine the book's riches. "It is a bad thing to bite into hard fruit with little teeth. You will say bad things about the fruit when the problem is your teeth." That is...magnificent. If we aren't ready for it, the greatest writing will be rubbish to us. We'll gripe about weird taste or texture, say it's impossible to gnaw through the leathery exterior to anything sweet inside. We'll declare it bad fruit, when the problem lies with us. Clever individuals can make the case that anything is no good, cherry-picking reasons to support their claim while ignoring contrary evidence, but that's merely exercise in debate technique. We're still wrong about the thing we defame even if we sway others to our side. However many other books I read and love, I'll never forget Cecile's words here.
Bittersweet at best are the fruits of strife and discord among family and intimate friends, and that's the flavor of P.S. Be Eleven's final moments as Delphine reflects on the losses that haunt her family. The lyrics to the Jackson Five song "Who's Loving You" feel different as she sings them now, and sound different coming from Vonetta and Fern. They've felt the sting of melancholy behind the words as few girls their age have. "What did little Michael Jackson know about love and loneliness? With all his brothers surrounding his voice with theirs, what did he know about losing all the people he loved one by one?...What did Michael Jackson know about life without the ones you loved the most, when each of them moved farther and farther away until they were voices you heard and pictures that flashed before you? Vonetta knew. Fern knew. I knew. There wasn't a day that went by that we didn't wonder about everyone who had flashed before us. There wasn't a day that went by that we didn't close our eyes and go on wishing." Layer upon layer of pain can't smother the spark of hope, which keeps trying after all reasonable expectation of completing the circuit is dead. Because sometimes miracles happen, and what if we're not prepared for it? In Big Mama's words, "Every good-bye ain't gone." Our halcyon days do return every now and then even if it seems impossible. You just have to be there waiting when fortune decides to favor you with its pretty smile again.
I have much regard for the Newbery awards, but I believe the committee got it backwards here. P.S. Be Eleven was the Gaither Sisters novel that deserved a Newbery Honor, not One Crazy Summer. The historical, social, and personal narratives are nearly flawless, and the author respects the intelligence of her young readers by not connecting every last dot. Letting us do that ourselves encourages deeper thought about what we're reading. Books like P.S. Be Eleven are a big part of why I read, muddling through stacks of average literature to find precious gems. A sensitive reader's worldview is sure to be enlarged by taking the dive into this story. The hype for Rita Williams-Garcia and P.S. Be Eleven is justified, people. I trust you'll find it an illuminating experience.
"Words do more, mean more, than how they are defined. I see things visible, invisible, ordinary, and extraordinary in the world."
—P.S. Be Eleven, P. 108
Returning home to Brooklyn from spending summer visiting their mother (Cecile) in California is a big drop-off for Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. Their paternal grandmother (Big Mama) is strict as ever, quick to remind the girls that she won't give them free rein as Cecile did in Oakland. Eleven-year-old Delphine and her younger sisters are used to Big Mama's disciplinarian ways, but they aren't prepared for their father's new clean-cut appearance and jovial demeanor. Papa has a girlfriend, one he's real serious about. She makes him happy, but Delphine doesn't know how she feels about a mother figure maybe joining the family. Would Cecile approve of her ex-husband running around with another woman? Desiring to maintain a relationship with their mother, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern write letters to her, and Delphine uses the opportunity to apprise their mother of Papa's dating situation. Free spirit though Cecile is, she corresponds with her daughters throughout P.S. Be Eleven.
Changes come fast to the Gaithers' small home on Herkimer Street. Uncle Darnell returns from military duty in Vietnam, but suffers severe night terrors his first night back. Only Papa and Big Mama can calm him. Still a teenager, the war veteran shows flashes of his old teasing self, the uncle that Delphine and her sisters adored, but for the most part he's physically and emotionally distant, setting up camp on the couch and not wanting to budge from the house to establish a post-combat life for himself. Uncle Darnell has problems that could mess up his future quick if he doesn't get straightened out. Attempting to be the firm guiding hand Darnell needs, Papa insists he get a job or vacate the house, but that only causes friction between Papa and Big Mama. Her younger son is sick in places a physician can't reach, and she's not about to let him be thrown out on the streets. A devastating confrontation brews between the two stubborn personalities, one that could permanently split the family if Darnell doesn't pull himself together.
"Once you give an ultimatum, you have to mean it. You can't pull back. Sometimes your 'or else' is all the power you have and you can't be afraid to do what you threaten to do."
—P.S. Be Eleven, P. 187
This school year Delphine was supposed to have the nicest female teacher on staff, but on the first day she finds a small man with a thick African accent at the head of her class. Mr. Mwiba, a native Zambian, is on a teacher exchange program to the U.S., and will lead Delphine's class this year. Mr. Mwiba captures the room's attention with a mix of no-nonsense discipline, rigid decorum, and uncompromising love of learning, refusing to let students settle for less than their best. Delphine and her sixth-grade peers are the oldest kids in the school, and it's time they set an example. Mr. Mwiba and Delphine's father take education seriously, but there's time for fun, too. Delphine sticks close to her friends and learns to tolerate Danny the K and Ellis Carter, a pair of boys who turn up everywhere Delphine goes even though she finds them annoying and they feel the same about her. There's a Valentine's Day school dance coming up, though Delphine doesn't much want to attend. She's the tallest girl in the school by far, taller than every boy but Ellis, and why on earth would she want to hit the dance floor with him? Things change at home and school by the time February rolls around, shifting Delphine's perspective on the dreaded dance, and by February 14 she's ready for a night that could be kind of special. If only she can find the right company to spend it with.
The Jackson Five emerge as a musical sensation that wows every girl in Brooklyn and beyond, and the Gaither sisters aren't immune to their charm. Most everyone is gaga over the littlest brother, lead vocalist Michael, but Delphine and her siblings are divided over which Jackson they're partial to. Delphine prefers Jackie, the tall boy with the tenor voice. When the announcement comes that the Jacksons are booked for a concert at Madison Square Garden, the sisters are ecstatic. They have to find a way to be there. Grumbling about spending money to watch "teenage hoodlums" on stage, Papa agrees to put up half the cash for tickets if Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern earn the rest. That's months of saving their allowance and birthday money with minimal extraneous spending, but it's worth it to stand in that building with thousands of crazy fans and cheer on the Jackson Five. Delphine isn't sure Vonetta is up to being the treasurer for all three girls' savings, but Papa's girlfriend urges Delphine to let her try. She won't learn responsibility unless someone trusts her.
These story threads interweave and tangle in ways we don't anticipate any more than Delphine does, and the heat rises as winter temperatures drop. Our passionate opinions often result in arguing, which can lead to shouting, and there's no shortage of that in the Gaither household these days. Wave after wave of trouble hits, putting everyone on the defensive about how they conduct themselves. Contention escalates between Big Mama and Papa's girlfriend, who asserts herself in family affairs as her role increases. Papa isn't always keen on that, decisively putting his girlfriend back in her place if he perceives that she's strayed out of bounds, and her temper ignites when she thinks she's been disrespected. Certain rights come with entry into a family, and it's wrong for Papa to try and revoke them whenever his girl disagrees with him on an important issue. Darnell's problems worsen, spreading like poison to every member of the family, and most everything goes south after that. The Gaithers are in danger of irreparable harm being done to their cohesive unit, and Delphine and her sisters can only watch as the wheels come off. What's to prevent Papa from deserting his daughters as Cecile did, walking out one day and never returning? What if Big Mama leaves? Does love grow cold and die like a warm, sweet baby left out on a stoop in a winter storm? Delphine vents her frustration and fear to her mother by letter, and Cecile faithfully responds. Her answers may be poetic and enigmatic, sometimes beyond Delphine's grasp, but at least her mother's there with a word of wisdom when needed amidst this howling family storm that won't stop cycling back around. All of Big Mama's fervent prayer won't stop the ship from cracking apart as they try to stand on its crumbling deck. Can the Gaithers survive the impact of one trauma after another like monstrous hurricanes?
"Was it all right to stop loving someone you're supposed to always love?"
—P.S. Be Eleven, P. 188
It takes an excellent storyteller to get a reader's hackles raised, and Rita Williams-Garcia accomplishes that in spades in P.S. Be Eleven. There is some seriously rough going in these two hundred seventy-two pages, but it feels authentic even when parents and other authority figures treat the kids under their care very unfairly. That's how adults in charge tend to act under pressure, as if they automatically know best and objections from kids are by nature frivolous and not worth listening to. Kids have no recourse but to swallow the injustice with barely a peep of dissent. Fair-minded people who read P.S. Be Eleven will come away with the conclusion that being a kid is a tough business because every area of your life is subject to adults who can change it on a whim. The story's wisdom is as clear and beautiful as its high-pressure drama is upsetting, and Cecile is a wonderful source of it. Her most remarkable insight is her caution against Delphine reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart when she's too young, before she has the life experience to mine the book's riches. "It is a bad thing to bite into hard fruit with little teeth. You will say bad things about the fruit when the problem is your teeth." That is...magnificent. If we aren't ready for it, the greatest writing will be rubbish to us. We'll gripe about weird taste or texture, say it's impossible to gnaw through the leathery exterior to anything sweet inside. We'll declare it bad fruit, when the problem lies with us. Clever individuals can make the case that anything is no good, cherry-picking reasons to support their claim while ignoring contrary evidence, but that's merely exercise in debate technique. We're still wrong about the thing we defame even if we sway others to our side. However many other books I read and love, I'll never forget Cecile's words here.
Bittersweet at best are the fruits of strife and discord among family and intimate friends, and that's the flavor of P.S. Be Eleven's final moments as Delphine reflects on the losses that haunt her family. The lyrics to the Jackson Five song "Who's Loving You" feel different as she sings them now, and sound different coming from Vonetta and Fern. They've felt the sting of melancholy behind the words as few girls their age have. "What did little Michael Jackson know about love and loneliness? With all his brothers surrounding his voice with theirs, what did he know about losing all the people he loved one by one?...What did Michael Jackson know about life without the ones you loved the most, when each of them moved farther and farther away until they were voices you heard and pictures that flashed before you? Vonetta knew. Fern knew. I knew. There wasn't a day that went by that we didn't wonder about everyone who had flashed before us. There wasn't a day that went by that we didn't close our eyes and go on wishing." Layer upon layer of pain can't smother the spark of hope, which keeps trying after all reasonable expectation of completing the circuit is dead. Because sometimes miracles happen, and what if we're not prepared for it? In Big Mama's words, "Every good-bye ain't gone." Our halcyon days do return every now and then even if it seems impossible. You just have to be there waiting when fortune decides to favor you with its pretty smile again.
I have much regard for the Newbery awards, but I believe the committee got it backwards here. P.S. Be Eleven was the Gaither Sisters novel that deserved a Newbery Honor, not One Crazy Summer. The historical, social, and personal narratives are nearly flawless, and the author respects the intelligence of her young readers by not connecting every last dot. Letting us do that ourselves encourages deeper thought about what we're reading. Books like P.S. Be Eleven are a big part of why I read, muddling through stacks of average literature to find precious gems. A sensitive reader's worldview is sure to be enlarged by taking the dive into this story. The hype for Rita Williams-Garcia and P.S. Be Eleven is justified, people. I trust you'll find it an illuminating experience.
March 9, 2018
4.5 stars. The wonderful Gaither sisters are back! Delphine, Vonetta and Fern return home to Brooklyn. After their summer with Cecile, their mother, and the Black Panthers, the girls are different, and are more willing to speak up. Their grandmother is not too pleased, and continues to badmouth Cecile.
It's a new school year, and there are changes happening in their family. Their father introduces the girls to a woman and seems pretty serious about her. The girls discover the Jackson Five, and are desperate to see the group when they play in NYC in December. Also, their uncle Darnell is back from Vietnam, and is quiet, suffering from nightmares, and not eager to rejoin daily life of employment and jokes and songs with the girls.
There is so much going on in this story, in addition to the sisterly dynamics, which are always interesting and evolving. There's the inherent and overt racism of the flight attendant and passengers. Their father's girlfriend is a big change for girls who've been motherless for years. Their grandmother's internalized racism is even more difficult to listen to after the girls' time with the Black Panthers. Delphine's relationships with her friends and school are evolving, thanks to new influences and a new teacher on exchange from Zambia with high academic and deportment expectations for the kids. Though not gone into in great detail, there's Uncle Darnell's psychological damage; a year out of high school and just back from Vietnam, and clearly suffering, though the PTSD and drug use are not easily recognized by the family. I love the deft way Rita Williams-Garcia brings so much together though Delphine's keen and upright narration, and I'm a little sad that there's only one more book to read about the Gaither sisters.
It's a new school year, and there are changes happening in their family. Their father introduces the girls to a woman and seems pretty serious about her. The girls discover the Jackson Five, and are desperate to see the group when they play in NYC in December. Also, their uncle Darnell is back from Vietnam, and is quiet, suffering from nightmares, and not eager to rejoin daily life of employment and jokes and songs with the girls.
There is so much going on in this story, in addition to the sisterly dynamics, which are always interesting and evolving. There's the inherent and overt racism of the flight attendant and passengers. Their father's girlfriend is a big change for girls who've been motherless for years. Their grandmother's internalized racism is even more difficult to listen to after the girls' time with the Black Panthers. Delphine's relationships with her friends and school are evolving, thanks to new influences and a new teacher on exchange from Zambia with high academic and deportment expectations for the kids. Though not gone into in great detail, there's Uncle Darnell's psychological damage; a year out of high school and just back from Vietnam, and clearly suffering, though the PTSD and drug use are not easily recognized by the family. I love the deft way Rita Williams-Garcia brings so much together though Delphine's keen and upright narration, and I'm a little sad that there's only one more book to read about the Gaither sisters.
May 9, 2013
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.
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.
February 5, 2013
I see a number of four star reviews for this one, and I only just finished it, so haven't sat with it yet... but this was a five star book for me. I think it was stronger than one crazy summer in voice, depth of the characters, and sense of place. I loved the pacing, the quiet tone, and the utter believability of the kids' actions and voices. super impressed: this is by far my favorite of her books so far.
September 11, 2019
Pa and Big Ma irked my nerves but I liked this book a lot lol.
May 9, 2020
This is such a wonderful series!
June 21, 2024
I know it's a book for children but I felt like Williams-Garcia included some mature topics like PTSD without any support to help kids think through this and honestly it might go over their heads. I loved it as an adult reader. I enjoyed seeing Delphine grow up. I also wish Williams Garcia chose less things to wrestle with because she tackled black identity, police, and abandonment so well in the first.
Read
April 30, 2021I really enjoyed the first book, and loved this one as well. Rita Williams-Garcia is so good at illuminating nuanced relationships and sketching out characters with different points of views and personalities. And when she puts them together,
June 16, 2014
Wow, so different from One Crazy Summer. The first book included historical details that supported the story. I felt like this book did just the opposite, as if the story and characters were there as a backdrop, allowing her to place references of the period center stage. I admire the ability to create a sense of time and place, but in this case the story really was a "p.s." for me and not one that could stand on its own. One Crazy Summer was as near perfect as I could imagine, and I think it was better without this post script.
The author's note at the end really sums up my point. She says when she saw the cover illustration she was thrilled, and it didn't matter to her that Big Ma would never have allowed the characters to dress in those clothes, because the illustrator had captured their spirit and the spirit of the 60's and early 70''s. She goes on to say that the sequel "yearns to reflect the spirit of that period." In that sense I think it was a success, it's just not my definition of a really great book.
The author's note at the end really sums up my point. She says when she saw the cover illustration she was thrilled, and it didn't matter to her that Big Ma would never have allowed the characters to dress in those clothes, because the illustrator had captured their spirit and the spirit of the 60's and early 70''s. She goes on to say that the sequel "yearns to reflect the spirit of that period." In that sense I think it was a success, it's just not my definition of a really great book.
March 16, 2016
I'm in love with the Gaither Siter really. I'm in love with their relationship, their personalities. Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, they stand out as a trio as well as individual. They felt so real that for a moment I thought I was one of them. I would have love to be.
They made me cry; even though I'm the easy cryer when it comes to adult fiction I do not cry when I read children/middle grade books. I can get teary yes; but I do not cry. This one: made.me.
I laughted, oh boy! So much laughter in such a short book.
They warmed my heart throughout the entire book. I was smiling like a crazy person on the train (which earned me a couple of odd looks haha!).
Moreover, I'm not only in love with the Gaither Sister but with Big Ma, Cecile. The secondary characters make this books not just very good but fantastic!
They made me cry; even though I'm the easy cryer when it comes to adult fiction I do not cry when I read children/middle grade books. I can get teary yes; but I do not cry. This one: made.me.
I laughted, oh boy! So much laughter in such a short book.
They warmed my heart throughout the entire book. I was smiling like a crazy person on the train (which earned me a couple of odd looks haha!).
Moreover, I'm not only in love with the Gaither Sister but with Big Ma, Cecile. The secondary characters make this books not just very good but fantastic!
January 8, 2018
Bedtime read-aloud. I can't say enough about these Gaither girls books. Such great characters, and such a clear sense of time and place. They remind me in many ways of the Ramona books, which were the emotional touchstones of my childhood. Delphine and her sisters feel real. They talk like real kids, and they feel real feelings, and real things happen to them, and Rita Williams-Garcia -- like Beverly Cleary -- trusts kid readers to get it. Like...with the Jackson 5 concert ticket storyline... shady stuff goes down, the girls don't get their way, it isn't fair, no giant life lessons are learned, nothing is tidy, and life just moves on. So good. Starting book 3 tomorrow night.
August 9, 2013
As a kid, my brother would drop the needle on our Monkees' album and we would shout-sing, "Hey, Hey we're the monkees! We keep on monkeying around..." (not sure of the lyrics anymore since it was decades ago). I do remember my brother pretend throwing a football and me doing cartwheels (our version of dancing) before mom eventually hollered, " Uff-da! Turn that down! The house is shaking!" We were the "Heckle an Jeckle" in our family of seven just like Vonetta and Fern are in this story. I found myself smiling at the family teasing, dancing, and shenanigans that reminded me of my own clan. Delphine describes her sisters: "Heckle and Jeckle performed up a storm for Uncle Darnell. Heckle became Hirohito [the boy Delphine likes] writing letters about love and go-karts, and Jeckle became me and wrote back in letters." Many readers can relate as the three girls tease and argue with each other, oftentimes because they resent Delphine's authority as the older sibling. The author uses the 1960s as a backdrop to show how families are not perfect using humor and drama.
This sequel to "One Crazy Summer" has Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern flying back from California where they visited their mother, a poet, who abandoned them at a young age never getting married to their father. The threesome attend the Black Panthers summer camp and learn the injustices and struggles of African Americans in the United States. Feeling empowered by their new knowledge the sequel begins with the girls flying home and asserting their rights in ways that aren't always appropriate. The way they test the waters when using the bathroom not realizing the difference between being rude and assertive is funny and makes for good discussions with students.
When the three girls see their grandmother, Big Ma, who picks them up at the airport with Pa, they no longer think of her as authoritative but oppressive. This not only captures the changes in teenagers as they learn to be independent, but the social issues of African Americans as a suppressed minority group in the U.S. Big Ma was once a slave and her attitude toward white people shows fears that the three girls cannot understand. When the girls misbehave Big Ma overreacts telling to not make a "Negro spectacle" for all the white folks to see. She punishes the girls by hitting them in the face or with a belt. She also shows she loves her grandchildren by caring for them and taking them shopping for school clothes. The girls love her and are afraid of her which is a trait I remember many of my classmates exhibiting toward their parents back in the 60's & 70's. Stories varied from kids getting their mouths washed out with soap for swearing or getting paddled with a wooden spoon or having a belt taken to them for misbehaving.
Big Ma owns a house in Alabama. She grew up with white people lynching black people and her fears are understandable even if the girls don't understand it growing up in New York with their Pa. I was a bit confused by Big Ma and the amount of time she spent living with her grandchildren and sons, Pa and Darnell, in New York. Delphine talks about how Big Ma always buys her ugly clothes for school and Big Ma disciplines the girls like she has raised them, but then she also has a house down south. Perhaps this was in the first book and I just forgot. As is, I didn't really understand Big Ma's motivation for leaving the girls except that it was getting too crowded or Darnell was gone or she didn't want to hear the criticism of Darnell from the angry girls.
Not only did I want an explanation from Big Ma, but I wanted Delphine to get an explanation from Cecile why she left the girls when Fern was a baby. Big Ma says its because Pa wouldn't let Cecile name her Fern, but Cecile doesn't confirm this. In the first book Cecile tells Delphine she was homeless and her Pa found her on a park bench and took her into his home. They had three kids but never married. Whenever Delphine asks for the real reason why she left home, Cecile says she is too young to understand. I'm not sure what to infer from the text except Cecile doesn't want the responsibility of taking care of others.
I did wonder if the book, "Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe might be a clue to why Cecile left the girls. Delphine's teacher, Mr. Mwila, loves this book and reads it during class and Delphine asks him about it. Simply put, this story is about a man in Nigeria who is very traditional and when white men enter his village they change his culture in a way that he can't handle and he kills himself as a result. Cecile is a member of the Black Panthers, a group that formed to protect African Americans from police brutality. She embraces change which is opposite of the book, "Things Fall Apart." This book relates more to Big Ma, the character who hangs on to traditions the most and finds it hard to accept change, versus Delphine who slowly accepts changes in her family as a part of her inner journey.
Delphine's teacher, Mr Mwila, makes her cry after criticizing her paper and reads his book, "When Things Fall Apart," after assigning kids to work in groups after a lesson. His teaching leaves much to be desired and his lack of kindness and responsibility toward his students is at times annoying. He isn't outwardly mean which makes him more real and his inexperience is shown subtlety. Most teachers circle the classroom and conference with students after a lesson instead of reading a book for pleasure like Mr. Mwila. When he does this, he is asking for his classroom to "fall apart." It is no surprise when Delphine gets detention along with some other boys after getting into a verbal fight. The author does a good job capturing middle school kids and a classroom community breaking down because of the teacher not doing his job.
The strong, distinct characters make this book memorable. The family dynamics are constantly changing as the girls deal with their uncle's problems with coming home from Vietnam and their Pa's new wife. The adults fighting and struggles as the family changes, often leaves the girls confused and in the middle of issues they didn't understand. It isn't explained in the book why the new wife left the house angry for a week, and some readers might struggle with understanding how Pa and his new wife were fighting over parenting the three girls. Pa was basically saying they are his girls and not hers to discipline. This is not fair to his new wife and shows a lack of respect for her opinion in dealing with the issue of Darnell's theft.
The plot is more about relationships than surprising plot twists as Delphine learns to accept the change of a new mother. Some parts of the story were predictable, such as the stolen money and the boy's interest in Delphine. While the portrayal of family miscommunications and unclear meanings is a closer reflection of real life, I found myself wishing for more answers. Speaking of not understanding, I wondered about Big Ma calling the girls, "untrained chimps." Calling an African American a monkey or chimp is racist, so I was baffled by Big Ma's name-calling. Did anyone else have that thought?
The clever wordplay of Delphine calling her sisters, "Heckle and Jeckle," not only refers to the classic "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" but the postwar cartoon series about two identical magpies named, "Heckle and Jeckle." They were both aggressive and antagonistic with Jeckle being more devious than Heckle. The characters in this book imitate and compete with each other, Vonetta being a bit more devious than Fern. Their rapid-fire, slapstick dialogue is hysterical and the younger poetic sister trying to rhyme all the time as well as constantly tossing in "surely do" or some other "surely" response make the two original in their own right.
Delphine's character represents a minority group not only as an African American, but as a child. The struggle for children to have their voices heard in the world of adults and adapt to a society that constantly changes is just as applicable today as it was in the 1960's. How she interacts with others in the community to grow into a strong independent woman is a story for all. A terrific story.
This sequel to "One Crazy Summer" has Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern flying back from California where they visited their mother, a poet, who abandoned them at a young age never getting married to their father. The threesome attend the Black Panthers summer camp and learn the injustices and struggles of African Americans in the United States. Feeling empowered by their new knowledge the sequel begins with the girls flying home and asserting their rights in ways that aren't always appropriate. The way they test the waters when using the bathroom not realizing the difference between being rude and assertive is funny and makes for good discussions with students.
When the three girls see their grandmother, Big Ma, who picks them up at the airport with Pa, they no longer think of her as authoritative but oppressive. This not only captures the changes in teenagers as they learn to be independent, but the social issues of African Americans as a suppressed minority group in the U.S. Big Ma was once a slave and her attitude toward white people shows fears that the three girls cannot understand. When the girls misbehave Big Ma overreacts telling to not make a "Negro spectacle" for all the white folks to see. She punishes the girls by hitting them in the face or with a belt. She also shows she loves her grandchildren by caring for them and taking them shopping for school clothes. The girls love her and are afraid of her which is a trait I remember many of my classmates exhibiting toward their parents back in the 60's & 70's. Stories varied from kids getting their mouths washed out with soap for swearing or getting paddled with a wooden spoon or having a belt taken to them for misbehaving.
Big Ma owns a house in Alabama. She grew up with white people lynching black people and her fears are understandable even if the girls don't understand it growing up in New York with their Pa. I was a bit confused by Big Ma and the amount of time she spent living with her grandchildren and sons, Pa and Darnell, in New York. Delphine talks about how Big Ma always buys her ugly clothes for school and Big Ma disciplines the girls like she has raised them, but then she also has a house down south. Perhaps this was in the first book and I just forgot. As is, I didn't really understand Big Ma's motivation for leaving the girls except that it was getting too crowded or Darnell was gone or she didn't want to hear the criticism of Darnell from the angry girls.
Not only did I want an explanation from Big Ma, but I wanted Delphine to get an explanation from Cecile why she left the girls when Fern was a baby. Big Ma says its because Pa wouldn't let Cecile name her Fern, but Cecile doesn't confirm this. In the first book Cecile tells Delphine she was homeless and her Pa found her on a park bench and took her into his home. They had three kids but never married. Whenever Delphine asks for the real reason why she left home, Cecile says she is too young to understand. I'm not sure what to infer from the text except Cecile doesn't want the responsibility of taking care of others.
I did wonder if the book, "Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe might be a clue to why Cecile left the girls. Delphine's teacher, Mr. Mwila, loves this book and reads it during class and Delphine asks him about it. Simply put, this story is about a man in Nigeria who is very traditional and when white men enter his village they change his culture in a way that he can't handle and he kills himself as a result. Cecile is a member of the Black Panthers, a group that formed to protect African Americans from police brutality. She embraces change which is opposite of the book, "Things Fall Apart." This book relates more to Big Ma, the character who hangs on to traditions the most and finds it hard to accept change, versus Delphine who slowly accepts changes in her family as a part of her inner journey.
Delphine's teacher, Mr Mwila, makes her cry after criticizing her paper and reads his book, "When Things Fall Apart," after assigning kids to work in groups after a lesson. His teaching leaves much to be desired and his lack of kindness and responsibility toward his students is at times annoying. He isn't outwardly mean which makes him more real and his inexperience is shown subtlety. Most teachers circle the classroom and conference with students after a lesson instead of reading a book for pleasure like Mr. Mwila. When he does this, he is asking for his classroom to "fall apart." It is no surprise when Delphine gets detention along with some other boys after getting into a verbal fight. The author does a good job capturing middle school kids and a classroom community breaking down because of the teacher not doing his job.
The strong, distinct characters make this book memorable. The family dynamics are constantly changing as the girls deal with their uncle's problems with coming home from Vietnam and their Pa's new wife. The adults fighting and struggles as the family changes, often leaves the girls confused and in the middle of issues they didn't understand. It isn't explained in the book why the new wife left the house angry for a week, and some readers might struggle with understanding how Pa and his new wife were fighting over parenting the three girls. Pa was basically saying they are his girls and not hers to discipline. This is not fair to his new wife and shows a lack of respect for her opinion in dealing with the issue of Darnell's theft.
The plot is more about relationships than surprising plot twists as Delphine learns to accept the change of a new mother. Some parts of the story were predictable, such as the stolen money and the boy's interest in Delphine. While the portrayal of family miscommunications and unclear meanings is a closer reflection of real life, I found myself wishing for more answers. Speaking of not understanding, I wondered about Big Ma calling the girls, "untrained chimps." Calling an African American a monkey or chimp is racist, so I was baffled by Big Ma's name-calling. Did anyone else have that thought?
The clever wordplay of Delphine calling her sisters, "Heckle and Jeckle," not only refers to the classic "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" but the postwar cartoon series about two identical magpies named, "Heckle and Jeckle." They were both aggressive and antagonistic with Jeckle being more devious than Heckle. The characters in this book imitate and compete with each other, Vonetta being a bit more devious than Fern. Their rapid-fire, slapstick dialogue is hysterical and the younger poetic sister trying to rhyme all the time as well as constantly tossing in "surely do" or some other "surely" response make the two original in their own right.
Delphine's character represents a minority group not only as an African American, but as a child. The struggle for children to have their voices heard in the world of adults and adapt to a society that constantly changes is just as applicable today as it was in the 1960's. How she interacts with others in the community to grow into a strong independent woman is a story for all. A terrific story.
August 17, 2020
Loved this next book in the Gaither sisters trilogy! I love when books inspire me to learn more. Really great character progression too! Definitely worth reading! 4.5 stars
October 28, 2013
For all of you who became fans of the Gaither sisters - Delphine, Vonetta and Fern - in One Crazy Summer, the girls are back. And for anyone who doesn't know the Gaither sisters - they are a delight to meet.
The girls have just returned to Herkimer Street in Brooklyn after spending the summer with the mother Cecile in Oakland, CA (see One Crazy Summer). Gone for one short summer, when they get back home things are definitely different. For one thing, their father is a changed man now that he has a girlfriend, Miss Marva Hendrix, and it looks like they are getting serious. And they beloved Uncle Darnell is coming home from Vietnam. Of course, the girls have also changed. Now they know about the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panthers and the new Feminist Movement. But Delphine, Vonetta and Fern soon learn that sisterhood begins at home.
The Jackson Five have hit the pop charts hard and soon they will be coming to Madison Square Garden. Papa isn't too crazy about the idea of the girls going to their concert, but Miss Marva Hendrix is all for it. And so it is agreed: the girls will save their money and pay half the cost and Marva will pay the other half. And she puts middle sister Vonetta in charge of the money usurping the power over her younger sisters older sister Delphine always had. Now she has to trust Vonetta with all her hard gotten cash.
Things have changed at school, as well. Delphine doesn't get the sixth grade teacher she was supposed to have and ends up with a strict exchange teacher from Africa, Mr. Mwila, who actually expects his students to do the work assigned and do it well. And when Uncle Darnell comes home from Vietnam, its as if he is a completely changed person and not for the better. All he does is sleep the days away and go out at night. And then, the Jackson Five money gets stolen. Meanwhile Delphine has started writing back to her mother Cecile. Delphine pours out all her worries and concerns to Cecile and doesn't understand why her mother always ends her letters with the words P.S. Be eleven.
But her mother, even if she is a distant mother, knows that Delphine is taking life too seriously and taking too much responsibility on her shoulders for an 11 year old.
P.S. Be Eleven might sound like a coming of age novel, but it isn't. Delphine is in the throes of growing pains, changing but still on the coming of age threshold. And watching Delphine navigate her growing pains as she narrates them to the reader is what makes her such an endearing character and the novel so wonderful.
P.S. Be Eleven is a delight to read and a nice stand alone novel. I haven't read One Crazy Summer, though I was inspired to go out and get a copy to read, but this works very well as a stand alone novel. While I am sure that the Gaither sisters has lots of adventures in the first novel, enough is made clear in the second whenever something from it comes up.
Rita Williams-Garcia got so much so right in this novel. Her depiction of Brooklyn in 1968 is perfection and she has really captured the mood of the times. The late 1960s was an pivotal time in the history of this country and it effected everyone in one way or another and how it impacted one family in Bed-Sty Brooklyn is all detailed in P.S. Be Eleven. Surely did!
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted at Randomly Reading
The girls have just returned to Herkimer Street in Brooklyn after spending the summer with the mother Cecile in Oakland, CA (see One Crazy Summer). Gone for one short summer, when they get back home things are definitely different. For one thing, their father is a changed man now that he has a girlfriend, Miss Marva Hendrix, and it looks like they are getting serious. And they beloved Uncle Darnell is coming home from Vietnam. Of course, the girls have also changed. Now they know about the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panthers and the new Feminist Movement. But Delphine, Vonetta and Fern soon learn that sisterhood begins at home.
The Jackson Five have hit the pop charts hard and soon they will be coming to Madison Square Garden. Papa isn't too crazy about the idea of the girls going to their concert, but Miss Marva Hendrix is all for it. And so it is agreed: the girls will save their money and pay half the cost and Marva will pay the other half. And she puts middle sister Vonetta in charge of the money usurping the power over her younger sisters older sister Delphine always had. Now she has to trust Vonetta with all her hard gotten cash.
Things have changed at school, as well. Delphine doesn't get the sixth grade teacher she was supposed to have and ends up with a strict exchange teacher from Africa, Mr. Mwila, who actually expects his students to do the work assigned and do it well. And when Uncle Darnell comes home from Vietnam, its as if he is a completely changed person and not for the better. All he does is sleep the days away and go out at night. And then, the Jackson Five money gets stolen. Meanwhile Delphine has started writing back to her mother Cecile. Delphine pours out all her worries and concerns to Cecile and doesn't understand why her mother always ends her letters with the words P.S. Be eleven.
But her mother, even if she is a distant mother, knows that Delphine is taking life too seriously and taking too much responsibility on her shoulders for an 11 year old.
P.S. Be Eleven might sound like a coming of age novel, but it isn't. Delphine is in the throes of growing pains, changing but still on the coming of age threshold. And watching Delphine navigate her growing pains as she narrates them to the reader is what makes her such an endearing character and the novel so wonderful.
P.S. Be Eleven is a delight to read and a nice stand alone novel. I haven't read One Crazy Summer, though I was inspired to go out and get a copy to read, but this works very well as a stand alone novel. While I am sure that the Gaither sisters has lots of adventures in the first novel, enough is made clear in the second whenever something from it comes up.
Rita Williams-Garcia got so much so right in this novel. Her depiction of Brooklyn in 1968 is perfection and she has really captured the mood of the times. The late 1960s was an pivotal time in the history of this country and it effected everyone in one way or another and how it impacted one family in Bed-Sty Brooklyn is all detailed in P.S. Be Eleven. Surely did!
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted at Randomly Reading
January 17, 2014
In the Newbery honor award winning One Crazy Summer, we learned of the Gaither girls and their struggle to understand the mother who abandoned them and headed to California for life dedicated to the black panther and civil rights movement. That was a five star read for me.
P.S. Be Eleven is the second book, and while not as strong as One Crazy Summer, it tugged at my heart. Told from the perspective of the oldest of the sisters, eleven year old Delphine is a stubborn, loving, spit-fire of a girl.
When mamma abandoned the family, Delphine was the sheep dog herding the sisters who watched as their father was dejected and grief stricken. With a strong, loving grandmother, life continued.
Now, returning from a visit with their mother, things have changed. Delphine's sisters are growing and no longer rely on her, Grandma's rules seem constricting, their father found a lady friend, and steady, wonderful Uncle Darryl recently returned from Viet Nam a changed, strange man with a drug addiction.
Letters from her mother are poetic and nonsensical. The woman who abandoned her children, as all too soon Delphine carried responsibility, now admonishes her daughter to "be eleven" and not act as an adult.
Weaving a difficult time in American history, the author does an incredible job of depicting a country changing and a family personally working through difficult issues.
Highly recommended.
P.S. Be Eleven is the second book, and while not as strong as One Crazy Summer, it tugged at my heart. Told from the perspective of the oldest of the sisters, eleven year old Delphine is a stubborn, loving, spit-fire of a girl.
When mamma abandoned the family, Delphine was the sheep dog herding the sisters who watched as their father was dejected and grief stricken. With a strong, loving grandmother, life continued.
Now, returning from a visit with their mother, things have changed. Delphine's sisters are growing and no longer rely on her, Grandma's rules seem constricting, their father found a lady friend, and steady, wonderful Uncle Darryl recently returned from Viet Nam a changed, strange man with a drug addiction.
Letters from her mother are poetic and nonsensical. The woman who abandoned her children, as all too soon Delphine carried responsibility, now admonishes her daughter to "be eleven" and not act as an adult.
Weaving a difficult time in American history, the author does an incredible job of depicting a country changing and a family personally working through difficult issues.
Highly recommended.
February 27, 2014
This book is the sequel to One Crazy Summer. It starts EXACTLY where the previous book ended. If you fell in love with the first book, I guarantee you will love this one. Delphine narrates this story and has many struggles dealing with the start of 6th grade, the return of her uncle Darnell from Vietnam, her grandmother leaving, a new stepmother and overall letting her sisters become more independent. Though letters between Delphine and her mother, Delphine learns more about herself and remembers that she is only eleven.
I recommend this book for 8-12 year olds. Due to correspondence from Delphine and Cecile (her mother) I feel that this book would serve as a mentor text for letter writing.
I recommend this book for 8-12 year olds. Due to correspondence from Delphine and Cecile (her mother) I feel that this book would serve as a mentor text for letter writing.
May 10, 2013
It took me a while to get into this, and I am pretty sure it was out of fear: I loved One Crazy Summer so much that I was afraid its sequel wouldn't live up to the original. And it doesn't, at least not quite; OCS had Delphine, Vonetta and Fern vs. Cecile (even though it wasn't really good vs. evil per se, the conflict between mother and daughters really moved the book) and I feel like PSBE suffered somewhat from the lack of Cecile. But PSBE is still an incredibly strong book, beautifully written. These three girls are honestly among my very favorite characters in children's literature. Rita, you are a treasure - I cannot wait for book 3!
July 6, 2013
What a satisfying companion to One Crazy Summer! The Gaither girls return from Oakland very much changed only to find things changing on Herkermer Street in Brooklyn. Pa's got a lady friend, Big Mama still disapproves of the girls' visit to California, Delphine's friendships are changing and she's starting sixth grade. The audio was performed by one of my favorite narrators, Sisi Aisha Johnson, and she was spectacular as usual. While I was totally lost in the Brooklyn, 1968, I found myself wishing I'd been reading with my eyes so I could mark all the moments of quiet observation and moments of understanding.
March 11, 2014
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 wants to get another book out right away. However, Williams-Garcia should have taken her time to write a better and more satisfying story.
September 12, 2013
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.
October 30, 2015
So friggin cute! Interesting perspective from some of the characters on the Nixon era. I just love how Garcia is able to capture the issues of the era and still keep it kid friendly and real all at the same time!
November 13, 2017
This is the second book in Rita Williams-Garcia’s three book series about the Gaither sisters. The three sisters spent their summer visiting their mom in California where the girls got to experience a very different culture and it is a huge shock to them when they come home and find that everything has changed. The girls stay in touch with their mother through letters where she continously reminds Delphine, who is the oldest sister, to remember to act her age and shouldn’t worry about being in charge of her sisters and growing up too fast. As I noticed with following the last two books of this series, I relate so much to Delphine. The way this character is portrayed is so intriguing! Another element that this story deals with is the terrible changes war has on a person. Their young uncle comes home from the Vietnam war and is acting strange. Due to PTSD, he is now addicted to painkillers and steals the sisters’ ticket money to see the Jackson Five concert. This aspect of the plot shows a unique stressor many family members had to go through during this time period and it really made me connect with the story. Overall, I love the way this story flows and I highly recommend this book as a read aloud in the classroom!
February 26, 2020
Three young ladies growing up without the most significant person a young girl needs; her mother. Their mom is a member of the Blank Panther organization & she left them in the care of their father & his mother at a very young age. Delphine is the oldest and she's responsible for her two younger siblings, Vonetta & Fern. An Impossible task for a child at the age of eleven.
How do parents expect kids to keep other children in line? When they fail, they get punished. When is the child allowed to be a kid instead of doing all the things a mother should be doing. I had a lot of mixed feelings towards their grandmother and I understand she grew up in extremely racial times but everything someone says about a child isn't true and all the negative stereotypes she uttered just put her in not a positive light for me. She never gave praise or said one good thing about her grandchildren, she was incorrigible & showed little opinion about women.
Ok....With that being said, the book is narrated through Delphine & she's pretty good at being open-minded and full of spunk. These three girls will keep you reading; SURELY WILL!
How do parents expect kids to keep other children in line? When they fail, they get punished. When is the child allowed to be a kid instead of doing all the things a mother should be doing. I had a lot of mixed feelings towards their grandmother and I understand she grew up in extremely racial times but everything someone says about a child isn't true and all the negative stereotypes she uttered just put her in not a positive light for me. She never gave praise or said one good thing about her grandchildren, she was incorrigible & showed little opinion about women.
Ok....With that being said, the book is narrated through Delphine & she's pretty good at being open-minded and full of spunk. These three girls will keep you reading; SURELY WILL!
July 23, 2020
P.S. BE ELEVEN is a quick read. Quicker than ONE CRAZY SUMMER. Which is probably a good thing since I probably wouldn't have finished it this time around if it had been longer.
I say this because I found PS11 to be depressing. Despite the craziness of ONE CRAZY SUMMER there was an uplifting feel to the entire book. The girls' mother may have been an odd duck and rather unlikable, and she might have had a sad/tragic backstory, but there were other positives that balanced out the emotional tone.
In PS11 the balance goes the other way. The readers' glimpses of life in the 1960s is no longer Flower Children and Black Panthers serving their communities, it's oppression; everything from what it's okay for women and girls to wear to killing civilians in Nam.
I say this because I found PS11 to be depressing. Despite the craziness of ONE CRAZY SUMMER there was an uplifting feel to the entire book. The girls' mother may have been an odd duck and rather unlikable, and she might have had a sad/tragic backstory, but there were other positives that balanced out the emotional tone.
In PS11 the balance goes the other way. The readers' glimpses of life in the 1960s is no longer Flower Children and Black Panthers serving their communities, it's oppression; everything from what it's okay for women and girls to wear to killing civilians in Nam.
May 29, 2024
This book brings important life values for children such as responsibility, and it makes them aware of serious issues such as drugs. There were moments when I loved the characters, and others in which I felt I hated them. I really enjoyed it! Looking forward to reading the third book of the thrilogy!!!
November 24, 2019
Excellent!
I’ve had this book on my Kindle for YEARS and finally read it. I loved it even more than One Crazy Summer. Delphine had so much on her plate that it was pretty hard to just be eleven.
I’ve had this book on my Kindle for YEARS and finally read it. I loved it even more than One Crazy Summer. Delphine had so much on her plate that it was pretty hard to just be eleven.
May 25, 2020
Ahhh, I'm really loving this series, and all the characters (the new ones included). Delphine's a charming, older sister and Vonetta and Fern are adorable chaos. Surely so.
Cecile's "roundabout, go through the park and stop for ice cream before she's get to the point with some hidden wisdom" letters crack me up. P.S be eleven, i.e stay in a child's place and don't try to grow up too fast.
Cecile's "roundabout, go through the park and stop for ice cream before she's get to the point with some hidden wisdom" letters crack me up. P.S be eleven, i.e stay in a child's place and don't try to grow up too fast.
November 14, 2021
I read this, not having read the first book, so now I have to get the first book to fully understand everything that the Gaither Sisters experienced during their "power to the people" summer they spent with their mother in California.
Now back in Brooklyn, living with their grandmother "Big Ma", their father and his new girl friend, and their Uncle Darnell, returned Vietnam veteran (today his behavior would be called PTS) who is not "himself" any more.
Big music scene THE JACKSON FIVE!
Delphine writes letters to her mother, her mother's letters always end with "P.S. Be Eleven." Now what does that mean to Delphine?
Now back in Brooklyn, living with their grandmother "Big Ma", their father and his new girl friend, and their Uncle Darnell, returned Vietnam veteran (today his behavior would be called PTS) who is not "himself" any more.
Big music scene THE JACKSON FIVE!
Delphine writes letters to her mother, her mother's letters always end with "P.S. Be Eleven." Now what does that mean to Delphine?
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