Reviews for Gone crazy in Alabama (J/BOOK)
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
The coping skills of three sisters are put to the test as they leave Brooklyn for a rural summer in 1969 Alabama. Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, the sisters who captured readers' hearts in One Crazy Summer (2010) and P.S. Be Eleven (2013), are off to spend the summer in Alabama with Big Ma. This visit comes at a time of great awareness for almost-13-year-old Delphine as well as looming change in her family. Delphine is still in charge, but Vonetta seeks to step out of her older sister's shadow. The trip also means the girls will confront their Uncle Darnell, who let them down during his stay in Brooklyn. Hurts and grudges go even deeper as the story of the girls' great-grandmother and her estranged sister is gradually disclosed, revealing family dynamics shaped by racial history. All the conflicts fade when a tornado threatens an unbearable loss. Character development again astonishes, the distinctive personalities of the girls ringing true and the supporting cast adding great depth and texture. Indeed, the girls' cousin JimmyTrotter is so fully realized it seems unfair to think of him as secondary. This well-crafted depiction of a close-knit community in rural Alabama works beautifully, with language that captures its humor, sorrow and resilience. Rich in all areas, Delphine and her sisters' third outing will fully satisfy the many fans of their first two. (Historical fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern (One Crazy Summer; P. S. Be Eleven) visit their grandmother and great-grandmother in Alabama. When a tornado strikes, twelve-year-old Delphine sees how her scattered family comes together to hold one another up. This concluding installment has the feeling of a saga, related effectively from Delphine's first-person point of view--and with help from some feisty elders. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
