P.S. Be Eleven, by Rita Williams-Garcia

Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are on their way back to Brooklyn from Oakland where they have spent the last little while getting to know their mother, Cecile.  Delivered unceremoniously back into the arms and admonishments of Big Ma, and back to Herkimer Street and Pa, Delphine knows that she has changed, but she surely didn't expect things in Brooklyn to have changed as well.

First off, Pa has lost his long face.  He's whistling Tempations songs, instead of Old Man River.  Right off, he wants to have a conversation with the girls, but Big Ma beats him to it. "Your Pa is keeping company with a woman in Brownsville." (p. 36)  Marva Hendrix is her name, and while Vonetta and Fern think this is fine and silly, Delphine is not so sure.

Next, Uncle Darnell is back from Vietnam.  But he isn't the same either.  The old Uncle D would be smiling and singing and laughing, but now, he seems distant and sick.  He wakes up shouting and isn't so interested in his nieces. 

Readers follow Delphine's journey into sixth grade as she navigates a changing family, grows her friendships, and figures out how to have a relationship with her distant mother.  P.S. Be Eleven is simply a joy to read.  Each character is here for a reason and adds to the story.  Delphine's voice is so perfect as are the voices of those around her.  Williams-Garcia paints a picture of Bed-Stuy in the 1960s, and she weaves the historical details in seamlessly.  This book seems timeless and should be on everyone's must read list!

Peace, Locomotion

I was surprised when I saw this on the arc shelf at school. I hadn't know that Jacqueline Woodson was writing a sequel to Locomotion, and I was quite delighted to pick it up.

Lonnie is writing letters to his sister Lili. They are at separate foster homes, and each is quite happy. Lonnie, however, is torn. He pretty much loves Miss Edna. She's been taking care of him, and her son Rodney is like a brother to him. Rodney even calls Lonnie his little brother. But when Lonnie's best friend Clyde tells Lonnie "Your mama's real strict" (33), Lonnie has to point out that Miss Edna is only his foster mama. Lonnie does not want to chance forgetting his parents. Clyde then relates his own experiences with Mamas, and how Mamas can come and go for lots of different reasons.

To complicate Lonnie's life a little bit more, Miss Edna's other son Jenkins is over in the war. Jenkins was never a fighter, Miss Edna explains to Lonnie, but the army said they'd pay for an education if Jenkins signed up for the reserves, and the offer was too good to refuse.

When tragedy strikes, Lonnie knows that his foster home is about to change forever.

Change is an overarching theme in Peace, Locomotion. Changes in family, homes, friends, teachers. Readers will be on the edge of tears, and not simply for content. Jacqueline Woodson is a master of language, and no words seem wasted. Each seems like it was considered and placed "just so". The format pulls readers in, and the one sided nature of the letters does not feel isolating at all(readers only see letters from Lonnie). Woodson has quite a bit to say about teachers and teaching with the juxtaposition of Ms. Marcus, Ms. Cooper, and Miss Alina. I only hope that readers will not have too many Ms. Coopers in their lives!

This is one of those special books that I feel like I will be returning to again and again.

On shelves later this month.

Brooklyn Bridge

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a preview at Feiwel and Friends in the lovely Flat Iron Building. Many interesting titles were discussed, but the one I simply couldn't wait to read was Brooklyn Bridge, by Karen Hesse.

It's the summer of 1903 and Joseph is sick of bears. Ever since his mom created two toy bears in response to President Roosevelt's refusal to shoot a young bear on a hunting expedition, Joseph has been living and breathing bears. The family candy shop has turned into a bear making shop, and bear parts are all over the apartment. His parents are so busy trying to keep up with demand that Joseph's dream of getting to Coney Island seems like it will never happen.

Joseph's family are immigrants from Russia. First came his Aunt Golda (or the Queen as Joseph and his sister liked to call her) who saved all of her money to bring her siblings over, including Joseph's Papa, and his two other aunts (Aunt Beast and Aunt Mouse accordingly). His aunts stayed in Manhattan's Lower East Side, while the only home Joseph can remember is Brooklyn. Joseph knows that he is lucky...he really does. He knows other kids who don't want to go home because their parents yell, and hit, they don't have enough to eat, or they are falling over the many people crammed into their apartments. Joseph doesn't have to worry about any of these things. Still, he misses how life used to be with the candy shop, and how he used to be just one of the guys.

At least he is not one of the bridge kids. The ones that congregate there every night to try to get some sleep and stay out of harm's way. Some have nowhere else to go, others have run away from horrific situations. These kids watch out for each other, share whatever they have, and simply try to survive another day.

Hesse has penned an intriguing piece of historical fiction with a dash of magical realism as well. Who is the ghost that haunts the children under the bridge, and how can he possibly be related to Joseph's family?

The chapters about Joseph's family are interspersed with chapters telling the tales of the children living under the bridge. I am curious about the degree of fiction of these children's tales. Some are so horrific that I think they must have been recorded in a work house diary. It is amazing to think about NYC back at the turn of the century. The class divide is explored in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The children who are cast aside are struggling every day to survive, and Joseph's family is making it, but suffering the consequence of not quite fitting in with the folks on the block like they used to.

I also love the amount of historical detail that Hesse managed to put into the book so seemingly effortlessly, that readers simply absorb them without feeling like it's work. The comments from newspapers of the day describing Coney Island are so interesting, and left me wanting to read more about the amusement parks (especially with the condo-ization of the area set to begin very soon).

Lyrical and haunting, Brooklyn Bridge is one of those books that stays with the reader. You will find yourself revisiting the characters and the situations time and time again.