One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Delphine, Vonetta and Fern have been sent from Brooklyn to Oakland to spend the summer with the mother who left them. Cecile doesn't seem to want them there. Every morning, she sends the girls away to the Black Panthers' summer camp to keep them out of her hair. Delphine is used to taking care of her younger sisters, but she can't protect them from Cecile's distant behavior. As the girls make new friends at the community center, they learn about more than just revolution and equality. They learn about who they are, and about how they can be a stronger family.

This is an aspect of the Civil Rights movement that doesn't usually make it into children's historical fiction. For that alone, I'd recommend this book. But for all the mention of the Panthers and their agenda, this is, at its heart, a book about identity and family. I think most readers will identify with Delphine's struggle to find her place in her world and in her family.

*One Crazy Summer is the winner of the Coretta Scott King award and a Newbery Honor book for 2011.

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

Fifteen-year-old Evie thinks she's got the perfect life. Her mother is as beautiful and charming as a movie star. Her stepfather, Joe, is home from World War II and is running several successful stores. Her best friend always stands up for her, no matter what. To top it all off, Joe is taking the family on a vacation to Palm Beach! Not long after they arrive in Florida, a handsome young man who served with Joe in the army appears and joins their circle of friends, instantly capturing Evie's heart. The only trouble is that as Evie gets closer to Peter, she begins to realize that her family is not what she thinks it is. When Peter disappears under circumstances that appear to incriminate Evie's parents, Evie must unravel all the secrets and get down to the truth.

This story reads like a 1940's mystery film. Evie mentions Lana Turner and Barbara Stanwyck, and either actress would be a good fit to play a role in this story. The language use is dead on for the period, and Evie's naivete is just about right for a sheltered teenage girl of the 40's. I found myself able to predict most of the story's big points, but I didn't find that to be a drawback, since I was dreading the moment Evie would realize those things. The tension in this story remains tightly wound until the last, and Evie's final decision, while surprising in some ways, makes perfect sense in others.