I have recommended this title to so many students. I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to share it with my history faculty this year.

Mystery and history are both included in this book from Brenda Woods! Winter is looking for his father in his own ways. Finding lost family members becomes the focus for Winter and his cousin. What they were not prepared for was learning more about the history of their family and that time period. In the middle of their search, the Watts Riots break out. Will they still be able to find Winter's Dad? You'll want to get a copy for your library!

When Winter Robeson Came takes place in Los Angeles the summer of 1965. In august of that year, a black man was pulled over for drunken driving. He resisted arrest, which led to physical confrontation. Crowds gathered and more police were called in. In less than an hour, chaos had erupted. Over the next six days, 34 people would die, 1,032 would be injured, 200 buildings would be destroyed and at least 600 more damaged from fires or looting.

Though When Winter Robeson Came takes place during turbulent events, the book is also full of hope and joy. The story unfolds over two weeks, bookending the riots. Winter arrives in L.A. full of hope and excitement. And Eden is just as excited. The two are well paired. You can’t help but feel author Brenda Woods had a true sense of their relationship long before the story took hold.

What makes When Winter Robeson Came really stand out, though, is Woods’ prose. This is her first book written in free verse, but you’d never know that. Her smooth cadence draws you in from the beginning and gracefully pushes the narrative forward throughout.

This is a fantastic look at the strength of family and friendship against the backdrop of civil rights.

The narrator, Eden Louise Cole, wants to be a songwriter, and her thoughts come out of her like spontaneous poetry, and the structure of the prose cleverly reflects this. Eden relates how in 1965 her thirteen-year old cousin, Winter Robeson, comes to L.A. for a two-week visit from Sunflower, Mississippi. Eden’s mum has lots planned for the pair to do, but Winter confesses to Eden that he’s actually in L.A. to find his now ten-years lost dad.

When Eden and Winter aren’t on planned activities, they become detectives, looking for clues that could lead them to information about what happened to Winter’s dad. Though the pair luck out, larger events in L.A. overtake them when riots break out in Watts. And though the kids are told to stay indoors, they rush out to help a kind woman who was helpful in Winter’s search.

There is so much love, humour and music in this story. Eden describes the action around her in poetry and in musical terms, drawing vivid pictures in my head of the people surrounding her.

There was a lot packed into this slim book:
-I loved the way Eden and Winter immediately got along; their relationship was a joy to read.
-Though it's only mentioned, Eden's street, and probably neighbourhood, is a victim of white flight.
-It was both exciting and sad how the kids managed to do what police couldn’t do, or be bothered to do, when locating clues to Winter’s missing dad, a Black man.
-I liked how the author showed how the fear of what was happening in Watts, and spilling over a little onto their street, affected Eden’s family and neighbourhood. And, some teachers demotivating girls from following their dreams

I loved this terrific story.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Young Readers Group for this ARC in exchange for my review.