A great adaptation of the middle grade novel. Delphine and her two younger sisters are heading to California for a summer with the mother, Cecile. The sisters daydreamed about a sunny California summer, but their experience turned out to be much different. They aren't greeted with the warm hugs and kind words they were anticipating. Their mother, Nzila, who is now a part of the Black Panther party, is less than enthuasistic about their arrival. She sends them to a summer day camp run by the Panthers. Despite their initial hesitation the girls learn a great deal about themselves and the world around them.

This graphic novel adaptation provided historical knowledge on topics such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panthers. It thoughtfully depicted these experiences in a way that is attainable for kids. I appreciated the way traumatic previous experiences with their mother (Nzila/Cecile) were depicted with other inks to make the reader experience more clear. This was also such an emotional full-circle story of generational trauma, depicted in a beautifully healing way.

What a fantastic adaption of One Crazy Summer! I flew through this graphic novel! The art is wonderful, and I was immediately engaged with our 3 sisters. I loved this slice of history and activism!

Thanks to NetGalley, Rita Williams-Garcia, and HarperCollins for the chance to read and review! My opinions are my own!

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

I could not stop thinking about how I walk past One Crazy Summer every day in my school library while I shelve books, and I always tell myself I need to read it.

Now that I've read the graphic novel, the novel is the next non-ARC book I'm going to read.

My one complaint is that I felt like the whole mystery of what was in the kitchen fell kind of flat, but I wonder if there is more buildup in the original novel.

I think recommending this graphic novel to more reluctant readers might encourage them to read the rest of the series. I can't wait to add this to my school library.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

More than a decade ago, I tried to read as many Newbery books as possible, whether they won the award or were Honor books. One book I did not get around to reading was One Crazy Summer, which is why I was so happy to receive this ARC.

Set in the late 1960s, One Crazy Summer explores the themes of civil rights, racial prejudice, Black pride, women’s liberation and family ties. The three young girls are pretty much estranged from their mother, but that doesn’t stop their dad from sending them to Oakland for the summer. Their mother is fiercely anti-children and does not adjust her life too much to accommodate the children.

The girls are sent to the community center run by the Black Panthers. I really appreciated this in the story because of what I had previously known about the Panthers, as seen through the eyes of white historians. Some called them vigilantes, or worse, terrorists, but this book humanizes them and shows the many ways the group lifted up their communities.

The graphic novel is a bright and colorful work that conveys the myriad of problems facing society in the late 1960s, as well as the meaning behind and the power of names. Delphine is a great character to get behind as she mothers her younger sisters, all while trying to establish a more meaningful relationship with her mother. I’m looking forward to diving into the two sequels some day to visit more with these richly drawn characters.

One of my favorite middle grade novels! Lovely to see the girls represented in a graphic novel. Hopefully, this graphic novel will be a gateway to the actual novel.

I'm very, very excited to share this upcoming book with my elementary students -- in fact, I've already recommended it as a preorder for at least one student's family. The story is engaging, the art is great, and (always a bonus) I'm now looking forward to reading the original. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I absolutely loved the original print novel of this title. It is without a doubt one of the best books I've ever read. I was eager to see the graphic novel translation.

I will likely buy it for my school library, however, I was a little disappointed. There was so much more to the story than the 1970s Black Panther movement which is what the graphic novel focuses on, not so much the girls' strained relationship with their mother (in the original, the reader had more of an idea behind the mother's gruffness and more genuine affection for her estranged daughters came through than in the graphic novel.). I did like the mention of how the media does not tell the whole story - only bits and pieces to suit their political views of the newspaper or television station owners. Several times Delphine notices that the stories of violence and harshness depicted on the media were contrary to what she was experiencing after meeting members of the radical organization.. I understand that a graphic novel has to center on one main story line, but I feel readers are missing so much more of the girls' story with this version. Still a great book, and reminded me of how much I love the original.

I haven’t read the chapter book, and didn’t know what was about. I wasn’t expecting to find so hard topics: racism, children abandonment, and social injustices towards the black community and immigrants.. The language is simple, it can be read in one sitting but, it can be confusing.

I loved the sister’s relationship. I liked their adventures, and how they faced new challenges, always working together. However, Cecile’s negative attitude made me furious. The rejection to her daughters, her language, her refusal to acknowledge their needs or even listen to them is unbearable.

Any child who reads this will need at least a basic knowledge of the social and personal issues presented in the story. The book provides very little background and it can be confusing. Overall, it is a fine book for older kids who enjoy historical fiction, humor and adventure. The characters are believable and it can be read in one sitting. The story will create curiosity, which is perfect for group discussion.

5 stars

This is a fantastic graphic novel version of a tremendous middle grade read, and I will be recommending this to my students as well as any prospective readers.

Three sisters hop on a plane from their home in Brooklyn to their estranged mother in Oakland. It's the '60s and the height of Black Panther living, and the girls' mother, who has acted and continues to act more like a disinterested and put upon rando versus a caring guardian (she has her reasons!), is a mysterious and bizarre figure that remains distant even when she is in close physical proximity. Through this read and modality, the girls' burgeoning realizations about race, culture, their mother, and themselves come to light. This is a memorable and enriching experience made even more powerful through the updated graphic novel version.

I expected to enjoy this based on my original feelings about the novel, but it exceeded those already high expectations.

An absolutely perfect graphic novel adaptation by Rita Williams-Garcia of her award-winning middle grade classic, illustrated by Sharee Miller (whose work we fell in love with reading Curlfriends!). I laughed, I cried, I learned. This edition will make the very personal story of the civil rights movement accessible to so many more young readers at a time when it is most needed. I'm recommending it to the local public and school library. Highly recommend!

I read this book when I was ten and it was one of my favorites. I was thrilled when I found out that it was being adapted into a graphic novel. The illustrations are so expressive and colorful, and does a great job following the original story while adding so much substance. Every little black girl should read this amazing story of sisterhood and self-discovery, thank you so much netgalley for the opportunity to read this early!

I found One Crazy Summer to be a very informative story about three girls figuring out their connection to Black culture during a tumultuous time. The story was strong enough as a graphic novel, although I could definitely feel holes in the story and characters as the plot was translated from novel to graphic format. Maybe the hardest part to really fathom was the relationship between the girls and their mother, because I feel like we lost a lot of the mother's character as well as the girls' experiences with her in order to keep the plot and story moving.

The coverage of the good and bad of the Black Panthers, with more focus on the good and the values that they were trying to instill, and the various steps that were being taken to in the 1960s to gain attention for the rights of minorities in the US. The book feels fitting given what is going on in the US right now, so reading a story that shows how people can and do resist made me feel hopeful that things would improve and there may even be resistance for some of the things that are being done.

I did really want to smack around the parents and adults of these girls for most of the book. Their dad effectively ships them off, knowing that their mother doesn't want them there which feels cruel. And then their mother washes her hands of them for most of the summer. Also cruel. I get that maybe she didn't want a relationship with her children; and their father wanted to force that. I'm just not convinced that sending them across the country to effectively live their lives without supervision was irresponsible and hurtful. The one shining light was in the neighbour who comes to care for the girls.

The artwork is nice. The story is solid. Just wish that it had plugged a few more holes or jumped around a little bit less.

I so love the original text, but am excited to see this particular story made more attainable for all of my readers.
The graphic novel version will aid understanding and help my students visualize when they struggle to do so with a longer text.
This is easy to read and will be a good addition to my classroom shelves.

I really enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it to others! The illustrations were adorable, and the plot was engaging from start to finish.

I originally read Rita Williams-Garcia's book in 2021 and was absolutely mesmerized by the storyline, character development, and emotional pull throughout the novel. It is an outstanding book. Here, in the graphic novel adaptation, new readers will discover the story and its enhancements with the graphic illustrations. I didn't think the book could be topped, but the graphic novel is fantastic. I loved seeing the characters portrayed, watching the girls stretch waayy outside of their comfort zone (and in the process, an empathetic reader is simultaneously stretched!), and experiencing the book in a whole new way.

This is a must-read for classroom teachers, and I recommend it for book clubs everywhere. The fictional story of 3 little girls who visit their mother during a summer in the height of the Black Panther movement will open a window to many readers and show a little-known aspect of children's involvement in this historic time.

"One Crazy Summer" does an effective job exploring both the nuances of motherhood and the power of necessary political drive. Really loved how the complexities of familial dynamics were presented, properly recognizing how the depth of personal purpose and drive function in turn with dire outcomes like unintentional abandonment. How putting your cause, in this case the Black Panthers, above all else can harden you. At the same time, you wouldn't have changed anything about your decisions showcasing how necessary choices, for the wellbeing of everyone, are neither objectively good or bad in the end. The Black Panther representation here is so multifaceted, portraying how skewed media perception can be drastically different than reality. The art was very colorful and cozy, which is perfect for the middle grade audience.

A nice adaptation of the children's novel. by the same name. Familiarity with the original novel is not required, but can be a benefit. Good for both children and folks learning English

Eleven-year-old Delphine, accustomed to a maternal role for her younger sisters after their mother's departure, faces a starkly different reality during a summer spent with Cecile (their mom) in Oakland. Contrary to their hopes for a lighthearted vacation, they attend a Black Panther-run day camp, prompting profound discoveries about their family, personal identities, and the era's social landscape. This graphic novel adaptation, which I found engaging, features vibrant illustrations that effectively complement the text, particularly in capturing the characters' emotional states. While it serves as an accessible introduction to the Black Panthers, it also addresses sensitive family dynamics, including maternal abandonment, which might be emotionally challenging for some readers.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for this review.

I’m a big fan of the original One Crazy Summer and was excited to see a graphic novel version so this story can reach a broader audience. Same as the original, it’s a great introduction to the Black Panthers and exploring the hard topic of a mother who left her children. Some aspects of the original are lost but the illustrations bring new life to the story. The facial expressions alone speak volumes, particularly Cecile’s portrayal. Highly recommend for graphic novel readers! ARC via NetGalley

GREAT graphic adaptation of a fan favorite in my classroom!! This is a wonderful addition to any collection with gorgeous vivid images, intriguing plot moves, and a great expansion of the original novel.