This book is layered. While I love the development of the main character Delphine and how she navigates her first summer with her mom in Oakland, hearing her contrast her life in Brooklyn with her dad and his mother, their time in Alabama, and now, being here with just her sisters and her mother amongst the Black Panthers in Oakland is my favorite part of this book. As she grows to understand more and more about what is going on, her sisters act as a further window into understanding (clearly I'M no great writer!).

I highly suggest this for all ages, but it's most appropriate for 6th graders, IMO.