Kai Harris

I enjoyed this coming-of-age story seen through the eyes of almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta as it moves forward slowly, giving one hint at a time about the things that don’t seem ‘quite right’ to the smart and sensitive girl.

After the death of their father Kenyatta and her older sister Nia are driven by their mother from Detroit to Michigan to spend time with their grandfather, whom they hardly know. Their mother leaves them there without much of an explanation. It soon dawns on the girls that they don’t know when their mother will return to pick them up. Will she return at all?

Kenyatta has always been close to her sister Nia and is quite upset that Nia withdraws from her and seems more interested in boys and girls her own age. Both Nia and Kenyatta have been hurt by family members close to them. During the long, hot summer with their grandfather, the girls confront isolation, alienation and fear. They learn how to fend for themselves and understand that they can ask for help. Grandfather and Kennyatta get to know each other as he reluctantly shares some family history with his granddaughter. They witness some beautiful moments watching fireflies. Some of the girls’ experiences are difficult to read about. As they are already hurting they seek out more hurt. Yet the monologues in Kenyatta’s mind and also the dialogues between characters read effortlessly. We are witnessing scenes directly. The way dialogues connect Kenyatta, Nia and grandfather is the reason I embraced the story. There is hope, love and goodwill to move forward together.
I also read the book because I am white and want to understand black girlhood. Many aspects are universal: I was mean to my sisters in the way Nia is, I suffered - when my parents kept secrets - and passed the suffering on, boys I met as a teenager acted just like the ones here. Racism by neighbors I did not encounter as I grew up in Germany when society was quite homogeneous.… (mehr)