I adore Brandy Colbert's YA--both Little & Lion and Pointe were fantastic--so I was extremely pleased to see a middle grade offering from her, as well. Her casts are always diverse, and she attacks racism, sexism, prejudice, and stereotypes while also addressing family issues, bullying, and friendship.

Alberta's family is a black family in a mostly white town--in fact, she's the only black girl in her grade. (They are also a non-traditional family with two dads and a surrogate mom.) Her best friends are white and Hispanic, and while she loves them, she's excited when a new family moves to town with a black girl her age. The two become fast friends, but find that they are much more different than Alberta realized (one of my favorite phrases from Alberta's dad is "skinfolk aren't always kinfolk").

I know so many of my students are going to love this one--I hope Colbert continues to write middle grade stories along with her YA.

“Anything feels possible when I’m in the ocean, paddling out to catch a wave” (page 20 in an e-book ARC). Alberta loves to surf and is the best surfer at camp. However, when the coach praises her skills, Nicolette makes a racist comment; Nicolette makes racist remarks frequently, which is one reason Alberta is hurt and confused when her best friend Laramie starts hanging out more with Nicolette.

When Edie and her mom move into the Bed and Breakfast across the street from Alberta and her dads, Alberta is excited that she may have a new friend and that she will no longer be the only Black child in her grade. Edie and Alberta seem to not have much in common at first, but the two girls soon become friends; their friendship grows closer after Edie opens a box of old journals and uncovers a mystery.

Alberta is a delightful seventh grader who navigates various challenges throughout the course of this unputdownable book. I loved the close relationship Alberta has with her dads and the friendship she forms with Edie, as well as the setting in a small beach town. This is the first middle grades book I’ve read with a main character who is a vegetarian, so I enjoyed seeing that representation as well. The mystery is interesting and provides a vehicle for Alberta and Edie’s friendship to grow. This engaging, well-written book will appeal to many readers, especially those who love stories about friendship, family, and navigating middle school.

*I was provided with an e-book ARC by NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review.

This review is posted on Goodreads.

Alberta has always lived in Ewing Beach, California, a town that is almost all white, with her Dad and her other dad, Elliott. She's used to being the only black girl in her grade, so she's excited when new black neighbors move into the house that was Mrs. Harris' bed and breakfast. She imagines all of the different ways she can imagine the new girl, but Edie doesn't look like any of her ideas! Coming from Brooklyn, Edie dresses in a Goth fashion, complete with black lipstick, and doesn't even know how to swim, much less participate in Alberta's passion, surfing. Alberta and Edie get along fairly well, but Al is a little miffed when her best friend, Laramie, takes to Edie so quickly. Seventh grade is starting soon, and Alberta's problem with Laramie only grows when her friend starts hanging out with another neighbor, 8th graer Nicolette, who has always given Alberta a hard time and is very racist. There are a lot of things going on in Alberta's life, and soon she is dealing with the fact that her biological mother is going to live with her family for a while, since she is pregnant and her husband has to work away from home, and also with a pile of journals that she and Edie find in Mrs. Harris' attic. The journals are full of black history from 1955, and also an intriguing mystery. Alberta tries to navigate friend drama, problems with microagressions, personal identity issues AND the mystery of the woman named Constance who wrote the journals.

Strengths: My suburban students have asked for years for books with black characters who don't live in the inner city, and that's been an easier request to fill over the last several years. Alberta has a similar socioeconomic setting to Renee Watson's novels, although my students will be amazed that Alberta is the only black girl in her grade! (We are just shy of 25% African American students.) There are a lot of intriguing and well developed characters in the book, and I really appreciated the fact that Alberta and her dads were very serious vegetarians. Having Denise stay with the family gives Alberta a chance to connect with her. The mystery is surprisingly intricate, given everything else that is going on in the book, and the journal entries are just long enough to provided information without getting boring. I really enjoyed reading this one, and it's the sort of thing that I would have loved as a middle grade reader-- someone's ordinary life that is very different from mine. The surfing alone would have sold me!
Weaknesses: This would almost have been better as TWO books. Alberta's problems with friends, family, and her surfing would have made a perfectly captivating book all on their own, as would the mystery with the B&B. I enjoyed this so much that I would have been very happy to have two books.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing, and my students will be glad to have another great book with "drama" (a frequent request) that also includes some issues with race as well as black history.