Gone Crazy in Alabama (Gaither Sisters #3) by Rita Williams-Garcia

★★★

I think this book would make a good movie. It's the final installment of the series about the Gaither sisters, yet it stands well on its own.

The book takes us into the Deep South of 1969. Against the backdrop of the moon landing - which sets the context for the time period - the Gaither sisters visit their grandmother Big Ma and great-grandmother Ma Charles in Alabama. Slowly and gradually, the girls learn old family secrets - the family tree at the end of the book is helpful - with Ma Charles trying to impress upon them the importance of knowing where you came from, while Big Ma was content to let sleeping dogs lie.

This summer - perhaps with a bit of a push from the Mrs. always saying that Vonetta and Fern are capable beings, too - Vonetta and Fern started to stretch their wings. Delphine was left at a bit of a loss, as her identity, until then, had been wholly tied to being a substitute mother to her two younger sisters. I felt sad for Delphine, and happy for Fern, who was discovering herself. Regretfully, I came to dislike Vonetta. I couldn't see why Uncle Darnell and Jimmy Trotter favored her. Yes, she was entertaining and lively, but she was also selfish, stubborn, and sometimes downright mean.

The book ambled along until about 3/4 of the way through, when it took a totally unexpected and dramatic turn.

Without giving away too much of the surprise, I hope it's enough, but not too much, to say that something happens to Vonetta. It tore me apart that Delphine felt the need to defend herself against blame, that even Cecile said to Delphine, "I told you to look out for Vonetta,"(p. 232) and Jimmy Trotter said, "You're hard on Vonetta." (p. 255) As if Delphine hadn't spent most of her young life being a mother instead of a sister to Vonetta because her own mother had abandoned them and her father and grandfather expected her to be her sisters' guardian. It was hypocritical of Cecile to expect Delphine to look out for Vonetta, when she just spent an entire book - P.S. Be Eleven - trying to tell Delphine that she ought to act like the child she was, rather than trying to be her sisters' mother. That anyone could blame 12-year-old Delphine for what happened to Vonetta, and not Vonetta's own stubbornness and choice of behavior, was frustrating and infuriating. I was indignant on Delphine's behalf, and I wanted to reach through the book and hug her and tell her she was loved.

Towards the end of the book, there is an especially poignant moment between Delphine and Big Ma after Big Ma returns from the court house. In that brief interaction, we see how truly devoted and loyal and loving Delphine is to her Big Ma - and by extension, to her family as a whole.

Overall, I think the themes in this book surpass the middle grade audience it's intended for. I'm an adult, and this book gave me so much to think about.