The Only Black Girls in Town

As a teacher of students reading middle grade and YA, I often don't enjoy reading middle grade fiction at home because I need a break from having their voice and concerns in my head. That being said, I LOVED this book. The voice of the characters was so relatable without having any of the artifice that can come with middle grade characters. Colbert also tackles issues of race with care. She even brought to like some issues (no spoilers) that I've never seen in kidlit: rarely in adult fiction! So many of my students would love this book, and I can't wait to begin handing them copies.

There are so many layers to the story, I couldn’t stop reading it! Plus I’m a sucker for any book with a beach as the setting! Librarians and teachers, get this into the hands of middle graders!

Great book as my neice and Sister and I werepleasantly entertained, educated and represented. Thanks for a great read. Enjoyable!!!

Really good story - love the characters and all the relationships they have with the people around them. Accurate portrayal of middle school troubles

My ten year old loved this book. Highly recommend.

Read it with my 8 and 12 year old granddaughters. Excellent book.

This book is packed with well-executed layers of important content and representation, but first I just want to say that at its core, it brilliantly captures the turbulent years of girl tweenhood probably better than any other contemporary book I have read. This book felt authentic and relatable, and I was invested from start to finish. That said, let's talk about those layers. In addition to really capturing a stage of life, this book take on so many additional themes and manages to handle them with nuance and complexity: race, a girl being raised by two dads, NY meets SoCal culture, friendships, first romantic interests, identity, divorce, periods, developing late/developing early, communication. It's all here.Age Rec: Booksellers market this for 3rd-7th grade. Personally I think the content may be a bit over the head of a 3rd/4th grader. It's not that it's inappropriate. I just think that many of the issues in the book are probably not that relevant to most girls at those ages, nor should they be. I personally think this is a better choice for the Upper Middle Grade (5th/6th Grade) age range. I also think it is very much on point for 7th graders as well. The MC is 12 and in 7th grade. Basically, I recommend this for girls in 5-7th grades.

4.5 stars.I loved so many things about this tender book.-The main characters, Alberta and Edie. Two very different girls from very different worlds, but with one important thing in common. They are the only Black girls in seventh grade. Now that Edie has moved in across the street from Alberta, she has someone who can understand how she sometimes felt alone in her class.-Their families. Edie’s mother, recently divorced, has the courage to move across the country and follow her lifelong dream of opening a B&B. Alberta’s dads and her biological mother couldn’t love her more or be more supportive, as they carefully lead her through life.-The realistic growing pains Alberta and her best friend suffer through as they mature differently and begin to follow their own interests will offer comfort to MG kids.-The sadness Edie experiences when her busy dad can’t seem to find the time to call or visit, will help kids of divorce know they are not alone.-The civil rights secrets Edie and Alberta learn when they discover some mysterious journals will prompt both surprises and perhaps a desire for kids to learn more about civil rights history.-Edie and Alberta’s determination and resourcefulness in their search to find the owner of the long lost journalsThis is a story you won’t want to end!

My daughter didn’t like it at all. She can’t even finish it. She said she found it uninteresting. No real adventure, more a diary of things happening

Granddaughter loves it