I really enjoyed this. Three young sisters are sent to stay with their estranged mother in the 1960s, where they get caught up in the Black Panther movement. It's almost a coming of age story, I think, for the eldest sister, 11 year old Delphine, and she is the best part of the book. It's all told from her perspective, and she's an immensely appealing character, weighed down with the responsibility of looking after her sisters and resentful of the mother who dumped that responsibility on her by leaving in the first place. By the end of the book, I'm not sure I can truly say that she understands why her mother left (even the most emotionally mature 11 year old is still only 11) but there is the beginning of understanding, at least, and of awareness - and that awareness comes on multiple levels. It's just all very well done, immensely sympathetic without being cloying, and little Fern's poetic performance is a moment of absolute awesome.