Gone Crazy in Alabama

By: Rita Williams-Garcia

Narrated by: Sisi A. Johnson

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Newbery Honor winner and New York Times best-selling author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of the Gaither sisters, who are about to learn what it's like to be fish out of water as they travel from the streets of Brooklyn to the rural South for the summer of a lifetime.

Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are off to Alabama to visit their grandmother, Big Ma, and her mother, Ma Charles. Across the way lives Ma Charles' half sister, Miss Trotter. The two half sisters haven't spoken in years. As Delphine hears about her family history, she uncovers the surprising truth that's been keeping the sisters apart. But when tragedy strikes, Delphine discovers that the bonds of family run deeper than she ever knew possible.

Powerful and humorous, this companion to the award-winning One Crazy Summer and P.S. Be Eleven will be enjoyed by fans of the first two books as well as by listeners meeting these memorable sisters for the first time.

©2015 Rita Williams-Garcia (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

The Best!

This was the best of all of the books. I read it with my boys and we just can't get enough of Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. I hope there are more books!

great read

my 11yr old loved it wouldn't stop until she finished it twice. Story lines funny and relatable.

The Narrator is Outstanding!

SiSi Aisha Johnson nailed every character's voice! My 9 year old and I ejoyed it!

Pleeeeease Don't Let This Be The Last!!!!

I've so enjoyed listening to Delphine as she grows up. Twelve here, going on a life-forced thirty, she faces new challenges with her sisters ('cause they're growing up too!), with society, with nature itself.
Down in Alabama, things are crazy! Their mother, who recently re-entered their lives, has taught them to be free and proud. She's a poetess who's as independent as they come, and she's taught the girls to be fearless, to speak their minds. And that's not something you do in Alabama. You don't raise your fist and say, "Black Power!" and "Power to the People!", not when men still ride the night wearing sheets and burning crosses.
The story is one of love and family, of sibling rivalry/despair/joy, of growing up in hard and fast times. There are echoes of the damage Vietnam is doing, of drugs, of having to say, "Yes, Sir" over and over and over to the town Sheriff who is probably Klan.
But there is also humor and friendship, of defining who you are, and of giving back to those that love, even if it means ironing Ma Charles' sheets in a sweltering summer.
I loved each of these three books because they touch on history, they touch on life, they touch on devotion. A stellar book with dazzling narration by Sisi A. Johnson who can do ANYone's voice, can convey ANY emotion.
What a pleasure!
(...just pleeeeze let there be another one...!)

great book about family!

this was a great book to listen to with the kids! the author made you feel like you were in the story!

A plus book

Our family is moving and repairing our house and this book was a wonderful book to listen to while working hard

Great Story Family through Generations

My son loved this series of three stories about sisters from Brooklyn and their family dynamic during the civil rights movement, Vietnam War, etc. There are some serious themes presented, Jim Crow Laws, abuse, drug recovery, etc., but it facilitated great dialogue about the norms of the day vs. today. Rita Williams-Garcia's writing is full of heartache, humor, and love.

I LOVE THE WORKS OF RITA WILLIAMS GARCIA ❤️

I COULD NOT PUT THESE BOOKS DOWN AND I AM A GROWN UP. HER BOOKS PROVIDE A GREAT PLATFORM FOR PARENTS AND CHILDREN OF COLOR TO CONNECT AND COMMUNICATE!

A stroll down memory lane

A delightful story reminding me of my own sisterhood. Being the eldest sibling I definitely identified with Delfina

great book

I would recommend this book . it is a great look at what life was like for an African American gilrl visiting the South in the 1960s.