It's
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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at
and #IMWAYR day
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January 6, 2025 by Prismatic Prospects
Personal Copy
Vicky Phillips is a high school student in the late 1940s in Port Milestone. She wants to attend college and be a journalist, so is happy to write for her school's newspaper, the Black Diamond Daily, but is irritated that editor Ed assigns her articles about fashion and recipes instead of serious news, just because she is female, since the other female staff member, Hester, does the advice column. Vicky's father is a bank security officer who worked in the shipyards during World War II because many Black men were not accepted into the military. He advised Vicky to remember and write about such things so that society doesn't forget. Vicky's good friend Berta is going steady with Howard, and there is some talk that Chester, a wealthy, popular boy, wants to date Vicky. However, Vicky is interested in the son of the local malt shop owner. Willie is a football player, and when he accidentally knocks Vicky off her feet but catches her, she remembers a comment her father made about a man being a good dancer if he can save a girl being "swept off her feet". Vicky thinks that if she can interview Willie for the newspaper, Ed might let her write more serious articles, so she visits Willie at home when he is sick, making him a hot drink of lemons and honey. In turn, Willie brings her a newfangled peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school. Chester has asked Vicky to homecoming, but she turns him down, and even the studious Thomas is interested in her. He gets rejected after he shares his opinion that girls only go to college to find husbands! Willie invites Vicky to a party at his home, and the two clearly enjoy being together. Vicky writes an article about Bro Brown's Burgers and Malts for the paper, which makes Ed take her more seriously and endears her even more to Willie. At the end of the book, the two share a sweet kiss. An author's note explains the need for remembering both the social injustices faced by Black people in the past, but also the daily joy that is infrequently shown in books.
June 21, 2025 by Prismatic Prospects
Personal Copy
Personal Copy
Berta Benson is a high schooler living in Port Milestone in the late 1940s. She's going steady with Howard, with whom she gets along very well. She still loves to work in the Victory Garden that she kept during the war, and there's a lot of excitement because her family has just purchased a television set! Even though there aren't a lot of stations or programs, it's a fascinating new technology, and the neighbors are often invited over to watch. Berta's mother is a seamstress who makes Berta's dresses, but also sews for both Black and white customers. She is very insistent that white customers treat her with respect, and doesn't allow them to call her by her first name, only Mrs. Benson. Her father is a barber whose shop is very popular, and he did not have to fight in the war because his legs are different lengths. Seeing her best friend Vicky's success on the school newspaper makes Berta wonder about her own future. She struggles in school, and doesn't have a career that interests her, so she feels very ordinary. When her neighbor Evie moves away, a new family moves in. Mr. Coleman was raised in the West Hill neighborhood, but it is widely known that he passed as white, fought in the war, and married a Mexican-American woman. This would have been illegal in some parts of the country, and his family struggles to adjust to West Hill. Berta befriends Ari, who is an excellent singer, and invites her over to watch television. She also talks to her parents about inviting the Colemans over to show that they are accepted. Howard confides in Berta that he also sometimes worries that he should have more dreams for his future, but he is happy to pursue a career as a plumber and to eventually have a wife and children, which fits perfectly with Bertas plans. Notes at the end of the book address the way Black people were addressed in demeaning ways by white people, details about how interracial marriage was viewed after the war, and even includes links to a soundtrack online!
January 6, 2025 by Prismatic Prospects
Personal Copy
Ari Coleman's family is struggling to find their place in the West Hill community of Port Milestone after moving back to the father's hometown. Mr. Coleman spent World War II passing as white and fighting in the war. During the duration, her mother worked maintenance at the nightclub where her father had been employed. After his return and the birth of Ari's brother, the family realized that the brother took after his Black father more than his Mexican-American mother. Knowing this would make their life difficult, they returned to the predominately Black community of West Hill where Mr. Coleman found a job at a pianist in a club. As the summer community celebration approaches, Ari considers participating in the Black Diamond Pageant. She is an excellent singer, but faces discrimination for being both Black and Mexican-American. She's also interested in Bam, who plays football at the high school but is a hopeless dancer. The two are friends, but both are considering more. Ari continues with the pageant despite the pushback from popular girl Hester, and is encouraged to improve her singing with inspiration from Marian Anderson's historic Easter performance at the Lincoln Memorial as well as Black films that play at the local theater. Bam admits that he likes Ari but is reluctant to pursue a relationship because he is afraid it will all go wrong. Luckily, things go well for both teens, and the book ends with a sweet kiss.
Strengths of the series: The Malt Shop Milestones book includes all three stories, so I read this as one longer title. I'm an enormous fan of 1950s malt shop titles, and was so excited to come across Ms. Keels' work! She is also a fan of the genre, but was not happy with the lack of Black representation, or worse, negative representation common at the time. She has carefully researched the time period, made delightful romances that include realistic problems, but has also added important context by highlighting Black history in the plots. Vicky, as an aspiring journalist, underlines the importance of preserving stories like the treatment of Black citizens during World War II. Berta's mother refuses to be belittled by her white employers, and the family enjoys popular music by Black artists. Ari's family has to navigate the difficult situations of passing as white and raising an interracial family. The notes at the end of the book address these issues further, and I would love to see Keels write a book about Greenwood, Oklahoma before the horrific racial massacre. There are plenty of details about phone directories and telephone operators, polishing shoes, Kraft television theater, and, of course, Bro Brown's Burgers and Malts, the malt shop of our dreams! Young readers will be thrilled with the gentle romances and the struggles the girls go through to try to plan their paths forward into adulthood. The characters reminded me of the ones in some of my favorite series; Berta would have traded homemaking tips with Dulcie Lungaarde Trighorn from Lenora Mattingly Weber's Beany Malone books, and Vicky and Beany would have bonded over a love of journalism.
Weaknesses of the series: This may be hard for school libraries to include in their collections because the books are over available as paperbacks or e books. Since I read primarily middle grade literature, I wanted more defined plots in all of the stories, but these embrace a more character driven, young adult format. I have a few tiny quibbles; there was not a single sock hop! I had thought that referring to stuffed animals as "stuffies" seemed very modern, but Ms. Keels herself assured me that this term appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in the late 1930s. THAT is a level of research that I can respect.
Weaknesses of the series: This may be hard for school libraries to include in their collections because the books are over available as paperbacks or e books. Since I read primarily middle grade literature, I wanted more defined plots in all of the stories, but these embrace a more character driven, young adult format. I have a few tiny quibbles; there was not a single sock hop! I had thought that referring to stuffed animals as "stuffies" seemed very modern, but Ms. Keels herself assured me that this term appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in the late 1930s. THAT is a level of research that I can respect.
What I really think: Traditional publishers are completely missing the boat by not publishing happier historical fiction with characters of color! Romance books are more popular than ever, and the inclusion of Black history alongside positive and sweet teen relationships is the perfect combination.
Along with the Greenwood story, could we also see two star crossed teens from Cleveland, Ohio in 1979 who are involved in the court-ordered school busing of the time? I've been waiting for this book to be written for twenty years!
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