The Only Black Girls in Town
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 First edition book cover | |
| Author | Brandy Colbert |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
Publication date | March 24, 2020 |
| Pages | 368 |
| ISBN | 9780316456388 |
| OCLC | 1100427215 |
The Only Black Girls in Town is a 2020 middle grade novel by Brandy Colbert about two Black middle schoolers who bond over their racial identity and find a mysterious journal in their attic.
Colbert says she found writing middle grade books intimidating, because she perceived writing for a younger audience as harder, and says that she wanted to write something that would've spoken to her as a kid. The initial idea for the novel came to her as she thought about what would happen if a character thought they were the only Black girl in town, but then another one moved in across the street. She cites Judy Blume's and Beverly Cleary's books as influences for the novel.[1]
Plot
The Only Black Girls in Town follows Alberta, a kind, 12-year-old girl who lives in the small town of Ewing Beach, California with her dads. Alberta is also the only Black girl in her school, which has led to a lot of bullying and microaggressions. One day, a new family moves in across the street, and Alberta meets Edie, a goth girl from Brooklyn. Although their personalities are quite different, they bond over being the only Black students in their small town, as well as the racism they face. However, their friendship begins to crack as Alberta's lifelong best friend begins hanging out with the popular girls who have taunted Alberta for years and Edie's parents go through a divorce. However, when they find a set of journals in Edie's home, they work together to uncover a mystery about a young Black woman who passed as white and lived in Ewing Beach in the 1950s.