Gr 3–7—Alberta was the only Black girl in town until Edie and her mom moved into the bed-and-breakfast down the
street. Though Edie and Alberta don't have much in common, their shared experience as Black girls, and a mystery
surrounding the journals found in Edie's attic, brings them together. This book bravely takes on conversations of
race and racism, with a cast of dynamic characters and a plethora of nontraditional family structures.

Really enjoyed this story -- Alberta is a really great kid, with a small but mighty community. She loves surfing and getting free ice cream cones from her best friend's brother, and the whole world changes when another Black girl moves in across the street. Eye opening about how Black kids can feel othered all the time, even without overt hostility. 2 loving dads and a surrogate birth mother having a child make for an excellent alternative family. Loved reading about having art professionals as your family, and about setting up a B&B as a longtime dream (mother who moves in across the street.) Really loved Edie's goth style and her unapologetic ways. Also the friend drama with Laramie read as very true to life. The mysterious journals from a woman who was passing in the 50s and 60s added an extra mystery component. Good stuff, all. ( )

Alberta has been the only black girl in her grade in her California beach town forever. When a new girl, Edie, moves in across the street from NYC, her family is excited to welcome another black family. Edie finds a big set of journals from the 50s and 60s written by a girl named Constance in her new room. The girls start reading and realize they need to figure out who she was.
The local mean girl starts to hang out with Laramie, Alberta's best friend. Her meanness has racial undertones but a lot of other white folks don't see it.
Exploration of friendships, race, and family.
Well written, compelling, larger print on the page. ( )

I loved this book! The Only Black Girls in Town is an engaging middle grade novel that discusses friendship, family, and fitting in. It takes the reader on a journey through several types of family units and friendships while also addressing the challenges of growing up. There’s discussions about racism and school hierarchy and a mystery tangled in too… it’s good! Completely good.

The Only Black Girls in Town reads like an older middle grade/younger YA book. Al and her friends are entering the seventh grade and as such they’re at a point in their life where they are searching for their own identities. This comes in several shades, including the way they present themselves to the world and the people they spend their time with. While Alberta is technically our protagonist, we get the see different stories in her two best friends, Laramie and Edie. There is so much representation in this book on small levels, the types of things that normally are forgotten. It was really nice to see the variety of lived experiences between the three girls, let alone everyone else in the story.

While I would say that the bulk of the novel deals with Al and friends’ experiences growing up in their small town community, the subplot surrounding Constance also tells us an important truth. In some ways, it reminded me of this book I liked when I was growing up, Paperquake, in that it involves finding mysterious journals and such in an old house. But that is where the similarities end – Constance’s story exists to cast a light in how recently segregation was a part of daily American life – less on “how far we have come” and more on “we still have so far to go”.

I also enjoyed Constance’s story because it shows how even though Al always thought she was an “only”, there are so many people out there who are part of the community. The Only Black Girls in Town addresses experiences for those of mixed race – both historically and in modernity. While I am not qualified to declare it was done well since I am not Black or of mixed race, I can say that as an outsider, I was really nice to see.

The Only Black Girls in Town is an easy recommendation. It’s a mix of contemporary struggles and a historically rooted mystery and as such keeps the reader engaged and rooting for Al and her friends. I haven’t discussed the gay couple, artist commune living, and holistic pregnancy, but all of that is really nice to see as well. The entire book is accessible to its reader base and never feels childish, the way some middle grade novels do. The Only Black Girls in Town very much needs to be available to students in school libraries – this is the type of book that represents many different people in many different ways and it is an excellent read. ( )

Brandy Colbert's The Only Black Girls In Town is a middle grade realistic fiction book about a girl named Alberta who lives in a California beach town with her two dads. She's felt conspicuously like the only black girl in town for years, so she's thrilled to find out the new neighbors are black and have a daughter her age. The girls are very different and don't immediately hit it off, but an intriguing mystery around some old journals found in the attic motivates them to work together and learn to focus on what they do have in common. This a fun coming of age story about families, friendships, and cultural identity.