Clouds Over California

by Karyn Parsons (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

From the author of the highly acclaimed How High the Moon comes a moving and heartfelt novel about how a girl's family and friendships are turned upside down--just as the world is changing in 1970s Los Angeles.

Stevie's life is fluctuating rapidly. She's starting over in a brand new middle school. Quiet and observant, it's hard for her to make friends. Plus, her mind is too occupied. The tension in her home is building as her parents' arguments are becoming more frequent. To top it all off, Stevie's older cousin Naomi is coming to live with the family in an attempt to keep her from a "bad" crowd--The Black Panthers.

Stevie agrees to keep Naomi's secrets. She's the cool big cousin, after all, and Stevie can't help but notice the happy, positive effect the Black Panthers are having on Naomi's confidence and identity--just like how Mom is making decisions for herself, even when Dad disapproves.

Stevie feels herself beginning to change as well. But one thing remains the same: she loves both of her parents, and she loves them together. Can her family stay in one piece despite the world shifting around them?

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$16.99

Kirkus

A relationship-driven novel that is strongest in its portrayal of one girl's journey.

Publishers Weekly

In 1970s Southern California, 11-year-old biracial Stevie is experiencing an overload of newness, including a new neighborhood, new school, and new classmates who tease her about her natural hair. Even once familiar staples in Stevie's life are shifting before her eyes: her best friend, Jennifer, is dodging her calls now that Stevie has moved across town, and Stevie's white father and Black homemaker mother are getting into arguments late at night about her mother's desire to go back to school. The sudden arrival of her 15-year-old cousin Naomi--whose parents shipped her from Boston to Santa Monica to prevent her from joining the Black Panthers--throws a curveball in Stevie's struggle to find her footing. As she grows closer to outspoken Naomi, Stevie begins unlocking her own untapped inner confidence. But even as Stevie's social life starts looking up, she worries that her mother's increasingly odd behavior--leaving home at strange hours and taking phone calls with someone named Clarence--could spell disaster for things at home. Told through a spirited first-person perspective, this earnest novel by Parsons (How High the Moon) seamlessly connects key historical moments during the Black Power movement, social politics, and evergreen tween conflicts surrounding agency and independence. Ages 8-12. (July)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Karyn Parsons
Karyn Parsons is best known for her role as Will Smith's cousin Hilary Banks on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After leaving acting behind, Karyn has gone on to found and produce Sweet Blackberry, an award-winning series of children's animated films, to share stories about unsung Black heroes in history, featuring narration from stars such as Alfre Woodard, Queen Latifah, and Chris Rock. The videos have been screened on HBO and Netflix, and enjoyed by schools and libraries across the country. She is the author of Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight, How High the Moon, and Saving the Day. Karyn lives with her family in Providence, Rhode Island.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780316484077
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
July 11, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV011010 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JUV016150 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | United States - 20th Century
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
JUV013020 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Marriage & Divorce
JUV039290 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Activism & Social Justice
Library of Congress categories
Schools
Moving, Household
Middle schools
School fiction

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