Cover Image

The only black girls in town

by Colbert, Brandy,

Format: Print Book 2020
Availability: Available at 35 Libraries 35 of 37 copies

Available (35)
Location Collection Call #
Baldwin Borough Library Juvenile Fiction J COL
Location  Baldwin Borough Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J COL
 
 
Bethel Park Public Library Juvenile Fiction juv COLBERT Brandy
Location  Bethel Park Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  juv COLBERT Brandy
 
 
Braddock Carnegie Library Juvenile Fiction J F COL
Location  Braddock Carnegie Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J F COL
 
 
Braddock Carnegie Library - Turtle Creek Juvenile Fiction J F COL
Location  Braddock Carnegie Library - Turtle Creek
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J F COL
 
 
Brentwood Library Juvenile Fiction JUV Colbert
Location  Brentwood Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  JUV Colbert
 
 
Bridgeville Public Library Young Adult TEEN FIC COL
Location  Bridgeville Public Library
 
Collection  Young Adult
 
Call Number  TEEN FIC COL
 
 
CLP - Beechview Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Beechview
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Brookline Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Brookline
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Carrick Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Carrick
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Downtown Second Floor - Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Downtown
 
Collection  Second Floor - Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - East Liberty Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - East Liberty
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Hazelwood Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Hazelwood
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Hill District Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Hill District
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Homewood Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Homewood
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Knoxville Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Knoxville
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Lawrenceville Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Lawrenceville
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Main Library First Floor Children's Department - Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  First Floor Children's Department - Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - Sheraden Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - Sheraden
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - South Side Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - South Side
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
CLP - West End Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Colbert
Location  CLP - West End
 
Collection  Children's Fiction Collection
 
Call Number  j FICTION Colbert
 
 
Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale Children Fiction J Fic Col
Location  Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale
 
Collection  Children Fiction
 
Call Number  J Fic Col
 
 
Carnegie Library of Homestead Children Fiction J FIC Colb
Location  Carnegie Library of Homestead
 
Collection  Children Fiction
 
Call Number  J FIC Colb
 
 
Dormont Public Library Juvenile Fiction J COLB
Location  Dormont Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J COLB
 
 
Green Tree Public Library Children's JF COL
Location  Green Tree Public Library
 
Collection  Children's
 
Call Number  JF COL
 
 
Millvale Community Library Juvenile Fiction JFIC COL
Location  Millvale Community Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  JFIC COL
 
 
Monroeville Public Library Juvenile Fiction J COLBERT
Location  Monroeville Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J COLBERT
 
 
Moon Township Public Library Juvenile Fiction JF COLBERT Brandy
Location  Moon Township Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  JF COLBERT Brandy
 
 
Mt. Lebanon Public Library Children's Fiction j COLBERT Brandy
Location  Mt. Lebanon Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Fiction
 
Call Number  j COLBERT Brandy
 
 
Northland Public Library Children's Fiction J FIC COLBERT
Location  Northland Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Fiction
 
Call Number  J FIC COLBERT
 
 
Penn Hills Library Teen Fiction TEEN COLBERT
Location  Penn Hills Library
 
Collection  Teen Fiction
 
Call Number  TEEN COLBERT
 
 
Scott Township Library Juvenile Fiction J FIC COLBER
Location  Scott Township Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J FIC COLBER
 
 
Shaler North Hills Library Young Adult Fiction YA COLBERT
Location  Shaler North Hills Library
 
Collection  Young Adult Fiction
 
Call Number  YA COLBERT
 
 
South Fayette Township Library Juvenile Fiction J FIC COL
Location  South Fayette Township Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J FIC COL
 
 
Western Allegheny Community Library Middle Grade MG COLBERT
Location  Western Allegheny Community Library
 
Collection  Middle Grade
 
Call Number  MG COLBERT
 
 
Whitehall Public Library Juvenile Fiction JF Colbert
Location  Whitehall Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  JF Colbert
 
 
 
Unavailable (2)
Location Collection Status
C.C. Mellor Memorial Library Children Fiction CHECKED OUT
Location  C.C. Mellor Memorial Library
 
Collection  Children Fiction
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 
Sewickley Public Library Young Adult Fiction CHECKED OUT
Location  Sewickley Public Library
 
Collection  Young Adult Fiction
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 

Summary
A Bank Street Best Book of 2021!



From award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert comes a debut middle-grade novel about the only two Black girls in town who discover a collection of hidden journals revealing shocking secrets of the past.



Beach-loving surfer Alberta has been the only Black girl in town for years. Alberta's best friend, Laramie, is the closest thing she has to a sister, but there are some things even Laramie can't understand. When the bed and breakfast across the street finds new owners, Alberta is ecstatic to learn the family is black--and they have a 12-year-old daughter just like her.



Alberta is positive she and the new girl, Edie, will be fast friends. But while Alberta loves being a California girl, Edie misses her native Brooklyn and finds it hard to adapt to small-town living.



When the girls discover a box of old journals in Edie's attic, they team up to figure out exactly who's behind them and why they got left behind. Soon they discover shocking and painful secrets of the past and learn that nothing is quite what it seems.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "A remarkable middle-grade debut from YA powerhouse Colbert (Little & Lion, 2017), The Only Black Girls in Town is a window into the heart and mind of Alberta, the sole African American girl in her small beach town's seventh grade until another Black family moves in across the street. Although she and her new neighbor could not be any more superficially different--Alberta is a California surfer and Edie is a goth girl from Brooklyn--they bond over their racial "otherness" in a realistic way. Being two of the few Black students in their school (a true-to-life representation of the microaggressions they experience is highlighted by a teacher calling Edie by Alberta's name, although they look nothing alike) brings the girls closer together, while navigating their middle-school dramas and changing family dynamics seems to drive them apart. Fortunately, a desire to uncover the identity of the author of a set of journals they find in Edie's home helps to keep their friendship from completely fracturing, and conflicts are resolved in a reasonable yet satisfying way. Several events central to Black history (the murder of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott, for example) are introduced without the story becoming didactic, adding depth to a sweet story featuring children of color trying to find their place in a society that tells them they do not fit. Strongly recommended for children's collections."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Twelve-year-old surfing fanatic Alberta has lived in Ewing Beach, Calif., with her fathers for much of her life. Her family is one of the only black families in town, until the Whitmans buy the old bed and breakfast across the street. Goth Edie, the same age as Alberta, is nothing like her. She's a proud Brooklyn native; she wears all black, down to the black lipstick she's never without; and she doesn't understand why everyone in Ewing loves the beach. And while Edie's parents are divorcing, Alberta's dads remain deeply in love. Despite their differences, the two become fast friends just as Alberta's lifelong best friend, who is white, begins drifting toward the popular girl who has bullied Alberta with racist taunts for years. When Alberta and Edie find a set of mysterious journals in Edie's new house, they also uncover an enduring secret. Imperfect, vulnerable characters take center stage in Colbert's middle grade debut about growing up on the margins in the past and present. Colbert employs a compulsively readable style to convey the sometimes difficult experience of young friendship, and the power and peril of claiming one's identity out loud. Ages 8--12. Agent: Tina Dubois, ICM Partners. (Mar.)"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects African American girls -- Juvenile fiction.
Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.
African Americans -- Juvenile fiction.
Race relations -- Juvenile fiction.
Secrecy -- Juvenile fiction.
Gay fathers -- Juvenile fiction.
African American girls -- Fiction.
Friendship -- Fiction.
African Americans -- Fiction.
Race relations -- Fiction.
Secrets -- Fiction.
Gay fathers -- Fiction.
California -- Juvenile fiction.
California -- Fiction.
Publisher New York :Little, Brown and Company,2020
Edition First edition.
Language English
Description 355 pages ; 19 cm
ISBN 9780316456388
0316456381
Other Classic View