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When Winter Robeson Came

By Mariah


By Brenda Woods
Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2022. Fiction. 

Eden is excited for her cousin, Winter, to visit to her home in California. She and her mom have planned out a full itinerary for his two week visit. Plans change when Winter arrives and he discloses that the real reason for his visit is to find his father, J.T. Robeson, who went missing 10 years prior and no one has heard of him since. Winter and Eden follow clues that lead them through L.A. in hope that they will find J.T. This is all happening in the summer of 1965 while the Watts Riots are going on between the Black residents of Watts and the police. They navigate their journey to find Winter's dad through the dangers of the riots. 

When Winter Robeson Came is written by Brenda Woods, a Coretta Scott King Honor Winner. It is written in verse and the narrator, Eden, is a piano player, so a lot of the emotions and events are described using piano terms. It is truly lovely with a little bit of mystery. It has a great ending despite the dangerous circumstances happening in the story. It's a unique, fun historical fiction read that isn't based on World War II. 

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