Clouds over California, Karyn Parsons
Clouds over California, Karyn Parsons
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Clouds over California

Author: Karyn Parsons

Narrator: Karyn Parsons

Unabridged: 6 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/11/2023


Synopsis

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?

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bookishrealm on December 25, 2023

Aww man...this was going so well for me in the beginning, but it kind of fell apart towards the end. Clouds Over California is a middle grade historical fiction/realistic fiction book that follows main character Stevie as she navigates her tumultuous home life. Her parents have been arguing a lot mor......more

Goodreads review by Katherine on January 18, 2024

This is a cool story for a girl who grew up in California about this same time, and amongst these same issues. I'm gonna have to go read Karyn Parsons other books now.......more

Goodreads review by Rosemary on June 28, 2023

Clouds over California by Karyn Parsons is about 12-year-old Stevie, who spends a summer with lots of changes happening in her home life, parents, going onto middle school., and her cousin living with them because she’s deemed as problematic when she’s a community activist. As a biracial woman, I ap......more

Goodreads review by Emily on December 11, 2023

Stevie just moved across town away from all of her friends and is about to start school. Her parents have been fighting a lot, and she's worried they'll get divorced like her new friend Ally's parents did. Her dad is white, a former CIA spy, and a working man. He believes he should work and her moth......more

Goodreads review by Jim on March 18, 2024

This is a great read taking place during the rise of modern American feminism and the Panthers. Karyn Parsons must have interviewed people and done a lot of research, her photo makes it clear she's to young too have lived this. The writing is perfect, the dismissal of a wife working and Billie Jea......more


Quotes

“Stevie's path to empowerment is both touching and inspiring. This captivating read is an honest reminder of where we've been and what we've overcome; it is an absolute gem!”—Lisa Moore Ramée, author of A Good Kind of Trouble