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Clouds Over California
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich meets One Crazy Summer in this moving and heartfelt novel about how one girl's family and friendships are turned upside down, just as the world is changing in 1970s Los Angeles—from the author of the highly acclaimed How High the Moon.
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?
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?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2023
11 people are currently reading
2274 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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 more lately and Stevie is desperate to make sure her parents don't get divorced. Just when things couldn't get more complicated, her parents decide to take in her older cousin to help her navigate life as a teenager. Through their interactions, Stevie begins to learn a lot more about the relationship between her parents, being a teenager, girlhood, imposed gender roles and the state of Black people in America.
What Worked: I genuinely enjoyed the setting of this one. I was excited to read a middle grade book that took place during the 70s and introduced younger readers to the work of the Black Panther Party. While the history wasn't always accurate, it was nice to get a different setting for a middle grade historical fiction. Parsons also writes this book in an accessible way that made it easy to engage with the text. Though not necessarily fast paced, her authorial tone had a certain cadence to it that allowed me to devour the book in a few sittings. Honestly, if I was to recommend this book it would be for readers who are struggling with the prospect of parental separation and/or divorce.
What Didn't Work: Honestly, there were a lot of pieces and parts to this book that didn't work. From the marketing to the eventual fallout/resolution of the book, I was disappointed by the time that I finished. This book is marketed as if Naomi's interactions with the Black Panther Party are going to play a huge role in the narrative. I thought we would see Stevie attend events, interact with members, etc; however, they serve as more of a backdrop to the familial issues that Stevie is facing. Readers don't really get the opportunity to learn more about them which, in my opinion, is disappointing and a missed chance to include some unique historical information about the Black Panthers. Angela Davis is introduced at a rally with no context or information to the role that she played in the movement. I simply wanted more and felt as though Parsons could have provided more. The ending of the book also read a little weird to me. Stevie's dad isn't the greatest, but I was a little thrown off by the way in which his situation was "finalized" at the end of the book. I wasn't expecting that and their wasn't any explanation as to why he ended up in that situation.
Overall, this was an okay read that started off strong, but fizzled out the towards the end. This might be a good pick if you or a middle grade reader likes historical fiction.
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 more lately and Stevie is desperate to make sure her parents don't get divorced. Just when things couldn't get more complicated, her parents decide to take in her older cousin to help her navigate life as a teenager. Through their interactions, Stevie begins to learn a lot more about the relationship between her parents, being a teenager, girlhood, imposed gender roles and the state of Black people in America.
What Worked: I genuinely enjoyed the setting of this one. I was excited to read a middle grade book that took place during the 70s and introduced younger readers to the work of the Black Panther Party. While the history wasn't always accurate, it was nice to get a different setting for a middle grade historical fiction. Parsons also writes this book in an accessible way that made it easy to engage with the text. Though not necessarily fast paced, her authorial tone had a certain cadence to it that allowed me to devour the book in a few sittings. Honestly, if I was to recommend this book it would be for readers who are struggling with the prospect of parental separation and/or divorce.
What Didn't Work: Honestly, there were a lot of pieces and parts to this book that didn't work. From the marketing to the eventual fallout/resolution of the book, I was disappointed by the time that I finished. This book is marketed as if Naomi's interactions with the Black Panther Party are going to play a huge role in the narrative. I thought we would see Stevie attend events, interact with members, etc; however, they serve as more of a backdrop to the familial issues that Stevie is facing. Readers don't really get the opportunity to learn more about them which, in my opinion, is disappointing and a missed chance to include some unique historical information about the Black Panthers. Angela Davis is introduced at a rally with no context or information to the role that she played in the movement. I simply wanted more and felt as though Parsons could have provided more. The ending of the book also read a little weird to me. Stevie's dad isn't the greatest, but I was a little thrown off by the way in which his situation was "finalized" at the end of the book. I wasn't expecting that and their wasn't any explanation as to why he ended up in that situation.
Overall, this was an okay read that started off strong, but fizzled out the towards the end. This might be a good pick if you or a middle grade reader likes historical fiction.
June 25, 2023
3.5 stars
Love me a book written about the 70’s!
Stevie (short for Stephanie) has a lot to navigate in her life. She hears her parents arguing about Mom wanting a job. She’s having to endure a new school, with kids that think she’s either exotic or an alien, because she’s Black and has untamable hair. Her older cousin is now living with Stevie’s family, and is involved in some clandestine activities that are worrisome; Naomi is very interested in some group called The Black Panthers?…
So much nostalgia! Roller skates with huge colored wheels, “new” Judy Blume books, summer days of staying outside until sundown with little supervision, etc. Ah, memories.
The author did a great job of letting the reader get into Stevie’s head and feel what it was like to be biracial in 1975, in a small California town. The scenes where the kids at school took liberties with touching Stevie’s hair were cringe-worthy; I would have wanted to either hide, or hit them away.
Another interesting part was the historical aspect of the rise of the Black Panther group at this time. The author dealt with the subject deftly, even throwing in a surprising twist. (I kept hearing Forrest Gump saying, “Black Panther Party” in my head!)
All in all, this is historical fiction for middle-grade readers that would be great to have in classrooms. Children of the 70’s would also devour it!
Love me a book written about the 70’s!
Stevie (short for Stephanie) has a lot to navigate in her life. She hears her parents arguing about Mom wanting a job. She’s having to endure a new school, with kids that think she’s either exotic or an alien, because she’s Black and has untamable hair. Her older cousin is now living with Stevie’s family, and is involved in some clandestine activities that are worrisome; Naomi is very interested in some group called The Black Panthers?…
So much nostalgia! Roller skates with huge colored wheels, “new” Judy Blume books, summer days of staying outside until sundown with little supervision, etc. Ah, memories.
The author did a great job of letting the reader get into Stevie’s head and feel what it was like to be biracial in 1975, in a small California town. The scenes where the kids at school took liberties with touching Stevie’s hair were cringe-worthy; I would have wanted to either hide, or hit them away.
Another interesting part was the historical aspect of the rise of the Black Panther group at this time. The author dealt with the subject deftly, even throwing in a surprising twist. (I kept hearing Forrest Gump saying, “Black Panther Party” in my head!)
All in all, this is historical fiction for middle-grade readers that would be great to have in classrooms. Children of the 70’s would also devour it!
January 19, 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.
April 2, 2023
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Stevie (aka Stephanie) lives in Santa Monica, California in the 1970s with her mother, who is very glamorous and was the top of her class at the Barbizon School of modeling even though there were few Black models at the time. Her father is white, and used to work for the CIA, but now runs a vending machine business with his brother. He is very old fashioned, and doesn't think that her mother should go back to college, because he is able to provide for his family. The parents often go out to fancy restaurants, sometimes bringing Stevie with them. Stevie is struggling to fit in to her new school. Even though she likes her teacher, Mrs. Quakely, there are kids who are rude to her and make fun of her hair, although she does play tetherball with Ally and tries to embrace her new environment. There are changes at home, as well. Her older cousin Naomi has been sent by her mother to live with Stevie's family because she's been "a problem". She wears tight flares and polyster shirts, and brings her Chaka Khan albums with her, and is interested in the Black Panther movement. She looks "like a Soul Train dancer"! Stevie is enthralled with her cousin, but is also worried about her mother. There have been phone calls from a man, and Stevie sees her mother at the library with Clarence. Her mother is secretive, and Stevie finds a recording device in a crawl space, so she figures it won't be long before her father figures out what her mother is doing. Will this mean that her parents will get a divorce? How can Stevie navigate all of the changes in her life?
Strengths: Young readers will be confused as to why Stevie's father is against her mother going back to school, and that's the great thing about historical fiction-- things were not always the way they are now, and children need to see this. Stevie's classmates and teacher find her hair to be exotic (and there's some good information about not touching people's hair!), and she mentions that she doesn't know anyone else who is biracial. Naomi is an interesting character; "problem" teens in the 1970s were much different than problem teens today! There are lots of good details about ordinary life, and plenty of pop culture is mentioned. There was an uptick in the number of divorces during this time period, and I think it was a fairly common worry for children. Pair this one with another 1970s, California-set title, Amos' Cookies and Milk, for an even better understanding of this decade.
Weaknesses: I cannot pin down a year for this one. Probably 1974, even though Bubble Yum didn't come out until 1975. At one point, people are going to see American Grafitti and Cleopatra Jones, but those wouldn't have still been in the theaters in 1974. I also wondered about the fact that Stevie didn't consider it Christmas unless she saw It's a Wonderful Life on television; I don't remember that ever being on television until after the 1977 Marlo Thomas It Happened One Christmas, and even then I had to stay up and watch it at midnight. Okay, I guess I AM a little too picky about historical details, but having read Magoon's Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People, I was a bit confused about Naomi's involvement with the Black Panthers, who weren't nearly as active in the 1970s. If you can just take a deep breath and view this as set in a vague 1970s setting instead of looking for clues to things you remember happening in your own childhood, you'll enjoy this a lot more!
What I really think: This is an interesting snap shot of life in the 1970s, and since there isn't a lot of historical fiction set during that time, I will probably purchase it. Fiction from that time, like Blume's Blubber (1974) hasn't held up well, but I appreciated all of Parsons' shout outs to literature from that time.
Stevie (aka Stephanie) lives in Santa Monica, California in the 1970s with her mother, who is very glamorous and was the top of her class at the Barbizon School of modeling even though there were few Black models at the time. Her father is white, and used to work for the CIA, but now runs a vending machine business with his brother. He is very old fashioned, and doesn't think that her mother should go back to college, because he is able to provide for his family. The parents often go out to fancy restaurants, sometimes bringing Stevie with them. Stevie is struggling to fit in to her new school. Even though she likes her teacher, Mrs. Quakely, there are kids who are rude to her and make fun of her hair, although she does play tetherball with Ally and tries to embrace her new environment. There are changes at home, as well. Her older cousin Naomi has been sent by her mother to live with Stevie's family because she's been "a problem". She wears tight flares and polyster shirts, and brings her Chaka Khan albums with her, and is interested in the Black Panther movement. She looks "like a Soul Train dancer"! Stevie is enthralled with her cousin, but is also worried about her mother. There have been phone calls from a man, and Stevie sees her mother at the library with Clarence. Her mother is secretive, and Stevie finds a recording device in a crawl space, so she figures it won't be long before her father figures out what her mother is doing. Will this mean that her parents will get a divorce? How can Stevie navigate all of the changes in her life?
Strengths: Young readers will be confused as to why Stevie's father is against her mother going back to school, and that's the great thing about historical fiction-- things were not always the way they are now, and children need to see this. Stevie's classmates and teacher find her hair to be exotic (and there's some good information about not touching people's hair!), and she mentions that she doesn't know anyone else who is biracial. Naomi is an interesting character; "problem" teens in the 1970s were much different than problem teens today! There are lots of good details about ordinary life, and plenty of pop culture is mentioned. There was an uptick in the number of divorces during this time period, and I think it was a fairly common worry for children. Pair this one with another 1970s, California-set title, Amos' Cookies and Milk, for an even better understanding of this decade.
Weaknesses: I cannot pin down a year for this one. Probably 1974, even though Bubble Yum didn't come out until 1975. At one point, people are going to see American Grafitti and Cleopatra Jones, but those wouldn't have still been in the theaters in 1974. I also wondered about the fact that Stevie didn't consider it Christmas unless she saw It's a Wonderful Life on television; I don't remember that ever being on television until after the 1977 Marlo Thomas It Happened One Christmas, and even then I had to stay up and watch it at midnight. Okay, I guess I AM a little too picky about historical details, but having read Magoon's Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People, I was a bit confused about Naomi's involvement with the Black Panthers, who weren't nearly as active in the 1970s. If you can just take a deep breath and view this as set in a vague 1970s setting instead of looking for clues to things you remember happening in your own childhood, you'll enjoy this a lot more!
What I really think: This is an interesting snap shot of life in the 1970s, and since there isn't a lot of historical fiction set during that time, I will probably purchase it. Fiction from that time, like Blume's Blubber (1974) hasn't held up well, but I appreciated all of Parsons' shout outs to literature from that time.
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 appreciated the storyline about Stevie’s curls and how others saw it as hard to manage—asking her mother to keep it braided and tamed as best as they could. Hair is such a big thing for young people, especially people of color. I remember growing up in the late 70s and 80s when my mother wouldn’t allow my hair to be out of Princess Leia buns on each side of my head. So the day that Stevie literally lets her hair down to celebrate her birthday, she becomes a source of laughter for classmates who don’t understand what she has to endure. There were some really tough parts in the story when it came to her parents and their separation. I found a few things really cringe-worthy—real, but bad behavior from a parent because he didn’t want his wife to work outside of the home. Mom was a rock star. She wanted more for herself and for her family, but the 70s were a different time than today.
I enjoyed the cousin’s side story of wanting to help her Black community with resources such as meals, reading, etc. Toward the end, having a rally with Angela Davis as a speaker was lovely. The symbolism of strong Black women throughout the generations were not lost on me. This novel was about embracing change and shifting views and attitudes about the world, especially as one grows up and grows out of love, friendship, etc with others.
Thank you to NetGalley, author, and publisher for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed the cousin’s side story of wanting to help her Black community with resources such as meals, reading, etc. Toward the end, having a rally with Angela Davis as a speaker was lovely. The symbolism of strong Black women throughout the generations were not lost on me. This novel was about embracing change and shifting views and attitudes about the world, especially as one grows up and grows out of love, friendship, etc with others.
Thank you to NetGalley, author, and publisher for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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 mother should stay home to cook, clean, and take care of the house. He hasn't seen is sisters in years because they disapprove of Stevie's mom because she is Black. When Stevie's cousin Naomi moves in with them, things start to come to a head between her parents. Naomi is outspoken and wants to join the Black Panthers to make a difference in the community. As things between Stevie's parents begin to shift, her mom is gone more & more, and she discovers that her dad is spying on her mom. Clouds Over California is a great book to fuel discussion on race, relationships, and the Black Panther movement.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
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 Jean's victory (i hope somebody passed this on to Billie Jean King, i'd like to know her opinion of the novel), the arguments during dinner between the father and the teen girl, w/Mom being mostly silent and the younger girl looking on and taking in what was being said/yelled and seeing the world larger than she imagined. And because that wasn't enough, Dad is white and Mom is black and the youngest is right out of the Cowsills "Hair" video.
Even the cover art by Geneva Bowers is spot on (those roller skates!)
The writing is perfect, the dismissal of a wife working and Billie Jean's victory (i hope somebody passed this on to Billie Jean King, i'd like to know her opinion of the novel), the arguments during dinner between the father and the teen girl, w/Mom being mostly silent and the younger girl looking on and taking in what was being said/yelled and seeing the world larger than she imagined. And because that wasn't enough, Dad is white and Mom is black and the youngest is right out of the Cowsills "Hair" video.
Even the cover art by Geneva Bowers is spot on (those roller skates!)
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July 9, 2023I thought this book really accomplished what its advertised as which is showing middle grade readers that change is scary but it happens. Stevie's family is dealing with personal change via her parents which I really related to and felt that any child going through home issues will relate to Stevie even if they can't relate to the political change also impacting her life.
September 16, 2023
I don't know of a middle-grade book referencing the Black Panthers. Parsons does a fantastic job developing Stevie: fears, concerns, hair, mean classmates, a family breaking apart, and life in the 70s as a biracial girl. Stevie will be relatable to middle-grade readers.
January 24, 2024
I really enjoyed this middle grade book; most of the book is 5 stars, but the ending was not so powerful as the rest of the book. It seemed a little rushed. I would definitely recommend this for middle grade students, especially black students in majority white schools.
October 27, 2023
Will purchase since I don't have much for this time in history even though my students prefer books with more action. Good audio and gorgeous cover.
February 8, 2024
This was a good read that made me want there to be more books in a series with this one.
May 30, 2025
Meh. It was okay. The character development was not amazing, and I also didn't love the ending.
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