Toning the Sweep

Winner of the Coretta Scott King AwardA School Library Journal Best BookA Booklist Editor's Choice
One Last LookEmmie and her mother are headed for the desert to help Grandmama Ola pack up her life. Box by box, the pieces of Ola's past are neatly tucked away, and a collection of memories is opened. As the end of their final visit draws closer, Emmie, Mama, and Ola come to terms with the history they share. Each holds on to a separate truth -- a truth about life, about death, and about themselves. Praise for Toning the Sweep:Winner of the Coretta Scott King AwardA School Library Journal Best BookA Booklist Editors' Choice^ "Beautifully written . . . Place this brave and wonderful piece of storytelling with the best." -- Kirkus Reviews, pointed review* "Full of subtle nuance . . . memorable scenes touch the heart and engage the imagination." -- School Library Journal, starred review* "Powerfully moving . . . fluid as a dancer's movements." -- Booklist, starred review Angela Johnson was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, but raised in Windham, Ohio; the only girl in a family of five. She now lives in Northeastern Ohio in a 100-year-old house full of plants. When not writing, she travels. On one of her trips to the California desert, the inspiration for her first novel, Toning the Sweep, came about. Praise for Toning the Sweep:Winner of the Coretta Scott King AwardA School Library Journal Best BookA Booklist Editors' Choice^ "Beautifully written . . . Place this brave and wonderful piece of storytelling with the best." -- Kirkus Reviews, pointed review* "Full of subtle nuance . . . memorable scenes touch the heart and engage the imagination." -- School Library Journal, starred review* "Powerfully moving . . . fluid as a dancer's movements." -- Booklist, starred review