The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, a YA novel by Christopher Paul Curtis, disappointed me, but it wasn't the book's fault. My disappointment came from what I was expecting. When I bought the book, I knew 1963 was the year when the four little girls were killed in the bombing of a Birmingham church. Therefore I expected the book to center on Birmingham and, most likely, end with the bombing. My expectation strengthened when I noticed that the book was, indeed, dedicated to the four little girls.
But that's not what the book is about. The Watsons are a black family, composed of mother, father, two sons and one daughter, living in Flint, MI. The structure is episodic with Kenny, the middle child, narrating troubles with the cold climate, the family's aging and decrepit car, his classmates and siblings. During the last fourth of the book, the family drives to Birmingham where Kenny's older and rebellious brother will stay with their maternal grandmother for the summer. Their trip, not surprisingly, coincides with the bombing and there's concern that the youngest child, the girl, might have been among the victims.
All in all, it's not a bad story—just not what I was expecting.
