In the Key of Us, Mariama J. Lockington
In the Key of Us, Mariama J. Lockington
List: $23.00 | Sale: $16.10
Club: $11.50

In the Key of Us

Author: Mariama J. Lockington

Narrator: Yinka Ladeinde, Imani Jade Powers

Unabridged: 8 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/26/2022


Synopsis

From the author of the critically acclaimed novel For Black Girls Like Me, Mariama J. Lockington, comes a coming-of-age story surrounding the losses that threaten to break us and the friendships that make us whole again.

Thirteen-year-old Andi feels stranded after the loss of her mother, the artist who swept color onto Andi’s blank canvas. When she is accepted to a music camp, Andi finds herself struggling to play her trumpet like she used to before her whole world changed. Meanwhile, Zora, a returning camper, is exhausted trying to please her parents, who are determined to make her a flute prodigy, even though she secretly has a dancer’s heart.

At Harmony Music Camp, Zora and Andi are the only two Black girls in a sea of mostly white faces. In kayaks and creaky cabins, the two begin to connect, unraveling their loss, insecurities, and hopes for the future. And as they struggle to figure out who they really are, they may just come to realize who they really need: each other.

In the Key of Us is a lyrical ode to music camp, the rush of first love, and the power of one life-changing summer.

About The Author

Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, writer, and nonprofit educator. She has been telling stories and making her own books since the second grade, when she wore short-alls and flower leggings every day to school. Her work has appeared in a number of magazines and journals, including Buzzfeed News Reader, and she is the author of the poetry chapbook The Lucky Daughter. Mariama holds a Masters in Education from Lesley University and Masters in Fine Arts in Poetry from San Francisco State University. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her partner and dapple haired dachshund, Henry.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Claude's on August 30, 2023

This beautifully written middle grade novel tackles some pretty challenging issues. The content is likely to be quite confronting for some as there are on-page descriptions of self-harm. Therefore I would be a bit judicious when recommending this book to younger middle graders. There are also some v......more

Goodreads review by Nev on September 11, 2023

Queer middle grade, summer camp, young girls opening up about their struggles!! This book was so beautiful. Andi and Zora are the only two Black girls at their prestigious music summer camp. At first they don’t really get along, but when they’re paired up to practice together they start to get close......more

Goodreads review by rie on April 03, 2023

i’m almost tearing up because of how beautiful this book was grief and queerness go hand in hand in stories, it’s nothing new but damn if it doesn’t get me every time! i love the way the characters grieve. they grieve their parents and their past selves and out of that grief they build something new......more

Goodreads review by lulu on April 03, 2024

i was so so so so close to crying 😭😭......more

Goodreads review by Audrey on February 03, 2022

Sweet, sad, and hopeful. Andi is dealing with the grief of losing a parent while trying to fit into a new family dynamic, Zora is struggling with self-harm and high, mismatched parental expectations, and both are working hard to understand their creative needs and to express themselves artistically,......more