Berta's Bounceback — Nadine C. Keels

Malt Shop Milestones, Book Two Young lives. First loves. And a classic American period enlivened by jukeboxes and chocolate malts. Sixteen-year-old Berta is usually an upbeat girl, matching the energy of her thriving Black community of West Hill. But this year is proving not to be Berta's easiest. She's had to say goodbye to one of her best friends, who's moved almost halfway across the country. Classes at school are getting harder, making Berta fear that her grades might slip below average. What's more, she's having niggling doubts about her romantic life. There's a newly arrived family drawing everyone's curiosity in West Hill, and it looks like the pretty, talented teenage girl from that family has drawn the interest of one person in particular: Howard. Berta's boyfriend. Given how worrisome all of this is, what might it take to lift Berta's morale back to its normal height? Enjoy this nostalgic nod to the bygone era of malt shop books-from an angle featuring more of America's color.