Scandal in the Family — Nancy Miller

Danisha is a middle-grade African-Canadian girl whose strict grandmother reveals (through her failing memory) an exotic past life. As Gram's memory drifts, she thinks she is a jazz singer in a Detroit lounge in the 1940's, a time when mixed relationships were frowned on and gangsters ruled the music scene. When Danisha's father tells her he thinks there's a scandal in his mother's life, Danisha sets out to solve the mystery. Parallels between her own life and her grandmother's come together; an unhealthy attraction to bad boys, an amazing singing talent and a stubbornness that prevents Danisha from telling the truth.