Gr 4-6 When Connor's grandmother dies, she leaves his father a ring, a pair of pilot's wings, and a letter explaining that the man who raised Connor's father was not his biological father. With his father paralyzed by depression, Connor takes the two mementoes and the few details available to him and traces his new lineage to the U.S. Air Force, Wilberforce University, and an international DNA map that reveals European, African, and Jewish roots. Nelson narrates her own verses with graceful solemnity. Illuminating her rhythmic reading of Connor's family's story is an afterword, aptly titled "How This Book Came To Be, and Why an Older African American Woman Ended Up Writing as a Young White Man," in which Nelson explores historypersonal, national, worldwideto affirm the surprising human interconnections in our very cells and souls. VERDICT Nelson's latest deserves shelf space with other astounding verse novels, including Sharon Draper's Stella by Starlight , Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming , and Thanhha Lai's Inside Out & Back Again . ["Nelson packs a good deal into these verses, and though the subject matter is weighty, she leavens it with humor and deep family affection": SLJ 12/15 review of the Dial book.] Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

Inspired by her father's remarkable experiences as a Tuskegee Airman, esteemed historian-poet Nelson has aced it again. Through Connor, a young Italian American who discovers a mysterious WWII past connected to HBCU Wilberforce University, Nelson invites readers to unravel these secrets along with him. Based on facts surrounding "a ring, a pilot's wings, and a letter," but lyrically fictionalized, Nelson's narrative verse moves the saga smoothly through brief sections and page-long chapters. Nelson compellingly uses Connor's required 40 hours of supervised driving instruction to force him into conversations with his depressed father, through which readers learn of Connor's grandfather, one of the Tuskegee Airmen. The meaning of heritage and legacy are expanded, just as the hearts of father and son expand to reach new understandings. Nelson openly shares the thought processes that went into this unique project in generous back matter titled "How This Book Came to Be." This slice of history has been told before, but not like this.

Nelson's talent for informing her poetry with historical empathy is present in this verse novel. Connor Bianchini finds out that his paternal grandfather wasn't his Nonno but rather most likely a Tuskegee Airman, thus African American. Standardized in form throughout, two stanzas of twelve lines of unrhymed poetry appear on the book's right-hand pages. Photographs of Tuskegee Airmen and an author's note are included.