In the Key of Us

A Stonewall Honor-winning middle-grade novel about first love, loss, and letting go, from the author of the critically acclaimed novel For Black Girls Like Me and the Schneider Family Book Award Winner Forever Is Now.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Andi is grappling with grief following the death of her mother. Zora is exhausted by trying to please her success-oriented parents. Both feel very much alone. Until a summer music camp brings them together.

The only two Black girls at camp in a sea of white children, Andi and Zora slowly begin to connect and reveal their deepest fears and dreams. While Andi is a natural on trumpet, Zora doesn't know if she wants to be a floutist since she also loves to dance.

As Andi and Zora struggle to figure out who they really are, they may just come to realize what they really need: each other.

Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, educator, and Schneider Family Book Award and Stonewall Honor-winning author. 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. She is the critically acclaimed author of For Black Girls Like Me, In the Key of Us, and Forever Is Now, as well as a 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, KY with her partner and dapple haired dachshund, Henry.

"A work of art, full of delights: appealing characters, camp traditions, light romance, middle school friendship, poetry, music, the pleasures of creative work." —The New York Times

"This moving coming-of-age story is perfect for tweens and young teens." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Lockington (For Black Girls Like Me) weaves an exploration of mental health, self-harm, and microaggressions with a love letter to music, the importance of representation, and the work of sticking up for the person one dreams of becoming." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Vivid writing and relatable characters make this a worthwhile read." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review