The Braid Girls

Hoping to make extra money over the summer, best friends Daija and Maggie, who are both Black, are excited to launch their hair-braiding business while undertaking their responsibilities as junior counselors at Paradise Park camp. Daija plans to use the funds to pay for a ballet tutor, while Maggie yearns to impress her strict father with her success. Since Maggie is the “pie-in-the-sky type of girl” and Daija is the “getting it done type,” the pair feel that they’re perfectly matched to take on this endeavor and build a booming business. But when Maggie’s father introduces Maggie to her biracial half sister Callie, whose mother recently died, Maggie struggles to incorporate Callie into her already established summer plans. Daija and Maggie begrudgingly invite Callie to join their Braid Girls team, but while their business launch is good, emerging competition threatens their progress. Daija, meanwhile, struggles with feelings of jealousy over Callie and Maggie’s budding siblinghood, and the two besties must reckon with how life changes will affect their future friendship. In this loving ode to the beauty of Black hair, Winston winningly portrays the girls’ ambitious entrepreneurial spirit and competitive drive, and explores, via their shifting dynamics and emotional openness, the complexities of blended families. Ages 8–12. (June)