Set in west Philadelphia in the early sixties, Tempest Rising tells the story of three sisters, Bliss, Victoria, and Shern, budding adolescents raised in a world of financial privilege among the upper-black-class. But their lives quickly unravel as their father's lucrative catering business collapses. He disappears and is presumed dead, and their mother suffers an apparent breakdown. The girls are wrenched from their mother, and as the novel opens they are living in foster care in a working-class neighborhood in the home of Mae, a politically connected card shark. Though Mae is filled with syrupy names like "pudding" and "doll face" for the foster girls, she is abusive to her own child, Ramona, a twenty-something stunning beauty. As Ramona struggles with Mae's abuse and her own hatred for the foster children, she also tries to keep at bay a powerful attraction she has for her boyfriend's father. Diane McKinney-Whetstone richly evokes the early 1960s in west Philadelphia in this spicy story of loss and healing, redemption and love. YA-Philadelphia in 1965 comes alive in this fast-moving story of courage and determination. With the success of the civil rights movement, African Americans begin to take their business outside their community, and Finch's thriving catering business falls into near bankruptcy. His wife and their three adolescent daughters, Shern, Victoria, and Bliss, have only known comfortable living, and are not prepared for the upheaval that they must face. Finch's death leads to his wife's mental breakdown and his daughters are placed in foster care, unable to contact their mother or their extended family. Mae is in the foster-home business for the money while her daughter, Ramona, is the actual caregiver; their relationship is far from simple. When Mae returns home from a family visit, she brings along her teenage nephew, who attempts to molest Shern. Afraid to speak up and yet fearful of what might eventually happen, she convinces her sisters to flee the foster home. Loose threads are tightly connected as the story reaches its climax, and all ends happily. All of the characters are uniquely and vividly drawn. Dottie Kraft, formerly at Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. McKinney-Whetstone's second novel (following Tumbling, LJ 6/15/96) is a heart-wrenching story about the strength of family and the power of love. After their father's disappearance and their mother's breakdown, sisters Shern, Victoria, and Bliss are sent to a foster home to live with Ramona, a beautiful but hard woman, and her mother, Mae, whose sweetness to her foster children masks an abusive nature and a murderous secret. The girls' struggle to return home and Ramona's fight for control of her own life climax during a freak March snowstorm. With simple phrases and beautifully drawn characters, the author masterfully evokes the pain and fear of separation and the determination of people trying to get through one more day with their hope intact. A first-rate novel; highly recommended for all libraries. -?Ellen Flexman, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. McKinney-Whetstone's remarkable second novel is set in Philadelphia during the sixties. Three sisters, Bliss, Victoria, and Shern, are raised as privileged middle-class children until tragedy unravels their lives. The family begins to experience hardship when the father's lucrative catering business plummets. Just as the father sets out to stabilize the family's finances, he disappears and is presumed dead. The death of the family's "rock" causes the mother to suffer a nervous breakdown, and the girls are removed from her care. The novel focuses on the attention they receive and the relationship that develops between each girl and their caregivers, Mae and Ramona. Mae is a politically connected foster-care provider, but she shows little concern for her own daughter, Ramona. Ramona struggles to accept her role as secondary child-care provider, yet she resents the children and her mother's abuse. Each character is unforgettable in this powerful story about family and how good and bad experiences bond and destroy those relationships. Lillian Lewis McKinney-Whetstone (Tumbling, 1996) scores big on mood and language, less on plot and character. A trio of Philadelphia-born sisters is the focus of this solid if uninspired second novel: Shern, Victoria, and Bliss are born to loving, well-meaning parents, but the forces of circumstance cause their lives to change drastically one day in 1965. Their mother, the light-skinned, lighthearted Clarise, and their father, the dark-skinned, dashing Finch, have a charmed marriageuntil Finch's catering business hits rocky waters, and dire financial need causes him to go out on a fateful crabbing trip. An inexperienced boater, he drowns in a sudden storm, thinking, as he dies, of Clarise and the girls. Clarise, in mourning, is prescribed Valium; no one kn