In the Key of Us
Thirteen-year-old Andi feels stranded after the loss of her mother, the artist who swept color onto Andi’s blank canvas. When she is accepted to a music camp, Andi finds herself struggling to play her trumpet like she used to before her whole world changed. Meanwhile, Zora, a returning camper, is exhausted trying to please her parents, who are determined to make her a flute prodigy, even though she secretly has a dancer’s heart.
At Harmony Music Camp, Zora and Andi are the only two Black girls in a sea of mostly white faces. In kayaks and creaky cabins, the two begin to connect, unraveling their loss, insecurities, and hopes for the future. And as they struggle to figure out who they really are, they may just come to realize who they really need: each other.
In the Key of Us is a lyrical ode to music camp, the rush of first love, and the power of one life-changing summer.
Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, author, and educator. She has been telling stories and making her own books since the second grade, when she wore shortalls and flower leggings every day to school. Mariama is the author of two middle grade novels, For Black Girls Like Me (2019) and In the Key of Us (2022), both of which have earned five starred reviews. Her debut YA novel Forever is Now will be out in May of 2023. Mariama calls many places home, but currently lives in Kentucky with her wife, her little sausage dog, Henry and an abundance of plants. You can find her on Twitter @marilock and on Instagram/TikTok @forblackgirlslikeme.
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