Johnson, Angela. Toning the Sweep. 1994.

The main character, Emily, has joined her mother on a trip to the desert to help her grandmother, Ola, move to Cleveland with them. Ola has terminal cancer and no longer can live on her own so Emily decides to use her grandmother's video camera to record Ola's friends and familiar places to bring with them to the city.

One thing I noticed about this story is that the desert is almost a real character, the vivid descriptions bring the desert alive. The story is told from Emily's point of view as she describes the history and relationships of three generations of women in her family.

Awards:
Coretta Scott King Award
ALA Best Books for Young Adults
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

Toning the Sweep tells the story of 14 year old Emily, her mother Diane, and her terminally-ill grandmother Ola. Emily and Diane have travelled to the desert to visit Ola and help her to move back to Cleveland with Emily and Diane to spend the last few months of her life.
The book tells the story of three generations of women and explores each of their various perspectives on life, while each works to come to terms with the loss of Ola's husband, who died when Diane was about Emily's age. In some ways, Toning the Sweep is a coming of age story, but it also tells the story of meaningful friendships and family.

On a trip to the desert to bring her dying grandmother home, Emily learns about the family's tragic past and gains pride as a third generation black woman. 3rd grade ( )