Operation Sisterhood

Operation Sisterhood (2022) is a middle grade novel by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. It follows 11-year-old Tokunbo “Bo” Marshall. After her mother marries Bill Saunders, Bo moves into Bill’s house with his large, blended family. The book explores the themes of personal growth and finding one’s voice; the dynamics of a blended family and sisterhood; and the power of community.

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is an African American writer who has penned numerous children’s books, including 8th Grade Superzero (2011), It Doesn’t Take a Genius (2021), and Makeda Makes a Birthday Treat (2023). Operation Sisterhood was named a BCALA Best of the Best Book and was an IndieNext Top Ten Pick (“About,” Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich).

This guide is based on the 2022 Random House Children’s Books, Kindle Edition.

Plot Summary

Eleven-year-old Tokunbo “Bo” Marshall and her mother, Lola, live together in a small apartment in New York. It has always been just the two of them, and Bo likes it that way. However, Bo knows that Lola and her partner, Bill Saunders, are getting more serious and will eventually marry. She is happy to see her mother happy and likes Bill but is apprehensive about the way her life will change if Bill becomes her stepfather.

Bo, Lola, Bill, and his 11-year-old daughter, Sunday, begin spending time together. Shortly after, Bo and Lola visit Bill’s brownstone in Harlem for the first time. Bill and Sunday live with another co-housing family—Charles and Hope Dwyer and their 11-year-old twin daughters, Lil and Lee—and a large number and variety of pets. Bo is surprised by the enthusiastic welcome she receives from the kids and a little wary of the crowd and chaos. Bill proposes to Lola that same evening to everyone’s excitement. Bo is stunned that Lola had not spoken to her about this beforehand, but does not say anything, seeing how happy Lola is.

Bill and Lola have a courthouse wedding, and Lola and Bo move into the brownstone. Bo now shares a room with Sunday and joins her new sisters in “free schooling,” the Dwyer-Saunders family’s term for homeschooling. The entire experience is a confusing one for Bo, who enjoys having sisters and being part of the family but is also overwhelmed by the change and misses spending time alone with Lola.

The girls are not satisfied with the lack of celebration surrounding Bill and Lola’s wedding and suggest the idea of throwing a block party to celebrate the wedding. This will also help them get to know the community better, as the neighborhood has not been welcoming to the Dwyer-Saunders family so far. The adults are initially apprehensive, as money is tight at the moment. However, when the adults take over the care of an abandoned community garden, they okay the girls’ suggestion of using the block party to re-inaugurate the space.

The Dwyer-Saunders family’s neighbor, Sunflower Rogers, suggests that the girls, who are all musical and play different instruments, form a band and perform at the party. Bo is inspired and champions this idea. Sunday builds on it further with the suggestion that they form a babysitting band: They will play music for the children they babysit. Bo has plenty of experience babysitting her old neighbor, Dougie, and her sisters all take a course as well.

The girls’ days are filled with planning for the party, working on their music for their first babysitting gig, and practicing for their trial gig at the local animal shelter. The performance at the shelter and their first babysitting stint are both successes, and word begins to spread about the girls’ band and the block party. The neighborhood slowly warms up to the family, and the girls get more requests for gigs. However, they discover that their nemesis and neighborhood bully, Reese, also has a band, and they are exceptionally good.

Everyone except Sunday is discouraged when they hear Gloss, Reese’s band, perform. An overwhelmed Bo snaps at Sunday when the latter tries to pep up the group. Sunday cleans their shared room and organizes their things together in a bid to cheer up Bo. However, this only distresses Bo further, and she runs away to her old apartment. A concerned Sunday follows Bo, and both girls spend some time with Dougie. On the way home, the sisters reconcile and apologize to each other. They also run into Reese and her posse, and Bo and Sunday challenge Gloss to a battle of the bands at the block party.

Back home, Lola confronts Bo about her escapade, having heard about it from Dougie’s mother. Mother and daughter bake together like they used to in their old apartment and talk about their new life. They discover that both of them find some of the changes overwhelming, but also enjoy the love and joy they have found in their new community. Bo promises Lola that she will come and talk to her from now on when she is having difficult feelings.

The day of the block party arrives, and the event is a huge success. There is a big and busy turnout, with plans and ideas that come up for things that can be done to keep improving the community garden. The book ends as the girls take the stage together as their newly christened band, “Operation Sisterhood.”