Reviewed by Demetria Head for Readers' Favorite

Vicky’s Victory by Nadine C. Keels is the first installment in the Malt Shop Milestones series. It opens with sixteen-year-old Vicky Phillips spending the last Saturday of summer vacation at Bro Brown’s Burgers and Malts, sipping her favorite strawberry ice cream soda just before junior year begins. She’s thoughtful, polite, and known around West Hill High as “The Brain,” but her hopes stretch further than just getting excellent grades. She dreams of writing for the school newspaper and one day becoming a journalist. Her calm world begins to shift when an unexpected tumble results in a soft, surprising moment with Willie Brown, the local football standout everyone calls “Willie with the Beard.” Set in a 1940s Black American community filled with music, memory, and tradition, the story gently begins to ask: Is Vicky ready for the kind of love she’s only ever encountered in books?

Reading Nadine C. Keels' story was an utter delight. It had a sweetness and sincerity that felt both nostalgic and refreshing. The cast of characters added emotional richness: Otis Phillips, with his quiet insistence on recording history, embodied dignity and purpose, while his wife Marion’s steadiness reflected a legacy of service and nurturing strength. Berta brought humor and heart, often seeing Vicky’s feelings before she did, and Evie’s sentimental goodbye softened the story with the ache of change. Willie himself, poised in public but tender beneath, formed a thoughtful, steady balance to Vicky’s inner hopes. The romance blossomed gently rather than hurriedly, reminding me of the emotional warmth of The Rhythm of Blues by Shanna Miles and the heartfelt, community-rooted charm of The Vanderbeekers series by Karina Yan Glaser. Vicky’s Victory is a tender and beautifully human story.