Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods’ moving, uplifting story of a girl finally meeting the African American side of her family explores racism and how it feels to be biracial, and celebrates families of all kinds.
Violet is a smart, funny, brown-eyed, brown-haired girl in a family of blonds. Her mom is white, and her dad, who died before she was born, was black. She attends a mostly white school where she sometimes feels like a brown leaf on a pile of snow. She’s tired of people asking if she’s adopted. Now that Violet’s eleven, she decides it’s time to learn about her African American heritage. And despite getting off to a rocky start trying to reclaim her dad’s side of the family, she can feel her confidence growing as the puzzle pieces of her life finally start coming together. Readers will cheer for Violet, sharing her joy as she discovers her roots.
Goodreads Summary
Violet gets tired of not being viewed as part of her family simply due to the fact that they look different. I liked how this book dismissed looks as defining a family unit immediately. Violet's father died before she was born and she had yet to meet that side of the family. When she has the opportunity to meet people she has never met before, Violet approaches it as a challenge. The more Violet becomes involved in both sides of her family, the more she feels completed.
I loved Violet's character. She was spunky and fun to read about. Her reactions seemed realistic for a girl of her age. Violet was intelligent and loved discovering a whole different culture that she could be apart of (and that people assumed she was apart of). I loved learning along with Violet. Violet learns that her mother's break-off with that side of her family is as complicated as the reasons that her grandma from that side reacts to her. Overall, this is a great middle school read.
4 Stars
This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.
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This book sounds really sweet! I'd definitely like to check it out. Wonderful review, thank you! =)