Color Me In: A BiRacial Story Set During A Trying Time

Hi Friends!

I support #BLM (Black Lives Matter) and the movement that is occurring in our country right now in response to George Floyd's murder. As a white female, I recognize that I have privileges that my friends of color do not have. In order to increase my understanding and education, I have dedicated this month to reading books on my TBR that deal with race, and are written by authors of color. My hope is that through literature I can understand more of the struggles that those of color face, and educate myself. 

The book that I started with is a debut novel that came out in 2019, and was a pick of mine from Book of the Month.

That book is Color Me In by Natasha Diaz. 

I want to start by saying that I enjoyed Ms. Diaz's author's note in the back of the book as she spoke about being a biracial woman herself, the struggles she has faced and how she feels she cannot remain silent. A quote from that portion that stuck out to me was: 

"I wanted to talk about how these ingrained privileges negatively affect communities of color. I wanted to talk about how it is possible for someone who is a legitimate member of these communities to be willfully ignorant to the damage they are causing by remaining silent. If a person is not actively fighting against oppressive white supremacist systems that hurt and hinder communities of color, specifically Black communities, then he or she is complicit in them." 

This book follows our main character Neveah. Neveah is biracial. She appears white but her mother is Black and her father is a white Jewish male. People often call her "lightskin" and tell her that she is not part of their Black culture because of her features. This book follows her through her sophomore year of high school as she tries to figure out who she is as a person, and learns how to identify with both cultures and how to use her voice to speak up about those struggles and the oppression that she faces. There is not a plot per se, but the story progresses through the year as Neveah learns about herself and her family. This story is incredibly moving and educational, as well as eye-opening. 

1. Plot & Character Development

As mentioned above, though there is not a plot per se, this story has many important components that are important and play a different role in Neveah's story. I enjoyed seeing her with her Black relatives, while also studying for her Bat Mitzvah, and ulitmately, at the end, combining these two cultures together as her identity. 

There was a part of the story that felt like it was so relevant to today's world and I had to stop for a second and process. There is a part in this novel where Neveah's boyfriend, Jesus, is racially profiled by police during a school day and is accused of starting a fight that he had absolutely no part in. My heart broke for this character during that part, and it made me realize that even though this is a fictional story, these events do happen all the time in the real world. 

I enjoyed watching Neveah's relationship with her estranged cousins, aunt, and uncle flourish. I enjoyed reading about her finding her voice and using her voice through poetry and lyrics. The plot was able to show how our main characters were growing throughout the story as they learned about themselves. 

2. Writing Style

The writing style of this story was excellent and Natasha Diaz does a great job at implementing real life issues, as well as immersing her own story into this fictional tale. I felt like these characters were real and that I knew them personally because of how well her writing style was in regards to expression and description. 

3. Overall Opinion & Impressions

I really enjoyed this book and felt that it was educational and powerful. I liked seeing how two cultures came together in the end and it was encouraging me to look at my own cultures and how they are very different, yet similar at the same time. I would recommend this story to my friends and feel that this is a prominent time to pick up this book and gain understanding.

Rating: 5 Stars