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guineapiggirl's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
pkinzw's review
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
herskullinabook's review against another edition
4.0
This book was written so well. I loved the story because so many people have face this topic and not know where they actually belong. The character development was great but the one problem I had was with 2 of the female characters who I felt were so one dimensional and stereotypical mean girls with no real reasons for their anger. In the end, this book hit the nail on the head and I will definitely have my daughters read this. My oldest can relate to this topic now. She is multiracial but white passing. One of her classmates asked her why do you “act black” ? She informed the classmate that she’s not acting she is black in which he told her no she wasn’t. Unlike Nevaeh my daughter knows what it means to be multiracial and how to navigate through it all. If this is a topic that effects you or you want to know more about it, do yourself a favor and read this book.
romafo's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
destinylmw's review against another edition
3.0
really liked this book. About a biracial teen girl trying to navigate her parents divorce and understand her identity.
ameserole's review against another edition
5.0
I received Color Me In in one of my many book of the month boxes. I was surprised that I never found the time to actually dive into the book until today. Which, man, it was so good that I'm really disappointed in myself for waiting so long.
In it, you will meet Nevaeh. She is biracial and lives in New York City. Things start to change for her once her parents split up. Mostly because she moves with her mom to Harlem to live with her mom's family. This move alone was interesting since she didn't really know her mom's side of the family that well. It just takes a while for everyone to get on board, mainly one of her cousins, with this idea due to her skin color.
On top of all that, her dad is pushing for her to embrace her Jewish side and have a bat mitzvah. Better late than never, I guess? It just sucks donkey balls that her dad has already moved on from her mother to his horrible secretary.
Ugh, Ashley - I was not a fan of hers one bit. I was hoping that her dad would realize how horrible she was and leave her but it never happened. It's okay though, he can have his new family and cheat on Ashley in the near future. He never could keep it in his pants so I wont be surprised by him having affairs on the new wife.
In the end, I'm really happy that she got closer to her mom's side of the family and embrace who she is and her religion. This was an interesting and fun book to dive into. I loved all the Harry Potter references and almost choked on my tea when I heard "I don't care what anyone says - Hermione is black." I died and I loved it.
In it, you will meet Nevaeh. She is biracial and lives in New York City. Things start to change for her once her parents split up. Mostly because she moves with her mom to Harlem to live with her mom's family. This move alone was interesting since she didn't really know her mom's side of the family that well. It just takes a while for everyone to get on board, mainly one of her cousins, with this idea due to her skin color.
On top of all that, her dad is pushing for her to embrace her Jewish side and have a bat mitzvah. Better late than never, I guess? It just sucks donkey balls that her dad has already moved on from her mother to his horrible secretary.
Ugh, Ashley - I was not a fan of hers one bit. I was hoping that her dad would realize how horrible she was and leave her but it never happened. It's okay though, he can have his new family and cheat on Ashley in the near future. He never could keep it in his pants so I wont be surprised by him having affairs on the new wife.
In the end, I'm really happy that she got closer to her mom's side of the family and embrace who she is and her religion. This was an interesting and fun book to dive into. I loved all the Harry Potter references and almost choked on my tea when I heard "I don't care what anyone says - Hermione is black." I died and I loved it.
lizsim's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
libreroaming's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 rounded up. It's strange when a book that has anecdotes taken from the author's life still can't help the novel from feeling unrealistically incoherent.
Nevaeh is white passing, half-Jewish and half-Black, who has trouble fitting in and claiming her identity. A lifelong issue that is further complicated by her parents' divorce and her father's new insistence she have a bat mitzvah to make up for neglecting her Jewish side. What started off as a promising beginning with a large cast of characters, especially her maternal family, is undermined by inconsistent behavior or cringing one-note characterization. When juggling a larger than normal cast of characters it can be expected not everyone will be nuanced, but sometimes the one defining character trait comes off as offensive, such as the youngest cousin Jerry being constantly referenced by his weight and his desire for food.
Even from a narrative structural level it fumbles. There are two instances of a POV shift where the story goes into some really heavy topics meant to redefine how Nevaeh sees the characters who experienced them, but the telling is poorly handled. One is a diary entry detailing a recent date rape that falls into the most common failing of journal/letter narration, where it sounds more like a novel's description of past events and less like a character writing about themselves. The other is an abrupt "I can't tell you this, these are her words" fourth wall breaking that could have been cut from the novel and instead alluded to through dialogue or left out completely. In both cases the attempts to let these characters speak directly is undermined by the narrative choice to make these voices showcase their trauma in a way that doesn't sound authentic and doesn't spend the time justifying including their retelling.
Other characterizations fluctuate from scene to scene, with some plotlines being abruptly stopped because it was more important to leave the chapter on a quotable last line than address the actions going on in the chapter. The big emotional conflict of the novel, where a school guard is physically threatening her boyfriend, Jesus, has a literal "and then it all went black" fade out. To fading back in right after in the next chapter, splitting the most high tension moment into two parts and undermining the pacing. Likewise, arguments between characters will be piqued, tabled, then left unaddressed to the point where you wonder about the emotional capabilities of those involved. One character slaps another and then they hug right after and just felt like emotional whiplash, especially since it's never addressed again. So I guess it's perfectly fine for an adult to hit a teenager for mouthing off?
I feel bad not enjoying "Color Me In" except in fits and spurts, but it really felt like a stronger editorial input would have improved it, as some scenes would have worked very well if they were held together by their context (there is no saving the random bully turns into monster lizard nightmare sequence). But as a whole is came off as jumbled mismash that often tried to tackle too many serious subjects without the focus to make it a meaningful part of the story. This scattered attempt to hit all these talking points resulted in leaving it inconsistent and incoherent, much the same way Nevaeh felt about herself.
Nevaeh is white passing, half-Jewish and half-Black, who has trouble fitting in and claiming her identity. A lifelong issue that is further complicated by her parents' divorce and her father's new insistence she have a bat mitzvah to make up for neglecting her Jewish side. What started off as a promising beginning with a large cast of characters, especially her maternal family, is undermined by inconsistent behavior or cringing one-note characterization. When juggling a larger than normal cast of characters it can be expected not everyone will be nuanced, but sometimes the one defining character trait comes off as offensive, such as the youngest cousin Jerry being constantly referenced by his weight and his desire for food.
Even from a narrative structural level it fumbles. There are two instances of a POV shift where the story goes into some really heavy topics meant to redefine how Nevaeh sees the characters who experienced them, but the telling is poorly handled. One is a diary entry detailing a recent date rape that falls into the most common failing of journal/letter narration, where it sounds more like a novel's description of past events and less like a character writing about themselves. The other is an abrupt "I can't tell you this, these are her words" fourth wall breaking that could have been cut from the novel and instead alluded to through dialogue or left out completely. In both cases the attempts to let these characters speak directly is undermined by the narrative choice to make these voices showcase their trauma in a way that doesn't sound authentic and doesn't spend the time justifying including their retelling.
Other characterizations fluctuate from scene to scene, with some plotlines being abruptly stopped because it was more important to leave the chapter on a quotable last line than address the actions going on in the chapter. The big emotional conflict of the novel, where a school guard is physically threatening her boyfriend, Jesus, has a literal "and then it all went black" fade out. To fading back in right after in the next chapter, splitting the most high tension moment into two parts and undermining the pacing. Likewise, arguments between characters will be piqued, tabled, then left unaddressed to the point where you wonder about the emotional capabilities of those involved. One character slaps another and then they hug right after and just felt like emotional whiplash, especially since it's never addressed again. So I guess it's perfectly fine for an adult to hit a teenager for mouthing off?
I feel bad not enjoying "Color Me In" except in fits and spurts, but it really felt like a stronger editorial input would have improved it, as some scenes would have worked very well if they were held together by their context (there is no saving the random bully turns into monster lizard nightmare sequence). But as a whole is came off as jumbled mismash that often tried to tackle too many serious subjects without the focus to make it a meaningful part of the story. This scattered attempt to hit all these talking points resulted in leaving it inconsistent and incoherent, much the same way Nevaeh felt about herself.
mellabella's review against another edition
4.0
I zipped through this book. I could envision Nevaeh and her family. So true to life. I could also envision Harlem. I started exploring NYC as a teen. Harlem is one of my favorite places.
Teenage years. Already confusing, heartbreaking and angsty. In Nevaeh's case made a little more so dealing with being biracial. Her parent splitting up. Her dad infidelities and moms subsequent depression. Her fathers bitchy new girlfriend. First love. Not being Black enough or Jewish enough. Passing. Or, is she when her father is Jewish? She learned how to navigate and embrace both her Blackness and Jewishness.
The characters came alive for me. I wouldn't mind a book dedicated to the twins, Anita, Corinne, Stevie or Jesus.
Teenage years. Already confusing, heartbreaking and angsty. In Nevaeh's case made a little more so dealing with being biracial. Her parent splitting up. Her dad infidelities and moms subsequent depression. Her fathers bitchy new girlfriend. First love. Not being Black enough or Jewish enough. Passing. Or, is she when her father is Jewish? She learned how to navigate and embrace both her Blackness and Jewishness.
The characters came alive for me. I wouldn't mind a book dedicated to the twins, Anita, Corinne, Stevie or Jesus.
notinjersey's review against another edition
4.0
One of the over arching YA themes is the angst that teenagers feel, when each teenager thinks her problems are worse than anyone else’s. Nevaeh is no different, as she tries to discover where she fits in as multi-racial. On the one hand, her cousins think she is too white for cornrows in her hair and on the other, her former friend turned bully uses racist means to attack her. At first, it seems that Nevaeh is more interested in fitting into the African American side of herself and is much more resistant to learning about the Jewish side. I was happy that she did come around to embracing that side of herself too. The Jewish representation in this book was okay, although at one point Nevaeh translates a prayer with way more words than are actually in the prayer in Hebrew! In an interesting attempt at portraying Nevaeh’s mom’s past, Nevaeh reads her mom’s journal, which is not actually written like a journal and contains full on dialogue written out. Nevaeh is a writer and random poetry appears throughout the book. I felt like a lot of the writing was lyrical, but not all of the book was written in the same way. If it had all been so beautifully written, I may have bumped it up to 5 stars. This book definitely contains the diversity I was looking for, with a lot about privilege and race in America today. I will be passing this one on to my daughter.