ARC Review: “Color Me In” by Natasha Diaz

“Color Me In” by Natasha Diaz

Publishing Date: 384 pages (electronic review copy)

Genre: Contemporary, YA, Fiction

Page Length:

Synopsis:

Who is Nevaeh Levitz?

Growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City, sixteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz never thought much about her biracial roots. When her Black mom and Jewish dad split up, she relocates to her mom’s family home in Harlem and is forced to confront her identity for the first time.

Nevaeh wants to get to know her extended family, but one of her cousins can’t stand that Nevaeh, who inadvertently passes as white, is too privileged, pampered, and selfish to relate to the injustices they face on a daily basis as African Americans. In the midst of attempting to blend their families, Nevaeh’s dad decides that she should have a belated bat mitzvah instead of a sweet sixteen, which guarantees social humiliation at her posh private school. Even with the push and pull of her two cultures, Nevaeh does what she’s always done when life gets complicated: she stays silent.

It’s only when Nevaeh stumbles upon a secret from her mom’s past, finds herself falling in love, and sees firsthand the prejudice her family faces that she begins to realize she has a voice. And she has choices. Will she continue to let circumstances dictate her path? Or will she find power in herself and decide once and for all who and where she is meant to be? (description from Goodreads)

Review:

Color Me In follows the story of a teenager named Nevaeh who is reeling from her parents divorce. She spends her time between her dad and her mom’s house and is struggling with the separation. On top of that, she is also questioning her identity as Naveah is half Jewish and half black. She doesn’t know where the to fit in and she doesn’t just want to claim one part of her ethnicity.

Being that she is light-skinned means she’s often mistaken for a white person which makes her feel disconnected from her own ethnicity. Nevaeh is constantly working on a journey of self discovery to find out who she really is. At her Aunt Anita’s house she feels like she doesn’t fit in with her mom’s side of family and it doesn’t help that her cousins bully her about the way she looks and how she acts “white”. While her father wants her to be more connected to the Jewish heritage and culture. She always feels like a fish out of water.

Neveah is also pulled in different directions when it comes to religion. Her mother is Christian and her dad is Jewish. When is comes to living under their households its a constant strain of pressure to live under their lifestyle that they place upon her. Neveah struggles to make a path for herself of her own choosing. She doesn’t fit in at school as it is not diverse and feels excluded from people of her own race. I could feel Naveah’s pain and her raw emotions as she tries to move forward in her life and find some kind of clarity.

This book discusses a variety of topics such as: racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, gentrification, being biracial, mental illness, religion, and more. It may seem like a lot to tackle in one novel,but Diaz executes these topics well into the story as it is based off her own experiences about having a biracial and multiracial identity. Her writing has lyrical quality and she has this ability to bring her readers into the story by making it real and emotional.

Diaz has woven a intricate narrative throughout this book. I love how deep the poems are laced within the book since Naveah is a writer. My favorite part about this book was the characters. Not only are they diverse but they are so in depth too. Though Nevaeh’s family and friends stood didn’t see eye to eye all the time, when it comes to it they are to support each other. Nevaeh’s journey in this book is heartfelt and sometimes painful with the ups and downs of growing up. Through the many obstacles she faces she learns to grow, find herself, forgive her parents, and to move on towards the future. She learns how to use her voice to speak up for what she believes in.

*Trigger Warning: Racism, Bullying, Some Violence

Final Verdict: