Book Review: "Color Me In" by Natasha Diaz
“Color Me In” by Natasha Diaz
Bookshop | Kindle
Publisher Synopsis: 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 because she inadvertently passes as white, her cousin thinks she's too privileged, pampered, and selfish to relate to the injustices African Americans face on a daily basis. In the meantime, 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. But rather than take a stand, Nevaeh does what she's always done when life gets complicated: she stays silent.
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 her own voice. And choices. Will she continue to let circumstances dictate her path? Or will she decide once for all who and where she is meant to be?
Rating (out of 5): 4.5
Trigger Warnings: violence against Black people, racism (macro- and micro-aggressions)
Review: I don’t read a ton of YA, but when I do, I always enjoy it. I forgot to cancel my Book of the Month subscription after last month’s controversy around how they treated a Black influencer, so I made sure to choose books by women of color for my last hurrah in July. And “Color Me In” did not disappoint.
Being a teenager is really about finding yourself (and arguing with your parents), and I imagine the former is even more complicated when your identity is intersectional and external factors inform so much of who you think you are. Nevaeh is the child of a Black woman from Harlem, and a Jewish father from Connecticut. She grew up in a rich suburb of New York, but after her parents abruptly split up, Nevaeh has to go back and forth between her mom’s family’s house in Harlem and her dad’s house in the ‘burbs—while commuting to her school in Riverdale, a tony neighborhood in the Bronx. Oh, and her dad wants her to have a Bat Mitzvah after her 16th birthday.
“Color Me In” included so many little details that reminded me how tough being a teenager is—and showed tough it was for Nevaeh to endure this transition in her life. She passes for white, and her cousins (whom she lives with in Harlem), consistently make her feel like an outsider. She experiences racism from a cop when she’s walking down a street in Harlem with her obviously Black uncle. She feels like an outsider at her mom’s family’s Baptist church. There are some great conversations between Nevaeh and her Black cousins about hair, and the cultural appropriation many white women take it upon themselves to commit. (For more on Black hair culture, here’s my review of “Twisted” by Emma Dabiri.)
Ultimately, “Color Me In” is about finding your voice, and knowing when to use it. As a writer, Nevaeh tends to be very private, and it’s only after sharing one of her poems at an open mic-type night when she realizes the power she has. But, she subsequently has to learn when to use her voice, and when to listen.
I definitely recommend this book, even if you don’t usually read YA. And there is definitely some mean girl action from the snotty girls at Nevaeh’s private school which rang so true, especially in a world where everyone has a smartphone and social media.
TL;DR: A highly engaging coming-of-age story about a biracial young woman learning how and when to use her voice, all while figuring out how she fits into the world, and understanding who her true friends are.
If you liked this, try:
“Full Disclosure” by Camrynn Garrett (Bookshop | Kindle) (Moira’s review here)
“The Knockout Queen” by Rufi Thorpe (Bookshop | Kindle) (Moira’s review here)
“With the Fire On High” by Elizabeth Acevedo (Bookshop | Kindle) (Elizabeth’s review here)
“Frankly In Love” by David Yoon (Bookshop | Kindle) (Elizabeth’s review here)
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