This book was everything I was hoping for. I loved the cast of characters and how the author made them feel so real.

This book tackled so many complex issues and was difficult to read sometimes. Our MC's cousin is ruthless to her and says things that I never expected. Nevaeh has very conflicting identities: she's a white-passing mixed girl who has a Jewish father and a Christian mother. She has to go from her dad's house in an affluent suburb to her Grandfather's house stocked full of people. She has to navigate all of these identities while going through her parent's public divorce.

I really hated the evil stepmom aspect of this novel and I don't think it had a place. I think it distracted from the more present and important storylines. I think those pages could've been better spent elsewhere.

Nevaeh acted her age and sometimes I was really annoyed by her behavior or reactions BUT I am not the intended audience for this novel and I don't think it's fair to rate a book for teens lower because she acts like a teenager. Behavior aside, this book was a real winner for me.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Delacorte Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

I have always been fascinated by stories about white presenting African-Americans. I’m sure it wouldn’t take a psychology degree to figure out why, being from a family filled with white presenting African-Americans. So when Netgalley offered me the opportunity to read an ARC of Natasha Diaz’s debut novel ‘Color Me In’ I couldn’t wait to dig in to this coming of age tale.

Nevaeh Levitz is 16 years old and caught between worlds in the wake of her parents split. For the first sixteen years of her life she has lived comfortably in an upper class New York suburb and attended a cushy private school and never questioned anything about her life, especially her biracial heritage. Growing up in a world where she wasn’t raised as particularly Jewish, although she was, and not particularly black which she also was, moving to Harlem with her mothers family proved to be a huge culture shock.

Now Nevaeh finds herself stuck in a world where she is not black enough, not white enough, not Jewish enough...just not enough period. All this while navigating new friendships, mean girls at school, her mothers depression, and her father’s insistence that she have a bat mitzvah three years too late. Better late then Neva!!!!

I enjoyed this YA debut, overall I think it was probably closer to 3.5 stars but I wanted to round up because this is definitely a solid first effort from Diaz. I enjoyed watching Nevaeh struggle with her identity as I’m sure many people stuck between worlds, trying to figure out where exactly they fit in, do. The only thing I think I would have liked more of was a deeper dive into her parents relationship and the breakdown of that relationship, and maybe a little more of Nevaeh’s navigating what her new relationships will look like with them in the wake of their pending divorce. Without giving anything away, I also wished her father’s character had been handled a little differently.

‘Color Me In’ was a fast and easy read and I think Diaz may be a new voice in YA fiction to watch out for!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The story is not always a happy one, but it feels so realistic. The problems that Nevaeh face made me relate to her a lot. Some of the other characters I loved, were her Aunt Anita, Uncle Zeke, and of course Stevie. I felt like this is such an important story, that people need to read. Overall, I would highly recommend that people pick this book up.

Beautiful story of a teen coming to terms with her biracial identity as her parents separate--not quite fitting in anywhere, but learning to be exactly who she is.

The author touches many subjects on this book journey, themes like: Love, Hope, Mental Illness, Family Values, Friendship, Relationships, Religion, Acceptance, Racism And Even Police Brutality.

It Is Quite A Powerful Book. I'm Definitely Buying This One!!! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you Net Galley, Natasha Diaz, and Delacorte Press for the eARC of Color Me In! Opinions are my own!

First of all, THANK YOU! Thank you, Natasha Diaz for understanding the ambiguity of being one and the other. I am 100% Jewish and I am Cuban. My father was born and raised in Cuba and is Catholic, whereas my mother is American, from the Bronx, and Jewish. Within the Jewish faith, if your mother is Jewish you are a “real-Jew.” I have always identified with my Jewish side more so than my Cuban/Catholic side and that has a lot to do with being in Hebrew school surrounded my peers that looked like me. I identified this ‘privilege’ early on which is why at the age of nine, I begged to be taken out of private school. I wanted friends that didn’t look like me; that didn’t sound like me; I wanted friends who were different from me. I was then put into public school and my entire life changed. I am grateful for both opportunities. I am 100% Jewish and I didn’t have a Bat Mitzvah. I didn’t do the typical things. I was always torn between one culture and the other. I may not be multiracial but I understand Naveah so well. I don’t “look Cuban” but because of my mixed genes, I also don’t “look Jewish.” People don’t realize that statements like that affect us; they hurt. It’s one more cut to our identity. Overtime, we either become numb or we start to believe them.

Everything about this book was perfection! This is a beautifully written, coming-of-age story. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone! Diaz touches on: identity, acceptance, brief glimpses of mental illness, the value of family and friendship, interracial dating, religion, police brutality and racism, etc. SUCH A POWERFUL BOOK! I cannot wait to buy my own copy when it releases. The poetry is remarkable! ALL THE STARS!

Beautifully written, relatable, and an amazing story. A read I couldn't put down and had me from the first page to the very end.

This was a sweet coming of age story and so much more as a interracial person myself I did connect a little to the story but I wish it told more of the Jewish side of her family by her dad and not just her moms whole side but it was so good

This was such a powerful story I couldn't put it down. This is the story that doesn't usually get told. Yes, we know biracial people often struggle with their identity. They have loyalties to both races and often end up picking one over the other. Nevaeh grew up in a rich white neighborhood feeling like an outsider beyond her one other biracial friend. She's bullied by the mean popular girl at school who makes racial comments towards her that she lets slide to not stir up trouble. Anyone black or half black who went to a majority white school knows the type of comments and knows how much they sting. And how it feels to feel so alone because you don't look like everyone else.

Nevaeh's life as she knows it drastically changes. Because her parents are in the middle of a nasty divorce and her cheating father brings his mistress around. And her father's new girlfriend is one of those passive aggressive white women who sees herself as better than the little biracial girl before her. And now her father who has never been religious feels the need to insert his Jewishness because he feels his daughter has too much black influence in her life after moving with her mother to Harlem. So he makes her attending Hebrew school and is forcing her to have a belated Bat Mitzvah.

This story is a journey about a teen girl discovering herself and how she fits in to both of her cultures. We go along for the journey as Nevaeh discovers Jamaican and Jewish traditions. And Natasha Diaz includes beautiful poetry and diary entries to help shape this story and give us much needed background information in a way that doesn't feel forced.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Color Me In follows biracial character Neveah Levitz, who is struggling to accept and identify as a black, Jewish woman in the face of her parents' separation. This lyrical YA novel is one of few that I've read recently that doesn't just grapple with racism, but with colorism and a character that is "passing" for white. As she grows to find her voice (both in writing and in speech) and learns to advocate for herself and the communities that she is a part of, she starts to understand how she is complicit in racism as well. I liked the characters and thought it dealt nicely with issues of mental health, divorce, and race. This is an #ownvoices book and author Natasha Diaz is writing from her own experience, which includes a limited exploration of Judaism.

As a Jewish woman, I found the prayers and Bat Mitzvah made a compelling background to the story and I loved Rabbi Sarah and the ways in which Judaism was celebrated in tandem with Black identity. However, there are a couple areas that fell short for me: 1) the fact that Neveah's passage from the Torah was from Yom Kippur, a high holiday in Judaism that would never be led by a Bat Mitzvah and which a Rabbi certainty wouldn't miss 2) the fact that Jewish is culture is limited to descriptions of Hebrew prayer and 3) no discussion or realization by Neveah that Jews have a history of oppression but have often used their whiteness to oppress others - including people of color, which would fit nicely with the overall storyline itself. This is all with the caveat that I do not share the same identity as the author and I can only critique what I know, which is the Jewish cultural pieces of the book.

It was slow in a few places, but I think this is a strong debut and I would be interested in seeing what Diaz writes next. I recommend this to readers looking for a coming of age novel featuring a biracial character.

It’s possible this book just wasn’t quite what I expected. I know it’s based off the author’s life, and I loved how she embraced her mom’s side of the family, I just wish her Jewishness was painted the same way instead of a screwup dad and nagging Bubby. Maybe I’m being extra sensitive because I am Jewish? I don’t know.

Thank you NetGalley for the review.

I was not expecting to be this moved by a story, but I was. I really thought it was going to be a sweet coming of age story but it was so much more. I wouldn't put the book down. It was amazing and I love how the author was able to deal with sensitive subjects in such a thought provoking way. I love all the characters and how they interact and are all going through similiar things.

It really is a great book! You have to put this on your TBR list.

All the horrible things are happening to Nevaeh at once--her parents have separated, her mom has disappeared emotionally, her best friend is probably about to go away to another school for a year, her dad is making her do a Bat Mitzvah for her 16th birthday, and one of her cousins is giving her a ton of grief for her light skin privilege. So yeah, her dad is Jewish, and her mom is Jamaican. She and her mom are sharing a room at their multi-generational home in Harlem, where she has to go to church every Sunday and sticks out in the congregation and in the streets like a sore thumb. On weekdays she goes to a fancy prep school in the Bronx where she has only the one friend--Stevie, who may leave her at any minute. She does have an ex-friend, though, Abby, who is viciously racist and otherwise mean.

They love the idea of diversity until they realize it means actually engaging with living, breathing Black and Brown people.

So yeah, things are rough for Nevaeh, and predictably, she doesn't always handle it well, so focused on her own problems that she doesn't see how others are struggling. What she always has, though, is words. She's a spoken word artist, and the poems are really great. Like this verse:

What I know now is that privilege is a powerful drug,
Especially if you have the freedom to feel sorry for
yourself.

I appreciated Diaz's sentiment in her Dear Reader letter, too:

...sometimes it's better to accept that you don't have the right to speak on everything, even if the opportunity to do so presents itself.

The story's a good coming of age tale, asking readers to respect boundaries and understand that labels cause more harm than good. The main character requires a good deal of space to figure what she wants and how her voice will handle society on her own terms. While slow sometimes, I would recommend this story to those seeking validation in a world offering little.

This book is well written. The characters are described well. I really enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I can't wait to read more by this author.

I'm not the 'other' that this book was written for but I'm so glad I came across this book. This is a good book to read to help you start understanding other point of views.

I loved this book it was a grate coming of age book I will be recommending this to everybody I know!

I loved this book! I will be recommending it to all my young adult readers! Thank you for this opportunity to connect books to their readers.

This is probably closer to a 4.5.

Some books just surprise you in the best of ways. When I added this book to my TBR, I only expected to read a nice YA coming of age contemporary, but wow did I get so much more. I’m emotional and delighted and thoroughly impressed, so let me share my thoughts.

Nevaeh’s life is completely turned upside down due to her parent’s separation and she is struggling to find her place in this new reality. She wants to fit in with her mother’s very religious Baptist family living in Harlem, but she has never the chance or maybe even desire to explore her Black identity before, so she doesn’t know how to do it. She tries to channel her confusion, her rage and her feelings into her writing but she is still afraid to show it to anyone. But slowly with the help of her extended family, the friends she makes in the vibrant community and getting to know her mother better through her old journal, she starts expressing herself through spoken word poetry. She is also initially hesitant to understand her Jewish identity but that slowly changes because of the influence of the very interesting Rabbi Sarah. I liked how the author shows us all facets of Nevaeh - she isn’t perfect, just a realistic teenager with faults, who doesn’t know everything, makes mistakes and can’t even understand why she is wrong - but ultimately she owns up her mistakes and tries to correct them, strives to be better.

Every other character in the book also has their own arc. They all influence Nevaeh in her growth, but they have lives and their own issues independent of her. That’s why this book is more reading about the daily lives of a family and their friends, rather than just about the main character. Her mother’s despair because of the divorce and her deep rooted anxieties are cleverly integrated into the story through the journal, which was also probably one of the hardest parts of the book to read. Jordan is her vivacious cousin who has dreams and ideas for her future, but has to constantly fight for her opportunities because the world doesn’t think a young Black woman deserves them. Stevie is Nevaeh’s best friend and I just adored his wit and his confidence to go for what he wants. Her aunt Anita comes across as abrasive but they are so many layers to her character and it was beautiful to get to know her. And Rabbi Sarah is one of my favorites - faithful but also open minded, she is charming and delightful but there’s also a deep sadness in her. She plays such an important part in the book and I would have loved to get to know her better, but the way her arc is written is kinda perfect for this story. I wasn’t sure what to think of Jesus initially but I liked the developing romance. He is also probably one of the most sorted characters in that he knows what he wants from his future and has worked hard for it, despite the world trying to snatch it away from him. Abby is the typical mean girl classmate and Ashleigh is the usual evil stepmother - while I understood the parts they played in Nevaeh’s character growth, they both didn’t feel as real as all the other characters in the book and that’s probably my only issue with this book.

There are so many themes explored in this book, I’m just in awe of the author for being able to talk about all of them in a sensitive manner. The main theme is obviously the issues faced by biracial people, their confusion with finding their place and trying to fit in with both sides of their identity. Both Nevaeh and Stevie have similar kind of issues personally, but they also affect them differently in the outside world because Nevaeh is white passing and he is not. She makes mistakes and is forced to check her privilege many times, sometimes brutally - until she realizes that her privilege allows her to voice her thoughts in a safer manner and sometimes, she has to use this privilege to just listen and give the opportunity to other marginalized voices to speak. There are just so many instances of racism in the book, both micro aggressions and some outright ones - we see how it must chip away at the soul of the person who has to encounter them everyday but still wake up and go through it all over again, knowing that their life maybe cut short with even a little misstep. This harsh reality is depicted with raw honesty in the book and it just pained me so much. On another note, the despair of having to go through a divorce after having depended on a person for years is also depicted in a very real manner. The one part which I felt really hard though was, how deep it cuts to lose a childhood best friend and having to go through life without being able to share everything with them. As a single child like Nevaeh, I understood her pain all too well even though my circumstances were different, but I think more books should highlight the deep impact that friendships have on us and how losing them affect us even profoundly than a romantic breakup.

Finally, I just want to say that pick up this book and I promise, you will be affected. It is brilliant, insightful and heartfelt and you just can’t help but feel the raw emotions that the characters are feeling. It clearly shows that this is the author’s lived experience, a fictionalized version of her own life which makes every word feel very honest. The author’s note at the end is even more moving. This is such an amazing debut and I can’t wait to see what more the author has for us in the future.