In Multicultrual Minute #4 a few weeks ago, I promised to do an episode on books for older readers featuring characters who were biracial. I am nothing if not true to my word, so here it is:
Books mentioned in this episode:
Black Mirror by Nancy Werlin
Middle grade thriller/mystery featuring a half-Japanese, half-Jewish girl.
Bobby Versus Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee
Middle grade humor featuring a half-Chinese, half-white boy. (Race not a foreground theme.)
Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything Else In It by Sundee T. Frazier
Middle grade realistic fiction exploring racial themes around a boy who is half-black and half- white.
Half and Half by Lensey Namioka
Middle grade fiction about a girl's difficulties with choosing between her Chinese heritage and her Scottish heritage.
The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson
YA coming of age story exploring a half-black and half-white girl's experience with racism, homosexuality, and family.
Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Pena
YA novel featuring a half-Mexican, half-white boy who deals with many issues, including racial discrimination.
Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins
YA novel about a half-Indian, half-white girl who travels to India with her mother and discovers a lot about herself and racial perceptions.
Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies) by Justina Chen Headley
YA novel about a half-Taiwanese, half-white girl who learns to celebrate her "hapa" status when she spends a summer at camp.
Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata
Middle grade novel about a single-parent family where all the sisters share their Japanese mother but each have a different father. While race is not the central issue, their truly multicultural family plays a large role in shaping their characters.
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
Middle grade humor/science fiction in which the main character is half-black and half-white. Race is not a central issue, though discrimination by an alien race is.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Black Mirror by Nancy Werlin
Middle grade thriller/mystery featuring a half-Japanese, half-Jewish girl.
Bobby Versus Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee
Middle grade humor featuring a half-Chinese, half-white boy. (Race not a foreground theme.)
Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything Else In It by Sundee T. Frazier
Middle grade realistic fiction exploring racial themes around a boy who is half-black and half- white.
Half and Half by Lensey Namioka
Middle grade fiction about a girl's difficulties with choosing between her Chinese heritage and her Scottish heritage.
The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson
YA coming of age story exploring a half-black and half-white girl's experience with racism, homosexuality, and family.
Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Pena
YA novel featuring a half-Mexican, half-white boy who deals with many issues, including racial discrimination.
Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins
YA novel about a half-Indian, half-white girl who travels to India with her mother and discovers a lot about herself and racial perceptions.
Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies) by Justina Chen Headley
YA novel about a half-Taiwanese, half-white girl who learns to celebrate her "hapa" status when she spends a summer at camp.
Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata
Middle grade novel about a single-parent family where all the sisters share their Japanese mother but each have a different father. While race is not the central issue, their truly multicultural family plays a large role in shaping their characters.
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
Middle grade humor/science fiction in which the main character is half-black and half-white. Race is not a central issue, though discrimination by an alien race is.
feed me
I've got one more for your fantastic list...
Jeff Stone's CRANE
YA novel about a half-Chinese, half-Dutch warrior monk girl in the 1600s who is looking for her roots while fighting for her life.
The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau (younger YA) features a protagonist who is half white and half unidentified ethnicity (might sound odd, but central to the character's background); she has dark skin.