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Ashley's Reviews > Color Me In
Color Me In
by
by
Color Me In is a coming of age story about a biracial teen trying to navigate her Black and Jewish heritage as well as the divorce of her parents. At its core, I think the book delivers on this premise, providing us a unique perspective on finding one’s identity in a situation that is not so black and white. I think Díaz did a wonderful job of capturing this and she broaches the topic of racism and colorism in our society in an appropriate way.
Nevaeh is not always a likable character as she struggles with the idea of making herself heard, but not at the expense of silencing the voices of those who are less privileged than herself. I love how Díaz interlaces beautiful prose with Neveah's poetry, and I really enjoyed her writing style.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was her mother’s journal entries. I loved reading that personal perspective and it added more dimension and understanding to her mother’s character.
I hate talking poorly about a book that covers marginalized communities in a positive way and that is loosely inspired by the author's experiences. But I also think it's not good enough that these stories are just told, I think we should also demand that they are told well. I do have some criticisms about the book, especially surrounding the characters and plot.
Many of the characters feel very stereotypical (often in ways that are harmful to the people they represent). For example, Miss Clarisse who’s described as a scantily-clad older woman who sleeps with a lot of men and is the subject of all the church gossip. I’m not denying that people like this exist but as a book that’s trying to say there is more to people than just what we see on the outside, Daiz could have done more to add a little nuance to her character (like emphasizing that fact that she owns a business or showing readers the Miss Clarisse’s affection for Nevaeh’s grandfather was genuine). Not to mention her character is not at all essential to the plot other than to add some drama to the family dynamic.
There are more examples of this like Jerry, Neveah’s younger cousin, who is only described as being “chubby” and who is always eating or talking about being hungry; Abby and her cartoonishly villainous Southern father who’s ideals are extremely racist and bigoted; and the meek high school teacher who is afraid of his students (and has a really strange out of character moment when he fights against police brutality...?). Again, I’m not saying that these people don’t exist but to not give them as much nuance and development as the main character is doing a disservice to the main theme of the book which says we shouldn’t judge/discriminate someone based on assumptions or their outward appearance.
At times the story veers into unbelievable territory when characters are acting out of character and making decisions that don't fit within their established personalities. Oftentimes the characters make drastic changes without any progression shown. Like Neveah's mother who spends 2/3 of the book depressed and unaware and then changes into a strong, empowered woman after a couple of therapy sessions. Additionally, there are minor plotlines that feel like they were added solely for dramatic effect because none of them ever get resolved. For instance, Jordan spends the majority of the story fighting to attend an HBCU next year after graduating high school. But her mother is against the idea because it’s too expensive. Their arguments are depicted to add more intensity to certain moments in the story and then it’s completely dropped and forgotten. And it’s like this for many of the minor characters.
Overall, the message of this book is strong and well done and it’s why I would recommend everyone read it. I genuinely think that this book will speak to young readers, especially those who have or are experiencing similar issues. The story is from a perspective that isn’t covered enough in literature and I love that it’s opening the doors for these topics to be discussed. I just think a little more focus on some of the minor characters and plotlines would make this story even stronger.
Nevaeh is not always a likable character as she struggles with the idea of making herself heard, but not at the expense of silencing the voices of those who are less privileged than herself. I love how Díaz interlaces beautiful prose with Neveah's poetry, and I really enjoyed her writing style.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was her mother’s journal entries. I loved reading that personal perspective and it added more dimension and understanding to her mother’s character.
I hate talking poorly about a book that covers marginalized communities in a positive way and that is loosely inspired by the author's experiences. But I also think it's not good enough that these stories are just told, I think we should also demand that they are told well. I do have some criticisms about the book, especially surrounding the characters and plot.
Many of the characters feel very stereotypical (often in ways that are harmful to the people they represent). For example, Miss Clarisse who’s described as a scantily-clad older woman who sleeps with a lot of men and is the subject of all the church gossip. I’m not denying that people like this exist but as a book that’s trying to say there is more to people than just what we see on the outside, Daiz could have done more to add a little nuance to her character (like emphasizing that fact that she owns a business or showing readers the Miss Clarisse’s affection for Nevaeh’s grandfather was genuine). Not to mention her character is not at all essential to the plot other than to add some drama to the family dynamic.
There are more examples of this like Jerry, Neveah’s younger cousin, who is only described as being “chubby” and who is always eating or talking about being hungry; Abby and her cartoonishly villainous Southern father who’s ideals are extremely racist and bigoted; and the meek high school teacher who is afraid of his students (and has a really strange out of character moment when he fights against police brutality...?). Again, I’m not saying that these people don’t exist but to not give them as much nuance and development as the main character is doing a disservice to the main theme of the book which says we shouldn’t judge/discriminate someone based on assumptions or their outward appearance.
At times the story veers into unbelievable territory when characters are acting out of character and making decisions that don't fit within their established personalities. Oftentimes the characters make drastic changes without any progression shown. Like Neveah's mother who spends 2/3 of the book depressed and unaware and then changes into a strong, empowered woman after a couple of therapy sessions. Additionally, there are minor plotlines that feel like they were added solely for dramatic effect because none of them ever get resolved. For instance, Jordan spends the majority of the story fighting to attend an HBCU next year after graduating high school. But her mother is against the idea because it’s too expensive. Their arguments are depicted to add more intensity to certain moments in the story and then it’s completely dropped and forgotten. And it’s like this for many of the minor characters.
Overall, the message of this book is strong and well done and it’s why I would recommend everyone read it. I genuinely think that this book will speak to young readers, especially those who have or are experiencing similar issues. The story is from a perspective that isn’t covered enough in literature and I love that it’s opening the doors for these topics to be discussed. I just think a little more focus on some of the minor characters and plotlines would make this story even stronger.
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Thanks for articulating some of my feelings about this one. I think it does some work for representation that isn’t always seen, but I found it to be a “beach read” without really being able to articulate why. Probably all the tropes.I also thought the SA scene was super unnecessary and didn’t add to the plot in a meaningful way at all.
I also want to add, from a Jewish perspective, how many harmful Jewish stereotypes are used: rich, overbearing grandmother, poor hygiene for the most Jewishly-named character, etc.
My biggest problem, aside from all the stereotypical flat characters, is that everyone is so toxic. I wasn't rooting for anyone to succeed. They're all horrible people, including Neveah, and the whole book just made me want to run as far away from all of them as possible.