Color Me In by Natasha Diaz

COLOR ME IN by Natasha Diaz is a new young adult novel and I am honestly having trouble deciding if I would recommend it or not. Some positives are the ideas that the main character, a high school sophomore named Nevaeh, is bi-racial and has a mixed religious heritage (Christianity and Judaism); plus, her main friend, Stevie, is very interested in the fine arts and is competing for a dance scholarship. These are the types of characters not often featured in realistic fiction for middle or high school students and we need to see more of them.  The biggest negative however, is that Nevaeh is not at all like-able.  As Stevie says to her, “It’s always about what you need and you want…. I had one shot to get into that program and you couldn’t even support me. I needed you, and you’re so full of yourself you couldn’t see it.” In addition, her parents are in the midst of divorcing and her Mom is almost totally checked out and depressed. Her Dad has suddenly (and manipulatively) decided that Nevaeh should be studying for a bat mitzvah even though she is much older than the traditional age. That provides a reason for her to develop a relationship with a young female rabbi (another positive aspect) who, however, also berates Nevaeh for her attitudes and actions: “I think you spend a lot of time complaining about what’s out of your control instead of considering and appreciating what you’ve got.”  School Library Journal suggests this debut book for grades 8 and up and I think that it would probably have more appeal for students in late middle school and very early high school although there is some casual alcohol and substance abuse.