Birdie Lee grows up in 1970s Boston with a white mother, Sandy, and a Black father, Deck, and a sister, Cole, who looks like him. When the parents' radical political circle collapses, the family splits: Cole goes with Deck, and Birdie, who can pass for white, goes with Sandy into hiding in New Hampshire. Birdie must pretend to be someone she is not. The novel follows her as she grows up, searches for her family, and tries to find a sense of identity beyond the labels others assign.
For readers interested in race, class and family, especially mixed-race experience in America, this is a sharp and tender coming-of-age book. It gives a complicated, often funny look at passing and belonging.
Inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1998
- Language
- EN
