Off-Color by Janet McDonald

McDonald, Janet. (2007). Off-Color. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN: 978-0374371968
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Racism, Bi-Racial, Poverty, Friendship, Cultural Identity, Secrets
Genre: Fiction
Annotation: Fifteen year old Cameron can't believe it when her mom has to change jobs and they have to move -- to the projects! How can a white girl like Cameron hope to make friends with the black girls there?
Summary: Cameron Storm and her mother are poor, but happy in their small Brooklyn home. Cameron's dad is out of the picture, but she has great friends and is close to her mom. Then one day her mom tells her that the nail salon where she works is closing and that they have to move. Cameron and her mom have to move to the projects where they will be close to the new job and the rent is cheaper. Cameron is afraid not only to leave her best friends behind, but also about finding a way to fit in with the black kids at her new school. After the move, Cameron stumbles upon a photo album that shows her father as being a black man. Slowly Cameron comes to reconcile the two parts of herself and feel comfortable being herself.
Evaluation: At times the book seems driven by the issues of race and bi-racial kids, but Cameron's genuine emotion, authentic language, and very real life situations pulled me along just fine. I chose this book to read because I haven't read, or even seen, very many YA books that deal with the issues surrounding bi-racial families.