See No Color

by Shannon Gibney

Overview

"Transracial adoption is never oversimplified, airbrushed, or sentimentalized, but instead, it's portrayed with bracing honesty as the messy institution it is: rearranging families, blending cultural and biological DNA, loss and joy. An exceptionally accomplished debut." — Kirkus, starred review

For as long as she can remember, sixteen-year-old Alex Kirtridge has known two things about herself: She's a stellar baseball player. She's adopted.

Alex has had a comfortable childhood in Madison, Wisconsin. Despite some teasing, being a biracial girl in a wealthy white family hasn't been that big a deal. What mattered was that she was a star on the diamond, where her father, a former Major Leaguer, coached her hard and counted on her to make him proud. But now, things are changing: she meets Reggie, the first black guy who's wanted to get to know her; she discovers the letters from her biological father that her adoptive parents have kept from her; and her changing body starts to affect her game. Suddenly, Alex begins to question who she really is. She's always dreamed of playing pro baseball just like her father, but can she really do it? Does she truly fit in with her white family? Who were her biological parents? What does it mean to be black? If she's going to find answers, Alex has to come to terms with her adoption, her race, and the dreams she thought would always guide her.

• Winner of the Minnesota Book Award
• A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen book of the Year
• A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467776820
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/01/2015
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	493,738
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Shannon Gibney is a professor of English and African diaspora studies at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/07/2015
Debut novelist Gibney offers an unflinching look at the complexities of racial identity in the story of a black teenager trying to understand her place in the white family who adopted her. Gibney, herself a transracial adoptee, creates a visceral sense of isolation for 16-year-old Alex. Despite the love of baseball that unites her family (Alex and her brother are excellent players, and their father is their coach), she has almost no one to confide in: friends are nearly absent, and she doesn’t know any adoptees who share her situation. When Alex finds hidden letters from her birth father, her questions mount. Should she contact him? Alex’s uneasiness with the body beneath her skin is just as powerfully felt as she wonders whether she can continue to keep up with the boys on the diamond, gets unexpected romantic attention from a fellow player, and visits a black hairdresser for the first time. While not all of Alex’s questions are answered by book’s end, readers will finish this engaging, layered novel confident that she’s ready to face whatever comes next, and with plenty to think about themselves. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Biracial Alex, 16, high school baseball star and pride of her white, adoptive father and coach, sidesteps thinking about her parentage and racial identity, lying to finesse uncomfortable issues—but hiding her adoptive status from Reggie, an attractive, black player on an opposing team, troubles her. At dinner, her younger sister, Kit, demolishes their parents' insistence that they don't (and shouldn't) see race. Kit brings Alex a letter from her black birth father, one their parents have kept secret, feeling Alex is too young to read them. (The gentle content suggests the adoptive parents' motives for withholding them may be mixed.) Forced to confront long-suppressed questions, Alex seeks to locate, nail down, and inhabit the unitary, undivided identity expected of her, but she gradually realizes the jigsaw pieces of her identity, drawn from different puzzles, may never fit neatly in one harmonious whole. Visiting a black hair salon isn't a joyful marker of identity reclaimed ('finally someone knows what do with my hair!'); it's just another ordeal. Her hair reflects her mixed heritage and requires treatment as such. Reggie and Kit want to know Alex for who she is, but how, when she doesn't know herself? Gibney, herself transracially adopted, honors the complexities of her diverse, appealing characters. Transracial adoption is never oversimplified, airbrushed, or sentimentalized, but instead, it's portrayed with bracing honesty as the messy institution it is: rearranging families, blending cultural and biological DNA, loss and joy. An exceptionally accomplished debut."—starred, Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

10/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—For Alex Kirtridge, a 16-year-old transracial adoptee in Madison, WI, the topic of race has always been off-limits. Her white adoptive parents valiantly pretend not to see her as different in any way from their two biological children, yet she is treated as "other" by both black and white classmates. Alex tacitly agrees not to rock the boat, avoiding uncomfortable questions and devoting herself to being the star of the baseball team coached by her father, a former minor league player. But a stash of secret letters and a romance with an African American boy precipitate a journey of cultural and emotional exploration for Alex, forcing her to confront difficult truths about her adoptive and birth parents. The honest emotions in this coming-of-age novel will resonate with many readers who are grappling with finding a sense of belonging. Without lecturing readers, Gibney clearly elucidates many issues particular to transracial adoption and biracial identity while also making this a universal story about the need for acceptance. The sports content offers added appeal and a meaningful framework for the plot. At times the book seems to be taking on too much, but both major and secondary characters are well drawn and engaging. This thoughtful novel adds a much-needed perspective on a subject that affects many families but is rarely covered in YA fiction. VERDICT Recommended for purchase, particularly by libraries serving less diverse communities, where it will provide welcome education and support.—Laura Simeon, Open Window School Library, WA

School Library Journal

★ 2015-08-26
Biracial Alex, 16, high school baseball star and pride of her white, adoptive father and coach, sidesteps thinking about her parentage and racial identity, lying to finesse uncomfortable issues—but hiding her adoptive status from Reggie, an attractive, black player on an opposing team, troubles her. At dinner, her younger sister, Kit, demolishes their parents' insistence that they don't (and shouldn't) see race. Kit brings Alex a letter from her black birth father, one their parents have kept secret, feeling Alex is too young to read them. (The gentle content suggests the adoptive parents' motives for withholding them may be mixed.) Forced to confront long-suppressed questions, Alex seeks to locate, nail down, and inhabit the unitary, undivided identity expected of her, but she gradually realizes the jigsaw pieces of her identity, drawn from different puzzles, may never fit neatly in one harmonious whole. Visiting a black hair salon isn't a joyful marker of identity reclaimed ("finally someone knows what do with my hair!"); it's just another ordeal. Her hair reflects her mixed heritage and requires treatment as such. Reggie and Kit want to know Alex for who she is, but how, when she doesn't know herself? Gibney, herself transracially adopted, honors the complexities of her diverse, appealing characters. Transracial adoption is never oversimplified, airbrushed, or sentimentalized, but instead, it's portrayed with bracing honesty as the messy institution it is: rearranging families, blending cultural and biological DNA, loss and joy. An exceptionally accomplished debut. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

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