October 28, 2013
Woods (Saint Louis Armstrong Beach) returns with the story of 11-year old Violet Diamond, who is struggling with her biracial identity; the novel handles big-picture topics well, but falters with its energy and authenticity. Violet is the daughter of an African-American father, who died in a car accident two months before her birth, and a white mother. Violet’s Seattle suburb is largely white, and Violet feels angry and confused by the puzzlement people display when they see her with her white family. Motivated by a dream about her father, Violet reaches out to cultivate a relationship with her paternal grandmother and her father’s family, whom she has never met. The subdued, meandering nature of the story and Violet’s overly formal voice can be difficult to connect to, but Woods deftly raises complex issues of race and identity and leaves them open for discussion: whether race matters, what makes a family, how it feels to be different, and what it means to be biracial. “To white people,” Violet thinks, “I’m half black. To black people, I’m half white.... Is that what I am, a percentage?” Ages 8–12.
Starred review from November 15, 2013
Violet's a bright, engaging biracial preteen, resigned to a "predictable summer of boring nothing" in small-town Washington; happily, for her and for readers, she couldn't be more wrong. Violet, 11, appreciates her loving family--busy neonatologist mom; sister, Daisy, 17; mom's lively, ex-hippie parents--she's just tired of explaining she belongs. She wouldn't have to if her dad, an African-American doctor, hadn't died in a car accident before her birth. In mostly white Moon Lake, Violet's a rarity; her one black friend attends a different school. Adopting a kitten is fun, but lightening her hair? Big mistake. (It was supposed to look "sun-kissed," like Daisy's--not orange.) Although Roxanne, her dad's mother, a famous artist, has refused contact (she has her reasons), Violet engineers a meeting at a Seattle gallery, persuading her mom to take her. Rebuffed at first, Violet persists until Roxanne invites her for a visit, and what was frozen begins to thaw. Both families are stable, intelligent and well-intentioned, but forgiveness and trust require contact; healing can't happen at a distance. Violet's no tragic mulatto--she'd survive estrangement, but in reconnecting with her dad's family and cultural roots, she'll thrive, fulfill her vast potential and, in doing so, enrich both families' lives across the racial divide. Infused with humor, hope and cleareyed compassion--a fresh take on an old paradigm. (Fiction. 8-12)
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Starred review from March 1, 2014
Gr 4-6-Violet Diamond's father died in a car accident two months before her birth, and the 11-year-old has always felt that a piece of her was missing. As the daughter of an African American father and Caucasian mother, she is frustrated with narrow racial assumptions directed at her by those living in her predominantly white neighborhood in Seattle. After eavesdropping on an eye-opening family conversation, Violet digs around and finds out that Roxanne Diamond, the estranged paternal grandmother she's never met, is having an art exhibition in Seattle, and the resourceful tween vows to meet her. Complex family history renders their first meeting awkward and tense, but Roxanne genuinely wants to be involved in her granddaughter's life. Violet travels with her grandmother to Los Angeles to meet her father's relatives and better understand her African American heritage. Violet's charming quirks, which include nighttime wishing rituals and keeping a mental catalogue of sophisticated vocabulary words, prove endearing. In this quiet story, Woods's admirably touches upon profound issues related to identity and race and tenderly conveys intergenerational bonds.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 1, 2013
Grades 4-7 Eleven-year-old Violet Diamond feels as though she doesn't belongshe's a brown leaf on a pile of white snow. A biracial child, she never knew her father, who died before she was born. Violet is tired of the strange looks from people who don't understand her background, so she researches her family on her father's side and learns that her artist grandmother will be visiting Seattle. Violet jumps at the chance to meet her and soon feels belonging and acceptance as she gains answers about the dad she never knew, thereby giving her a far more confident sense of self. Woods' novel has a lot of heart, and Violet is someone many readers will relate to. Side characters, too, are well developed, and while Violet's reconciliation with her long-lost grandmother comes a bit too easily, Violet's warm journey of self-discovery is realistic. A sweet, heartfelt tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2014
Eleven-year-old Violet, whose African American father died before she was born, has always felt different from her white mom and half-sister. Then Violet meets her paternal grandmother, and the two quickly form a strong bond that fills a void in each of their lives. Woods carefully fuses an affirmation of familial love's healing properties to a gentle exploration of cultural and racial identity.
(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)