See No Color

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.)