I probably never would have given this book a first notice, much less read it, except it is required reading for the AP English class at my daughter's new school. Wow. As half of a mixed-race marriage myself (and having been close--for a gentile--to the Jewish community since my Kindergarten days), I was instantly captivated by the dual story played out within the pages: James' struggle to learn who his mother (and therefore he) was coupled with his mother's struggle to keep her past as dead as he...more I probably never would have given this book a first notice, much less read it, except it is required reading for the AP English class at my daughter's new school. Wow. As half of a mixed-race marriage myself (and having been close--for a gentile--to the Jewish community since my Kindergarten), I was instantly captivated by the dual story played out within the pages: James' struggle to learn who his mother (and therefore he) was coupled with his mother's struggle to keep her past as dead as her family preferred her to be.

I only wish this book were required reading for everyone. Profound revelations about life, faith, and the world we live in (as opposed to the world we would like to live in) dot the book like the first wildflowers after a long, gray winter. The one that provides the book's title has a wisdom worthy of many a discussion itself, but there is one no less significant hidden in the epilogue: that mixed-race children, like the author and my own children, have happy, normal lives just like everyone else. Moms like Ruth McBride make it possible. I only wish I had the means and the chutzpah to meet her.