Wing Jones

by Katherine Webber

[Joséphine]

March 1, 2017

Full book review is up on Word Revel.

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February 12, 2017

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Initial thoughts: As a biracial person myself, I think Katherine Webber aptly captured what it means to live with multiple racial identies on a day-to-day basis. I loved how she noted the little things like double-takes from strangers when it dawns on them who the grand- and/or parent(s) are and that they're related to children who might not even look like them. Then there's the fusion of food within a household, and the warring cultures over personal conduct, the expectations and sometimes even the appearance of a biracial child. Oh, and don't get me started on how no hairdresser has the right products to deal with hair besides a pair of scissors.

Personally, I connected to this book all the more because I finally saw so many pieces of myself embedded in that book. I wish I'd had that when I was 16 and encountered parents who didn't like me simply because I wasn't the same race as them and their children; parents who preferred that their children not be so close to me because I was too dark, didn't speak their language, and didn't celebrate the same holidays. A book like this would've reinforced my self-worth. I sincerely hope that it will do exactly that for other biracial teens who get to read Wing Jones.

Note: I received a review copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.