YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Who is Nevaeh Levitz?

Growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City, sixteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz never thought much about her biracial roots. When her Black mom and Jewish dad split up, she relocates to her mom's family home in Harlem and is forced to confront her identity for the first time.

Nevaeh wants to get to know her extended family, but one of her cousins can't stand that Nevaeh, who inadvertently passes as white, is too privileged, pampered, and selfish to relate to the injustices they face on a daily basis as African Americans. In the midst of attempting to blend their families, Nevaeh's dad decides that she should have a belated bat mitzvah instead of a sweet sixteen, which guarantees social humiliation at her posh private school. Even with the push and pull of her two cultures, Nevaeh does what she's always done when life gets complicated: she stays silent.

It's only when Nevaeh stumbles upon a secret from her mom's past, finds herself falling in love, and sees firsthand the prejudice her family faces that she begins to realize she has a voice. And she has choices. Will she continue to let circumstances dictate her path? Or will she find power in herself and decide once and for all who and where she is meant to be?

So ready to read this!!

Me too! I'm so glad we're able to read it soon because I'm dying to start it :)

I’ve had it for awhile and never started it! Now I have someone to read it with lol

Decided to start it today!

Go for it! Hope you enjoy it :)

I just read the prologue and I've never been so mad at a fictional character. (view spoiler)[I can't believe someone would be so rude and insinuate that someone isn't their child's mother just because they don't have the same skin color. It's so wrong and hurtful. (hide spoiler)]

25% finished:
(view spoiler)[ I’m honestly shocked that I’m enjoying this book from the beginning as much as I am. Normally it takes me a little bit to get into it. The main character is my favorite up to this point and I really want what’s best for her to happen no matter what happens in between now and the end of the book. (hide spoiler)]

50% finished:
(view spoiler)[ I am so glad that Nevaeh is finally speaking up for what she believes in. I feel like this is helping her become a more rounded character in the end. She’s finally developing into the person she wants to become and not who everyone else wants her to be. This Jesus as her official boyfriend now should be very interesting and I wonder how long their romance will last. (hide spoiler)]

Heather wrote: "25% finished:
[spoilers removed]"

Right?? I feel the exact same way. I'm on page 68 (view spoiler)[and Nevaeh is with her father for the next week. He revealed that he's seeing someone so soon after she and her mother left. He enrolled her in a Jewish class because he's worried about how she's changing...but honestly, she's been through so much and I'm already rooting for her. I want her and her mother, especially after all the things that were revealed in her mother's journal, to be happy! (hide spoiler)]

I really liked how Nevaeh's mother's past was revealed through journal entries that were separate from Nevaeh's own chapters. My heart hurts for both of them

75% finished
(view spoiler)[ I am really enjoying this even more now! I’m feeling connected to the characters and I love the religion aspect more because Nevaeh is becoming more open to the concept I think. (hide spoiler)]

Finished:
(view spoiler)[ Whenever I first received this book I received it as an arc copy from Netgalley. However I never got around to actually reading it until this month. I really loved the main character Nevaeh and how religion played a minor part in the plot of the story. She had to come to terms with her parents separating and I feel like that helped her become a well rounded character in the end. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I feel like I will read her other works as they are published as well. (hide spoiler)]

Page 147

(view spoiler)[Ashleigh the step-horror is the absolute worst. She's manipulating Nevaeh's dad into taking her side in all things when he should be more worried about his own daughter's well being. Ugh, the smug smiles she shoots at Nevaeh whenever Samuel gives her something she wants makes me so mad (hide spoiler)]

Finished!

(view spoiler)[The book centers around Nevaeh as she navigates her biracial roots and how everyone has an opinion on how she should act. But Nevaeh chooses herself: her beliefs, family, and friends. I'm so proud of her for embracing herself and standing up for what she believes in. She deserves to be heard. Her family deserves to feel safe. Changes need to be made. (hide spoiler)]

Heather wrote: "Finished:
[spoilers removed]"

I agree. I will definitely be reading the author's other books!