A New York Times Bestselling Author
Eleven-year-old Isabellaa�TMs parents are divorced, so she has to switch lives every week: One week shea�TMs Isabella with her dad, his girlfriend Anastasia, and her son Darren living in a fancy house where they are one of the only black families in the neighborhood. The next week shea�TMs Izzy with her mom and her boyfriend John-Mark in a small, not-so-fancy house that she loves.
Because of this, Isabella has always felt pulled between two worlds. And now that her parents are divorced, it seems their fights are even worse, and theya�TMre always about HER. Isabella feels even more stuck in the middle, split and divided between them than ever. And shea�TMs is beginning to realize that being split between Mom and Dad is more than switching houses, switching nicknames, switching backpacks: ita�TMs also about switching identities. Her dad is black, her mom is white, and strangers are always commenting: a��Youa�TMre so exotic!a�\x9d a��You look so unusual.a�\x9d a��But what are you really?a�\x9d She knows what theya�TMre really saying: a��You dona�TMt look like your parents.a�\x9d a��Youa�TMre different.a�\x9d a��What race are you really?a�\x9d And when her parents, who both get engaged at the same time, get in their biggest fight ever, Isabella doesna�TMt just feel divided, she feels ripped in two. What does it mean to be half white or half black? To belong to half mom and half dad? And if youa�TMre only seen as half of this and half of that, how can you ever feel whole?
It seems like nothing can bring Isabellaa�TMs family together again a�" until the worst happens. Isabella and Darren are stopped by the police. A cell phone is mistaken for a gun. And shots are fired.
Age Range: 8-12 | Grade Level: 3-7 | Lexile Measure: 800L