What Are You?: Voices of Mixed-Race Young People

Rating:
Summary: More racial obssesion
Review: Even though I'm not of a mixed race, I resonated with the thoughts and feelings of those in the book. As a Chinese-American raised in a Jewish neighborhood, I often did not know what I was and people would ask the question "Where are you from?" knowing full well the purpose of their question. I appreciated the range of emotions and thoughtful musings by the writers - from ambivalence to full acceptance of their unique heritage. This is an important resource to those who work in student development at the college level. It's a picture of the world as it is and will be.

Rating:
Summary: A valuable resource for those working with studets
Review: Even though I'm not of a mixed race, I resonated with the thoughts and feelings of those in the book. As a Chinese-American raised in a Jewish neighborhood, I often did not know what I was and people would ask the question "Where are you from?" knowing full well the purpose of their question. I appreciated the range of emotions and thoughtful musings by the writers - from ambivalence to full acceptance of their unique heritage. This is an important resource to those who work in student development at the college level. It's a picture of the world as it is and will be.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book!
Review: I am so glad that this was book was written! The young people who were featured were sensitive and engaging writers, who gave us all a further sense of struggle with biracial/multiracial identity in this country. For me, knowledge is power, and this book was definitely empowering. It de-emphasized statistics, faceless percentages that we read about in the newspaper and hear about on television that represent the increase in bicultural/multiracial people in this country.

I find it really sad that in a culture like the United States where we claim to be a "melting pot" we still haven't managed to get over who melts, and how they melt, as well as with which groups they mix with in the melting process. Speaking as a culturally-diverse young woman, about to graduate from college, I think it is of invaluable importance that people feel good about their cultures, feel free to express them and be given the respect they deserve. One point that was raised in WHAT ARE YOU? that I can definitely relate to is the scrutiny people experience when on the receiving end of other's judgments and prejudices. I am Polish/Latina/Lebanese and I can't tell you how many times people have said, "You don't look (fill in the blank)." The world has to realize people come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and the images projected on the boob tube, in the movies and in music are not a fair representation of all people. They are just a cross section of examples. We need to be open to the diversity of all. Then, maybe we can come to accept ourselves through accepting others.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book!
Review: I am so glad that this was book was written! The young people who were featured were sensitive and engaging writers, who gave us all a further sense of struggle with biracial/multiracial identity in this country. For me, knowledge is power, and this book was definitely empowering. It de-emphasized statistics, faceless percentages that we read about in the newspaper and hear about on television that represent the increase in bicultural/multiracial people in this country.

I find it really sad that in a culture like the United States where we claim to be a "melting pot" we still haven't managed to get over who melts, and how they melt, as well as with which groups they mix with in the melting process. Speaking as a culturally-diverse young woman, about to graduate from college, I think it is of invaluable importance that people feel good about their cultures, feel free to express them and be given the respect they deserve. One point that was raised in WHAT ARE YOU? that I can definitely relate to is the scrutiny people experience when on the receiving end of other's judgments and prejudices. I am Polish/Latina/Lebanese and I can't tell you how many times people have said, "You don't look (fill in the blank)." The world has to realize people come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and the images projected on the boob tube, in the movies and in music are not a fair representation of all people. They are just a cross section of examples. We need to be open to the diversity of all. Then, maybe we can come to accept ourselves through accepting others.

Rating:
Summary: I wish it had been on the shelves when I was a teen.
Review: I had been waiting for this book all of my life and when I found it and read it I wished it had been on the shelves when I was a teen and young adult. It is enlightening and enriching to finally hear the many voices that exist outside of the boxes. As an American born in this country who constantly heard and still hear, "Where are you from?" on a regular basis, I highly recommend this book to all adults who have lived through the mixed race reality and for their children who are mixed race.

Rating:
Summary: This is an excellent book covering a very important topic
Review: I just finished reading "What Are You!" by Pearl Fuyo Gaskins. This book shares important insights into the issues surrounding mixed-race young adults. It is an important book for both young and older adults to read. Pearl Gaskins brings many important issues to light through the words of the young adults she interviewed. Once you read one "snapshot" you are compelled to continue reading all of the stories these young adults have to share. I highly recommend this book to all parents and children - as well as anyone else interested in issues of mixed-race identity/relations and social equality for all.

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Summary: *WHAT ARE YOU?* INCITES PROFOUND REACTIONS...
Review: I'm confused by my reaction to the book. As an editor of MAVIN, a multiracial magazine, I would think that the stories told in *What Are You?* would incite well-versed reactions. However, I had butterflies opening the envelope and while quickly skimming the table of contents. Quickly the euphoria changed to familiar, yet repressed feelings of 'other-ness,' alienation, ambiguity--almost sadness. The book's impact is inevitably felt on all levels, as being mixed is something you can never truly 'abandon' or 'escape;' it is intricately woven into every experience, simple and profound. Now I understand that the source of my confusion is the gradual process of the book's impact as it revisits myriad experiences in my history, and stirs them all up again. As they settle back down, the influence of each experience has been slightly altered and better understood. Congratulations and thank you for creating a powerful resource whose impact waxes daily.

Rating:
Summary: They will listen...
Review: This book is so great and touching. As a mixed race teen this book gave me hope and confidence. It taught me to honest and open. It made me proud to be me. Never has a book made me so convinced that I am great and wonderful to be multiracial. I thank the author for this awesome book. Anyone who is biracial should read this book. Not just once, but over and over, marking the poems and stories that you can most relate to and read them when you are feeling down on yourself. This is one "must have" book.