Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong

by Joan Steinau Lester (Goodreads Author)

3.24 of 5 stars 3.24 · rating details · 78 ratings · 33 reviews

'The tenderness and truth of the book moved my heart. As well as the enormous love.' - Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple Identity Crisis. As a biracial teen, Nina is accustomed to a life of varied hues---mocha-colored skin, ringed brown hair streaked with red, a darker brother, a black father, a white mother. When her parents decide to divorce...more

Hardcover, 222 pages

Published August 23rd 2011 by Zonderkidz (first published August 9th 2011)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 230)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Oct 09, 2011 Lanica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, inner-city-youths, read-in-2011, reviewed, unfinished, young-adult

I really wanted to like this book. I really did, but I just can't finish it. It's heavy handed, obvious and slow.

It's the story of a mixed race girl witnessing her white mothers divorce from her black father. It could be educational, thought provoking and heart-warming. Instead there are layers upon layers of 'race-issues' that are written into a thick nest of 'you-should-be-thinking-about-this' subplots. Instead of giving a us a story that makes us think the writing is a conglomeration of 'issu...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 30, 2011 Written Melodies rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Written Melodies by: Z Street Team

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, families, slavery, arc

Identity is a concept familiar to all. It is something that is struggled with daily and not easily defined. Who am I? Our gifts, talents, experiences, and ancestors make us who we are. For most, adolescence is the first attempt to piece together the puzzle of ourselves. Grappling with identity is frightening, but even more terrifying is being a biracial teen struggling with this issue when the world familiar to you crashes down.

In Black, White, Other, Nina Armstrong, a product of mixed parentag...more Identity is a concept familiar to all. It is something that is struggled with daily and not easily defined. Who am I? Our gifts, talents, experiences, and ancestors make us who we are. For most, adolescence is the first attempt to piece together the puzzle of ourselves. Grappling with identity is frightening, but even more terrifying is being a biracial teen struggling with this issue when the world familiar to you crashes down.

In Black, White, Other, Nina Armstrong, a product of mixed parentage, a white mother and black father, seeks to regain her identity once her parent’s divorce completely alters the life she has always known, forcing her to view things in a manner alien to her. Rejected by friends for refusing to pick a side and live in a world that is either black or white, Nina stands alone. Feeling a connection to a dead ancestor, Nina sets out to explore how her life is akin to her enslaved great-great-grandmother. We follow Nina Armstrong on her tumultuous journey as she attempts to answer the elusive question “Who am I?”

Lester’s concept of ‘other’ applies to more than just biracial or multiracial youth, but it describes us all as we at some point in our lives feel or has felt like an outsider, longing to be like everybody else. Lester’s employment of a novel-within-a-novel does well to enlighten students of aspects of slavery and individuals during that period that may not be discussed in school, such as Henry “Box” Brown and Dr. Alexander Ross. Also, Lester calls attention to modern-day slavery, stereotypes, and racial profiling. Even though these issues are addressed, Lester does not delve into them. Failing to explore any of these issues deeper, especially Nina’s racial profiling incident, the reader is deprived of how these experiences affect Nina’s expedition to self-discovery.

Black, White, Other, adequately describes the emotions of identity-lost teenagers. The glossary in the back of the book is an excellent reference for readers. Likewise, the discussion and follow-up questions at the end of the novel are excellent resources for teachers, book clubs, and for anyone who does not fit neatly into one defined category and is simply “other.”
(less)

like · see review

Sep 07, 2011 Christa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nina Armstrong goes through identity crisis when her white mother and black father go through a divorce. Not only is she now living in a split family unit, but now she is living between two races. Being a freshman in High School is hard enough, but having to choose who to be friends with based on the color of their skin is challenging. Everything around her seems to be tumbling down and the only thing that gives her guidance is the through the research and story of her great-great grandmother Sa...more

like · see review

Jul 28, 2011 Meagan Myhren-bennett rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teens, Junior High Readers, Young Adults

Recommended to Meagan by: Z Street Team Reviews

Shelves: christian, forgiveness, friendship, history, school, slavery, race

BLACK, WHITE, OTHER
In Search of Nina Armstrong
By Joan Steinau Lester

Fifteen year old Nina Armstrong's world is all topsy turvy. Her parents are no longer together. She lives with her mother who's white and her brother Jimi lives with their father who’s black. Suddenly Nina's friends are trying to make her choose who she'll be friends with. Will she choose black or will she choose white? Who will she identify with? Or will she do as Saundra told her and embrace her otherness and live with everyon...more

like · see review

Jul 15, 2011 Jennifer Lavoie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-would-teach, classroom-library, family, historical, making-changes, multicultural, religion, slavery, z-street-team

I received this book as part of the Z Street Team for Zondervan. I chose the book out of two offered and I am very glad that I did. The book was a fantastic look into the life of a girl who is biracial and is at a point in her life where she questions who and what she is.

The most interesting aspect of the book for me was how the story of her great-great grandmother, a former slave, was told throughout her story. As she goes through her trials in life, she reads about what her ancestor went thro...more

like · see review

Apr 05, 2013 Penelope rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've always loved books that detailed the life of slave children. They hit home and are so powerful, and it's always so moving to hear of ancestors and their life stories. The stories they tell make a person inspired enough to get up and change their own life, which is pretty much exactly what the protagonist, Nina Armstrong, did.
A novel about fitting in and finding yourself and the answers you seek, I went so fast through this book it was like water to me. I gobbled all the little nuggets of...more

like · see review

Sep 25, 2011 Jeanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, ok-for-older-j, religion, ya

This book is about a mixed race girl's struggle to find her identity. She finally, after many trials, begins to realize that her identity is not a race, but it is her, with all of her strengths and weaknesses.

There is a continuing story interspersed throughout the book of Nina's slave ancestor. Sarah's story of escaping slavery is exceptional, although it starts out choppy.

I noticed that the publisher of the book usually publishes Christian literature. This book has little bits about God and J...more

like · see review

Jul 23, 2011 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kate by: NetGalley

Shelves: received-for-review

Even though America has steadily become a more diverse nation over time, Americans still tend to draw very distinct lines between cultures, races, and religions. What happens to those who are caught in the middle, with connections and heritage in more than one culture, race, or religion? Often our society tells them they must choose one or the other, even as we insist on respect for diversity.

As a biracial teen, Nina occupies this middle ground where she doesn't want to be labeled as "black" or...more Even though America has steadily become a more diverse nation over time, Americans still tend to draw very distinct lines between cultures, races, and religions. What happens to those who are caught in the middle, with connections and heritage in more than one culture, race, or religion? Often our society tells them they must choose one or the other, even as we insist on respect for diversity.

As a biracial teen, Nina occupies this middle ground where she doesn't want to be labeled as "black" or "white", but recognized as what she is: black and white. She hadn't really given much thought to it before her parents decided to divorce because it was just the way that they lived as a biracial family. But now she feels like she's been torn in two, expected to take sides with her black father or white mother, and to choose which friends to spend time with: white or black. Her oldest friends seem like they have inexplicably changed into people she doesn't recognize. On top of that, her brother has gotten into big trouble that she must secretly fix, and she feels like she doesn't really have anyone to talk to about her problems and fears.

The one person that she feels really connected to is her great-great-grandmother, Sarah. Nina's father has been researching into Sarah's story and writing a book based on her escape from slavery. Sarah's life, full of problems and fear, gives Nina insight into her own life and hope for the future. Nina also makes some connections with other biracial families, who help her to realize that life doesn't always have to be as black and white as it seems.

This is a valuable story for any teen feeling disconnected and alone, but especially for biracial teens who seem to be so rarely represented in young adult fiction. I appreciated the way that the author weaves history into a contemporary story, and shows how even though slaves had a difficult and depressing reality, they still had the courage to take control of their own lives and the hope to wish for a better future. To Nina, Sarah's story particularly resonates when she realizes that Sarah wasn't just running to escape from her past, but that she was running towards a brighter future.

This is an issues novel, which isn't the most popular type of YA fiction. But it does touch on issues that a lot of teens can relate to: divorce, changing friendships, cliques, troublesome siblings, and the like. It doesn't skirt the issue of race but approaches head-on as an important topic rather than one on the periphery. It acknowledges that race relations are not perfect in today's society, no matter what some elements of society might try to claim now that the United States has elected a biracial man to the Presidency. Ultimately, Black, White, Other was a thought-provoking read that made me more aware of the challenges that biracial teens face.(less)

like · see review

Jun 07, 2012 Kimathy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, never-going-to-re-read, trying-too-hard

I thought this book was trying much to hard to be a literary masterpiece. Nina was annoying and unrelatable. Her attitude toward her parents I found to be outrageous. I kept thinking to myself while reading, god I hope she just ditches her friends. I mean, DON'T BE FRIENDS WITH RACISTS!!! She just never really realized that. She also needs to learn, in my humble but correct opinion, that so many other people have it harder. Some people have NEVER had any real friends. I also thought it was hilar...more

like · see review

Jun 17, 2011 Keisha McCollum rated it 5 of 5 stars

Black, White, Other is a story that many American’s can relate to. Nina is an all American teenager with a darker brother, a white mother, and a black father. The sudden divorce of her parents causes a sudden rift in how she views the world in a multicultural way. Between the problems within her family and the new dynamics of racial tension at school she feels lost. So Nina turns to the story of her great-great- grandmother’s escape from slavery. Within this story I understood the characters str...more

like · see review

Sep 22, 2011 Amber (The Musings of ALMYBNENR) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 100-reading-challenge-2011, 2011-e-book-challenge, arcs

Nina Armstrong is a biracial teen with a little brother, Jimi, whose skin is darker than her own, a black father, and a white mother. Her life is good and she has great friends but it is not until her parents decide to divorce that she realizes she has been viewing her life through rose-colored glasses.

Everyone in Nina’s life is changing. Her father transforms from mellow to angry, seeming to forget that his children are half white. Nina’s mother is irritable and begins to curse more than usual....more

like · see review

Jul 13, 2012 Reena Jacobs rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, reviewed, 2011-reads

Expect my full review September 5, 2011 at Ramblings of an Amateur Author: http://wp.me/pPz8s-1JS

I had a rocky start with Black, White, Other. This book threw me right into the middle of a packing scene, followed by Nina (15 years old) rushing out the door to catch a bus to see her dad. And I’m thinking: her mom isn’t going to see her off? Of course, I’m thinking she’s catching a Greyhound bus. Well, at least until she missed the bus only to catch another one shortly. It also took me awhile to f...more Expect my full review September 5, 2011 at Ramblings of an Amateur Author: http://wp.me/pPz8s-1JS

I had a rocky start with Black, White, Other. This book threw me right into the middle of a packing scene, followed by Nina (15 years old) rushing out the door to catch a bus to see her dad. And I’m thinking: her mom isn’t going to see her off? Of course, I’m thinking she’s catching a Greyhound bus. Well, at least until she missed the bus only to catch another one shortly. It also took me awhile to figure out where she lived, other than Canyon Valley that is. But what state? A few clues thrown here and there and I realized she was in the San Francisco Bay area. Overall, I think the setting could have been presented better.

Hmm. I would absolutely love to read what a teen has to say about this work, as I found the style to be heavy on the narrative. The style works in other genres, but I’m not quite sure it works for the YA crowd. Of course, my YA years are far in the past, so who knows? Maybe the teens are big into narrative styles these days.

So the actual story. Black, White, Other actually had a two for one deal going. We had Nina’s story, then within we had the story of Sarah Armstrong which was written by Nina’s father. I know this is weird, but Sarah’s story has a descriptive flare which Nina’s lacked. It was as if two different people wrote the book. I have to say, Sarah’s story intrigued me in ways Nina’s didn’t. Each chapter of Sarah’s story had a cause and effect which built toward a greater event.

Nina’s story, on the other hand, reminded me of a collection of vignettes. I wasn’t quite sure what the major plot in her story was until I neared the end and she started to make some really horrible choices. Once she started to screw up her life, her self-created problems presented opportunities to solve.

My overall impression was this wanted to be a historical fiction (Sarah’s story) while also wanting to appeal to the young adult crowd (Nina’s story). Truthfully, I think the book missed the mark. Sarah’s story had the potential to be so much more, but sandwiched between Nina’s it didn’t offer nearly enough time to explore her situation. Nina’s story, well… she spent so much time acting out, I had a hard time sympathizing and connecting with her character. And as I mentioned above, it was lacking in the area of plot.

If I were to rate the two stories separately, I would give Sarah’s story a solid 3 and Nina’s story a 2.

Like I said, I’m really curious about the opinions young folks had on this book.

I received this work from the publisher in exchange for a review.(less)

like · see review

Apr 05, 2013 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is about a high school girl from a mixed-race family that has experienced a recent divorce. She struggles at school with fitting into both Black and white cultural groups. Whilst experiencing frustration at school and at home, she is reading her father's book about her great grandmother escaping from slavery. It has a good ending and I think the issues that come up in this book are real- it's definitely still relevant.

like · see review

Dec 15, 2012 Alma Ramos-McDermott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nina has a Black father and a White mother. She looks White, but race has never been an issue in her family until her father moves out when she turns fifteen. It seemed like her father changed overnight, blaming Whites for the race riots in nearby Oakland California.

Read the rest of my review on my blog: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...

like · see review

Sep 08, 2011 PopcornReads rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, ya, joan-steinau-lester

Nina Armstrong is a biracial teenager living in the East Bay San Francisco area. She’s just turned fifteen and is still getting used to the idea. Her dad, Silas, is African American and her mom, Maggie, is Caucasian. That Nina is biracial was never a big deal partially because her parents were so together on everything, at least until they decided to get a divorce. Then Nina’s whole world turned upside down. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1664

like · see review

Jul 11, 2011 Cara Stone rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, middle-school, novel-length, realistic-fiction, jnf

I enjoyed this novel about a teenager struggling with her racial identity in the midst of her parents' divorce. The historical references/parallels brought the reader to two worlds while making the work a whole. The one thing that really disappointed me was the romantic reference the author throws in toward the end, which felt like an afterthought, a stretch at best.

like · see review

Dec 02, 2011 Danie P. rated it 3 of 5 stars

A well written book about a young girl feeling neither black or white, being 15, being a child of divorce and a freshman in high school.

like · see review

Nov 04, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

A beautifully written story. Perfect for young adults to read. I wish I had this book when I was younger.

like · see review

Dec 13, 2011 Tracey G rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, afam-fiction

this book could have been way better than what it was but it had some pretty good moments, mainly Nina's father's transcript.

like · see review

Aug 25, 2011 Lyn Ehley rated it 4 of 5 stars

An interesting story of biracial awareness as a teen encounters bigotry from both the blacks and the whites. Nina grew up in a world on non-color as child and these same friends see her not fitting in with either race as she gets older. Woven throughout the book is a novel about her great grandmother escaping slavery in the South. Nina finds courage and wisdom from her father's book and finds her way through the veil of bigotry and labeling.

A good read - fast paced, very real in its attitude (I...more

like · see review

Apr 20, 2012 Alex rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

While the message of the book was glaringly obvious, it doesn't detract from the inner unrest that many "mixed" kids feel-- feeling too this or not enough that to fit in with a group of people, the anger and sadness and frustration when no one seems to understand or willing to challenge their own stagnant beliefs and prejudices.

like · see review

Oct 02, 2011 J.k. Rollins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a brilliant, quick read. Lester brings the reader in right away to Nina's world and has a clear sense of what a teenager's life is like. The story-within-a-story of Nina's grandmother, running away from slavery, is a powerful way of showing how personal history echoes in our lives, helping guide Nina when she needs it most. Although the story is ostensibly about racial identity, it's really about any and every teen, searching to define themselves against their parents and peers. Per...more

like · see review

May 07, 2013 Linnette Anderson rated it 1 of 5 stars

It was hard to get into. I could not finish.

like · see review

Jun 22, 2011 Christina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, netgalley, arc, need-reviewed

A book I could relate to and one I wish had been available when I was a younger. Review Coming Soon!

like · see review

Apr 08, 2012 Marissa rated it 1 of 5 stars

I just hated it.

1 like · like · see review

Aug 26, 2012 Hehe added it

Hehe

like · see review

Feb 11, 2012 Kiana (: added it

It was a good book it was also about discrimination against black or darker coloured people.

like · see review

Aug 04, 2011 Maribel reyes rated it 2 of 5 stars

I received this book from the Z street team(Zondervan) and I'm sorry to say that this was a hard book to get interested in. Although the part of Nina's ancestor story was really intriguing and it kept me reading throughout the book. Besides the fact that it is hard to get into the book, I totally agree with what the book itself represents when it comes to a young girl finding herself a mist two different cultures.

like · see review

Jul 26, 2011 'Sylvie' rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to 'Sylvie' by: Z Street Team

This book was ok. It was really hard to get into and just kinda boring... I liked reading the parts about Nina's slave relative! That was better than the actual story, I think... sorry!

1 like · like · see review

Aug 21, 2012 Annie Oosterwyk rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, colonialism-and-slavery, social-and-environmental-issues

Interesting and at times provocative story of race, diversity, exclusion, cliques, stereotypes and slavery. Blended families bring their own issues to the top when a marriage fails. I especially liked the fallible parents and the message that Nina had to find her center to be happy. No quick fixes, either.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (3)

Videos About This Book

Black, White, Other by Joan Steinau Lester Book Trailer

Add a comment

Genres

Young Adult

12 users

Historical Fiction

6 users

Young Adult > Coming Of Age

3 users

Religion

3 users

Cultural

3 users

Family

3 users

Realistic Fiction

3 users

Academic > School

2 users

Christian

2 users

See top shelves...

About Joan Steinau Lester

Joan Steinau Lester, Ed.D. is an award-winning NPR commentator, columnist, and the author of four books. Black, White, Other, a 2011 Young Adult novel, was her first fiction. Her latest novel, Mama's Child, will be released May 7. http://books.simonandschuster.com/Mam...

More about Joan Steinau Lester...

Books by Joan Steinau Lester

The Future Of White Men And Other Diversity Dilemmas

Taking Charge: Every Woman's Action Guide to Personal, Political & Professional Success

Taking Charge: Every Woman's Action Guide to Personal, Political and Professional Success

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Black, White, Oth...

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Black, White, Other: I...

“Funny how an absence can feel like a presence, like that space practically glows with her outline and make me notice how she's not here.” — 1 person liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong
avg rating	preview: Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong Goodreads rating: 3.24 (78 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10786403-black-white-other?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344742311l/10786403.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10786403-black-white-other?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong by Joan Steinau Lester[/url]

Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website