Isabella Badia Thornton doesn't know if she's black or white.
In her ice cream cone of a world, her mom is the vanilla ice cream. Her dad is the chocolate sprinkles. And she's just the caramel sauce on top that balances them out. And now that her parents are divorced, Isabella just doesn't feel like she fits in.
One week, she's with her mom and her boyfriend, John Mark. A week later, she's with her Dad, his girlfriend Anastasia, and Anastasia's son, Darren. Isabella loves her family, but for her, there’s no “home”.
At school, things get worse. Her best friends are Imani and Heather. Imani loves to stand out, and has a tall beautiful body with an Afro and is one of the most popular girls in the sixth grade. Heather is a basketball champ with bright red hair that looks like a fabulous flame. One day, Imani faces racial discrimination, and Isabella can't help but wonder, could that have happened to me?
As mixed race, Isabella feels that she is almost split in half, like there are two parts of her: Mom's Izzy and Daddy's Isabella.
Izzy bowls and eats mozzarella sticks at her mom's boyfriends bowling alley. Isabella takes luxurious showers in the luxurious three-story home of her dad. Izzy sleeps in her green bedroom filled with green stuff. Isabella takes rides in a Mercedes to fancy restaurants. There might be times and places for Mom's Izzy and Dad's Isabella, but there's no weeks for the one person who needs space the most. Her.
The only escape is the piano. Isabella is an accomplished pianist for a sixth grader. And whether she's banging and gliding across the portable Casio or the professional Steinway, piano is the only thing that makes Izzy feel whole again.
As Isabella thinks about her race more and more, a huge piano competition, Pianopalooza, approaches. That's when she realizes, no matter what part of her she actually is, the world only sees her as one half of herself. And if everyone sees you as half, and exotic, and mixed, how can you ever feel whole?
A funny, significant, and heartwarming book, teaches you how hard it is to feel split in half but
learn to love your whole self.
📚📚📚📚📖-Don't forget this one!
Love Book Twin #2,
Nidhi
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