Inside Out and Back Again meets One Crazy Summer and
Brown Girl Dreaming in this novel-in-verse about fitting in
and standing up for what’s right.
It’s 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the
moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi, moving to a
predominantly white Vermont town is enough to make her feel alien.
Suddenly, Mimi’s appearance is all anyone notices. She struggles to
fit in with her classmates, even as she fights for her right to stand
out by entering science competitions and joining Shop Class instead
of Home Ec. And even though teachers and neighbors balk at her
mixed-race family and her refusals to conform, Mimi’s dreams of
becoming an astronaut never fade—no matter how many times she’s
told no.
This historical
middle-grade novel is told in poems from Mimi’s perspective over
the course of one year in her new town, and shows readers that
positive change can start with just one person speaking up.