The Other Half of My Heart

by Sundee T. Frazier

Hardcover, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Children's Books

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Delacorte Books for Young Readers (2010), Hardcover, 304 pages

Description

Twin daughters of interracial parents, eleven-year-olds Keira and Minna have very different skin tones and personalities, but it is not until their African American grandmother enters them in the Miss Black Pearl Pre-Teen competition in North Carolina that red-haired and pale-skinned Minna realizes what life in their small town in the Pacific Northwest has been like for her more outgoing, darker-skinned sister.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Vlambert

As in Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It (Delacorte, 2007), Frazier addresses issues faced by mixed-race children with a grace and humor that keep her from being pedantic. The story is enjoyable in its own right, but will also encourage readers to rethink racial boundaries and what it

means to be black or white in America. Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

Show Less

11 more

LibraryThing member skstiles612

Minnie and Keira are twins. They were born only seven minutes apart. However, Minni was born with reddish blond hair and white skin like her daddy. Keira was born with "cinnamon-brown" skin and dark curly hair like her mother. The girls are sent from Washington to North Caroline to visit their

grandmother. She has entered them in the Miss Black Pear contest. For the first time, Keira feels like she fits in. Minni suddenly feels like she doesn't belong as they question whether she qualifies to be in the contest. This is a story that shows the struggle of being accepted for who you are no matter what your color. It also show how strong the bonds between sisters and especially twins are. This was an excellent book.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Wombat

Lady Wombat says:

From the description of this book, I thought it would be primarily about Minni, the twin who appears white, learning what it was like to experience prejudice and to recognized her own white privilege when she and her darker-skinned twin sister visit their grandmother in North

Carolina to participate in a "Miss Black Pearl" pageant. Much of the book, though, focused on the girls' relationship with their grandmother, who prefers Minni to Keira because of her lighter skin; Minni's understanding of her sister's experiences of racism came rather late in the novel. The internalized racism of the grandmother was unexpected, but interesting, although I wish the novel had spent more time having the girls come to understand how their grandmother came to feel and act the way she did, so that young readers would not be tempted just to put her actions down to her being a bad person, rather than someone who has long been the victim of institutionalized and personal racism. Interesting how little the girls' mother talked about racism with them. Also, an interesting decision to have the book focalized entirely through Minni -- does this make it more accessible to white readers? Lots of things to think about/talk about -- would be an intriguing book to teach.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Booklady123

Description:

The close relationship of a pair of biracial twins is tested when their grandmother enters them in a pageant for African American girls in this new story from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner Sundee T. Frazier.   When Minerva and Keira King were born, they

made headlines: Keira is black like Mama, but Minni is white like Daddy. Together the family might look like part of a chessboard row, but they are first and foremost the close-knit Kings. Then Grandmother Johnson calls, to invite the twins down South to compete for the title of Miss Black Pearl Preteen of America.    Minni dreads the spotlight, but Keira assures her that together they'll get through their stay with Grandmother Johnson. But when grandmother's bias against Keira reveals itself, Keira pulls away from her twin. Minni has always believed that no matter how different she and Keira are, they share a deep bond of the heart. Now she'll find out the truth.

I truly enjoyed this book. It is one of those books that I would recommend to my 5th graders as well as to teens and adults.

This contemporary book is a serious look at racial issues (and for those who may think we have moved beyond those issues, this book will make you rethink that). It also has many light hearted moments. Grandmother Johnson provides quite a bit of comic relief.

Two things could have made this book better. One is a better cover. It just doesn’t do the story justice. It looks so serious some readers may pass it by. Second is to have had some of the story told from Keira’s view. We do get some insight to her feelings, but the story is basically Minni’s. It would have been interesting to have the chapters switch back and forth between the girls – comparing and contrasting how the various events in book impact them.

In addition to exploring race issues, the story shows the struggle of being yourself and being accepted for who you are. It also covers the bond between sisters, especially twins. Even though the girls do experience different feelings and challenges which does cause some tension between them, Frazier created a strong bond between the girls, one that can stand up to a little strain and tension. Keira truly is the other half of Minni’s heart.

This is an excellent book. Though I didn’t plan this, it turned out to be an excellent book to read around Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. (Dr. King is Minni’s hero and is mentioned frequently in the book.)

Recommended for Third Grade and up.

Mrs. Archer’s Rating: 5 of 5

Show Less

LibraryThing member dylemon

For me, this novel captured what it feels like to live in a biracial family. There is, in a sense, a societal demand to “choose” to identify yourself as one race. The scene where the two sisters are treated differently when dress shopping hit home for me.

LibraryThing member edspicer

Frazier, Sundee T. (2010). The Other Half of My Heart. New York: Random House/Delacorte Press. 304 pp. ISBN 978-0-385-73440-0 (Hard Cover); $16.99.

Minerva and Keira King are twin sisters. They love each other as only twin sisters can. Minni is white and Keira is black—and they are competing

against each other in the Miss Black Pearl Preteen of America pageant.

Frazier explores race in an extremely creative and thought-provoking way in this novel. The fundamental and notable question that it addresses is, “Just what do we mean when we use the word race?” While a novel featuring biracial twins competing in a traditionally Black pageant lends itself to a didactic, message pounding mess, Frazier replaces the didacticism with humor and real sisters who learn about each other in ways they could not envision. Frazier also keeps the question of what we mean by race in the readers’ minds without ever forgetting the details of the story. Readers of any age will appreciate the humor of dealing with cantankerous relatives and the dread of being forced outside one’s comfort zone—and the joy of finding our way back home to family. This book is especially suited for middle school libraries, but high school freshmen and sophomores will also appreciate this one.

Show Less

LibraryThing member abbylibrarian

Biracial twin sisters Keira and Minerva don't look anything alike. Keira is dark-skinned like her African-American mother and Minnie has blue eyes and light skin like her white father. Growing up in a small Washington State town, Keira is the one who always feels different and sometimes wrong. But

when their grandmother insists on entering both girls in the Miss Black Pearl Preteen of America program in her hometown of Raleigh, NC, Minnie will discover what it's like to be the one who doesn't fit in. And seeing the world from Keira's eyes will help her find the voice she so desperately wants to shout down injustice.

I love the premise, but the story fell a little flat for me. I felt like it was slow going at the beginning without many opportunities for Bahni Turpin's excellent narration to shine. When the twins arrived in Raleigh, Turpin's voice for Grandmother Johnson brought me back into the story and that's what I liked best about the whole book. It slowed down for me again at the end when Grandmother Johnson wasn't as prevalent. And I think that shows you what I thought of the book overall, that even with this fabulous premise, the most interesting character was an adult.

Show Less

LibraryThing member KimJD

(from July 2010 SLJ)
Eleven-year-old twins Keira and Minni are used to the funny looks their “chessboard family” receives: Keira takes after their black mother and Minni takes after their white father. In spite of their differences in appearance and personality, the girls share a bond that they

are convinced cannot be broken. When their maternal grandmother invites them to fly from their coastal Washington town to North Carolina so that she can enroll them in the Miss Black Pearl of America Program, their artistic mother is hesitant: she has issues with her overbearing, social-climbing parent. However, Mama competed in the program herself when she was growing up, and finally agrees that the twins should have the experience as well. Keira is ecstatic about the idea of entering a “pageant,” but introverted Minni is not looking forward to the experience. Her reservations seem well-founded when they arrive: Grandmother Johnson is just as persnickety as ever, and the Black Pearl’s president questions whether Minni qualifies to participate in this program intended for black girls. Ironically, their grandmother seems ambivalent about her own dark skin, and encourages Keira to straighten her hair and to use sunscreen to prevent further darkening. The ten days the girls spend with Grandmother Johnson, preparing for and competing in the program, are not easy ones: Minni learns what it feels like to be the odd person out in terms of appearance, and Keira is resentful that up until now, Minni really hasn’t understood what she was going through in their all-white Seattle suburb. But both girls grow in the process, and learn a few things about their grandmother’s own struggle to be seen as an equal by the white community. As she did in Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It (2007), Frazier addresses issues faced by mixed-race children with a grace and humor that keep her tone from being pedantic. Minni’s and Keira’s story is enjoyable in its own right, and will encourage readers to rethink racial boundaries and what it means to be “black” or “white” in America.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Tahleen

This was a lovely look at identity and exploration of self. Minnie and Kiera King are twins, and are also biracial. However, Minnie is incredibly light, while Kiera is much darker. In this gentle and funny novel, Frazier takes on large concepts in a tween-friendly way. I'd recommend this to anyone

struggling to define themselves, especially regarding heritage.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Salsabrarian

Narrated by Bahni Turpin. Minnie and Kira are twin daughters of a black mother and white father. But they look nothing alike: Kira has her mother’s coloring while Minnie is red-haired and fair-skinned. People often think Minnie and Kira are friends, not sisters. Now their black Grandmother

Johnson insists they come to North Carolina to participate in the Black Pearls Pre-Teen Pageant. Minnie worries about how she will be received by pageant officials and the other participating girls. Minnie's angst about her mixed-race identity gets heavy-handed treatment. But I did enjoy the earnest voice Turpin gave to Minnie's story.

Show Less

LibraryThing member deslivres5

Twin 11-year old girls from a multi-racial family don't look physically alike and get different reactions/treatment from the public based upon their outward appearances. They each have strengths and weaknesses and they stick together, supporting each other. A 10-day trip away from their home in the

Pacific Northwest to visit their distant (and domineering) maternal grandmother in the South, in Raleigh, North Carolina, provides family history, hilarity and culture shock. Excellent lessons on loving yourself and accepting others.

Show Less

LibraryThing member jothebookgirl

Sundee Frasier did a wonderful job of developing the characters of Grandma Johnson, Kiera and Minni. This was a pretty tough topic to cover and she did it well.
The story is about twins who have a white father and a black mother. The twins are born 7 minutes apart and Minni looks white and Kiera,

black.Minni inisits she is black too even though she has silky red hair and fair skin. Living in Washington State Kiera often feels left out because she is black in a white world. When they go visit Grandma Johnson in Raleigh NC and compete in a pre-teen Black Pageant or excuse me, Program, suddenly Minni is the one who fells left out or different. I recommend this Middle School book.

Show Less

Fewer