The Other Half of My Heart, Sundee T. Frazier
The Other Half of My Heart, Sundee T. Frazier
List: $23.00 | Sale: $16.10
Club: $11.50

The Other Half of My Heart

Author: Sundee T. Frazier

Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Unabridged: 7 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/14/2011


Synopsis

The story of biracial twin sisters—one black, one white—and the summer that tests their strong bond, from the author of Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award-winner Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It.
 
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 their 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 whether that’s really true.

"One luminous pearl of a sister story."--RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA, author of the Newbery Honor Award-winner One Crazy Summer

Winner of the Skipping Stone Honor Award
 
*"Frazier highlights the contradictions, absurdities, humor, and pain that accompany life as a mixed-race tween. Never didactic, this is the richest portrait of multiracial identity and family since Virginia Hamilton's 1976 novel Arilla Sun Down. An outstanding achievement."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
 
*"Not only does Frazier raise questions worth pondering, but her ability to round out each character, looking past easy explanations for attitude, is impressive. . . . A novel with a great deal of heart indeed."—Booklist, Starred

About The Author

Sundee T. Frazier is the author of Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It, for which she received the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award. As a teen, she was crowned Miss Palouse Empire and was first runner-up in the Washington State Junior Miss Program (not pageant). Learn more about her and her books at www.sundeefrazier.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Laura on July 08, 2016

Minni and Keira are twins that love spending time together and appreciate each other's uniqueness. Minni is shy, smart, and loves to volunteer, while Keira is outgoing, has dyslexia, loves gymnastics and fashion. However, there is one more unique trait that is different about them. Minni is white wi......more

Goodreads review by Susie on December 02, 2012

I was very conflicted about this book. I know there are not very many books for young readers that give such a sensitive perspective on race, and while I feel this could lead to some great, thoughtful discussions, there are also parts that cheapen the narrative. The fact that the twins are constantl......more

Goodreads review by hailey on December 09, 2016

If you're into a kind of rollercoaster of emotions then I recommend this book........more

Goodreads review by Susan on February 01, 2011

I really wasn't sure what I was going to think about this book when I first started reading it. Twins Keira and Minerva (Minni) were going to leave Washington State to visit their Grandmother Johnson in North Carolina to participate in the Miss Black Pearl Pageant, which was a longtime family tradit......more

Goodreads review by Christine on June 11, 2014

Text to self- My best friend while growing up is bi-racial. Her mother was white and her father was black. We lived in a small community that was not very diverse, much like the community Keira and Minni live in. I didn’t pay any attention to our differences growing up; we were much more alike than......more


Quotes

"Funny and deeply affecting, this novel by the Steptoe Award winner for Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It (2007) revisits the still largely unexplored world of multiracial heritage...Frazier highlights the contradictions, absurdities, humor and pain that accompany life as a mixed-race tween. Never didactic, this is the richest portrait of multiracial identity and family since Virginia Hamilton's 1976 novel Arilla Sun Down. An outstanding achievement."
-Kirkus Reviews, starred review


"A novel with a great deal of heart indeed..."
- Booklist, starred review