CCBC-Recommended Book Search - Cooperative Children's Book Center

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

Melanin Sun's mother named him for the pigment that makes his skin so beautiful and black, and for the sun she sees shining from his eyes. For as long as Melanin can remember, he and mama have been a family - loving close. At 13, Melanin, who keeps notebooks to record his thoughts about family, friends and life in his urban neighborhood, has a mature appreciation for his mother's strength and character. Then she tells him something that makes him feel as if his entire world has shattered: she is a lesbian, and she is in love with a white woman, Kristin. Melanin wants to deny the truth, but to do so would deny his mama. "I couldn't stand having her touch me but if she wasn't holding me then who would I be? Where would I be?" Angry and scared ("If she was a dyke, then what did that make me?"), Melanin lashes out, no longer easy with his mother and unwilling to find room in his life - or his heart - for Kristin. There is no easy solution in this courageous novel which addresses the fear that fuels homophobia, but there is honest emotion and real love, and these are what begin to open Melanin's mind. © Cooperative Children's Book Center

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 11-15
Age Range: Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13) Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Novel
Subjects: Homophobia Lesbians LGBTQ+ Persons Mothers
Diversity subject: Black/African LGBTQ Family

Publishers: Blue Sky, Scholastic
Publish Year: 1995
Pages: 141
ISBN: 0590458809

CCBC Location: Fiction, Woodson

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun