Skip to Main Content

About The Book

A biracial student questions her identity in this contemporary novel from the author of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award–winning The Rock and the River.

Ella and Z have been friends forever, both of them middle school outsiders in their Las Vegas suburb. Ella is the only black girl in her grade and gets teased for the mottled colors of her face. (Her deceased father was white.) Z is the classic “weird kid” who maintains an elaborate—and public—fantasy life, starring himself as a brave knight.

Though Z is content with his imagined world, Ella wishes for a larger group of friends, so she’s thrilled when Bailey, another black kid, arrives at their school. He’s popular and wants to befriend Ella—but to join the cool crowd, Ella would have to ditch Z. Does she stay loyal to the boy who has been her best and only friend for years, or jump at the chance to realize her dream of popularity?

Author Kekla Magoon deftly navigates the muddy waters of racial and cultural identities in this contemporary exploration of one girl’s attempt to find herself.

About The Author

Supplied by author.

Kekla Magoon has worked with youth-serving nonprofit organizations in New York City and Chicago. She holds an MFA in writing for children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and her first novel, The Rock and the River, won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent. She resides in New York City and you can visit her at KeklaMagoon.com.

Product Details

Awards and Honors

  • Bank Street Best Books of the Year
  • Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
  • Maine Student Book Award Reading List
  • Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Master List (IL)
  • Virginia Readers' Choice Award List
  • ALA Notable Children's Book Nominee
  • Kirkus Best Children's Book
  • ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - Nominee

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Kekla Magoon