This novel in verse is historical fiction, set in the year 1969 in sleepy, predominantly white Vermont. Mimi is a teenage girl whose father is Black and mother is Japanese-American. In her new town, her mixed race family is all the people seem to see, rather than getting to know Mimi herself, and her dreams of being an astronaut. When she is dismissed and discriminated against, Mimi doesn't back down, staying true to her dreams even when teachers don't believe in her. ( )

I really liked this book because it shows a character facing adversity in many areas without feeling hokey or forced. None of the bullying or prejudice is so bad it's unbelievable, and the subtlety is realistic while still getting the point across. The main character is also a great representative of women who desire to go into STEM. Even though the book is set in 1969, many women still face difficulty and discrimination in the sciences. ( )

Mimi is half Black, half Japanese, and all herself, but that isn't so easy for the people in small town Vermont to understand. Mimi misses her old home and her cousins and friends back in Berkeley, California, but in January, 1969, she bundles up against the cold to be the new kid in seventh grade. Mimi wants to be an astronaut, and doesn't understand why girls can't take shop (or why boys can't take home ec, for that matter). She makes friends with her classmate Stacy, who's from Georgia, and her next door neighbor's nephew, Timothy, whose brother has just enlisted. Mimi is perfectly herself, and she inspires incremental change in those around her, from her English teacher to her grouchy neighbor to the school principal.

Back matter includes a glossary of Japanese words.

See also: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park, They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly

Quotes

Thursday is the only day that doesn't have a personality,
so today it borrowed Saturday's. (22)

It was like we were all in the Other check box,
having in common
speaking in English,
being American,
and feeling that we didn't belong either in our
parents' worlds
or in this one. (57)

"Our dreams are a serious matter.
When you take them seriously,
everyone else does too." (Mrs. Stanton, 77)

"So, I have to know," he says,
"what are you?"
But just because he has to know
doesn't mean I have to tell him
anything. (85)

"We can't dwell on what happened
but we need to remember
so we don't do it again.
It is our history,
but we don't want it to be our future." (Papa, re: Japanese internment camps, 120)

...angry words are like minutes on the clock -
once you use them, you can't get them back. (124)

It's funny
how other people get to decide when I'm invisible
but I can't make them disappear. (185)

Maybe
I should forget
all about what I want,
and do
what other people want me to do.
...
It's the thing he wants me to do,
but
Maybe
it's not the right thing. (282-283)

"I've decided...
there are jerks and nice people everywhere.
And you just have to hope you meet fewer jerks."
Then I say, "And try not to be one." (Stacy and Mimi, 344)

I used to think the people of Vermont
were like the snow -
crusty,
chilly,
and slow to thaw.
But now I think
they're what's underneath. (370) ( )

1969 Vermont was mostly white and presented challenges to a half-black, half-Japanese seventh grader, but the lessons learned in this narrative help readers answer, “Who Am I?” Read how simple deeds teach volumes.