Passin’

by: Karen E. Quinones Miller

Published by: Grand Central Publishing-

Reviewed by Beth Cummings

The main character in Miller’s sixth novel is an African-American girl who was born blonde, blue-eyed, and fair skinned. Her mother named her Shanika so that she would grow up proud of her African-American heritage, but she was constantly confronted with mixed messages as a child: Be proud of your heritage, but you are special because you are so light and blue-eyed. While not unheard of, such a light-skinned black child was unusual in Detroit.

Shanika wanted to go into public relations work in New York City, but when a firm invited her for an interview, she was shocked to find that she lost the job because it was an affirmative action position–and Shanika was too white. So she decided to try for a different position within that company that wasn’t designated as a “black” position. She sent in a new application that changed only her name–now she was Nicole. Nicole got the job. Nikki had never intended to continue passing herself as white, but everyone assumed that she was and treated her somewhat differently because of it. It was hard not to play along, although back in Detroit her family was very unhappy with the turn of events.

This is a book by a black woman that seems to have been written primarily for a black audience. As such, some ideas and attitudes were strange for me–a white woman from the Upper Midwest. I had never heard of HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) and would never have guessed that Delaware State University would have such a designation by some groups. Nonetheless, little tidbits like this kept the novel interesting and informative as well as fun to read. I initially found the main character incredibly shallow and foolish, but as Miller fleshed out her personality, she became both real and understandable.

Armchair Interviews says: This book would make a good book group choice and does include discussion questions.

Author’s Web site: http://www.karenequinonesmiller.com