Pearl Fuyo Gaskins

Pearl Fuyo Gaskins has created the book she wishes she had when she was a young adult wrestling with her identity as a biracial person. What Are You features the voices of biracial young adults from various backgrounds aged sixteen to twenty-six. Gaskins compiled interviews with these young people and divided the information into chapters on subjects such as family relationships, dating, and the check one box dilemma. Between each chapter is a four to six page "snap shot" of an individual. Many of these snapshots are particularly engaging, such as Hapa Grub and I'm Black and Korean. While divided into chapters, each person's experience appears in their own words. Occasionally Gaskins will add pertinent historic, psychological or sociological insights. These interjections are helpful and often provide a smooth transition from one voice to another. Overall Gaskins has done an excellent job allowing us to hear a multitude of voices representing different experiences of grappling with a biracial identity. This is an excellent resource for a library, especially high school media centers.… (mais)