In this young adult anthology, many people of color share their stories of oppression, discrimination, and triumph.

“I constantly questioned myself as a child. All of the positive images of people I’d seen were white. To be beautiful, you not only had to be stick-skinny, with no behind, you had to have long silky blond hair and blue eyes, a thin nose, and thin lips. I just didn’t measure up.” —Charisse Nesbit, Maryland

These true stories from every part of America tell what it was like growing up in world where the color of people’s skin set them apart.

How do you feel when a teacher doesn’t believe that you wrote the story he thinks is great? How can you make friends and belong in a black school when your father is black and your mother is Puerto Rican? What do you do when you’re working in the kitchen of a summer camp in Vermont, but you’re not allowed to swim in the camp lake?

All the writers’ pain, confusion, humiliation, and rage are vividly expressed, but many of them went on to realize their dreams against overwhelming odds. Their voices offer hope, inspiration, and a challenge to us all.