This insightful and inspiring short-story collection takes us through pivotal events and experiences in the life of the protagonist, Angie Rubio, as she advances from kindergarten to her senior year of high school during the turbulent sixties and early seventies. Throughout, Angie is often treated as an outsider–in many cases, because of the color of her skin (“toast, well done”). Yet over the years–and echoing the protest movements of the time–she finds ways to take power from her outsiderdom, discovering her voice as a young woman and as a writer.
A Mexican-American who attends schools dominated by white kids, Angie is disrespected or ignored by many of her peers and sometimes by teachers and other adults. The feeling that she doesn’t belong begins in kindergarten, when a blue-eyed, blonde doll that she brings to class for show-and-tell proves far more popular than she can hope to be, and it continues through junior high and high school. There, Angie must cope not just with the typical in-vs.-out-crowd politics but also with the reality that she and other students of color are likely to be excluded from opportunities largely reserved for white students, whether that’s the role of Juliet in a class production of Romeo and Juliet or a coveted spot on the cheerleading squad.
But eventually, Angie starts pushing back at such discrimination and exclusion, and Miscolta’s writing about these moments is moving and inspiring. In the story “School Spirit,” Angie agrees to try out for the cheerleading squad with a fellow seventh grader, Wanda Garcia, even though a friend of theirs warns them, “In case you hadn’t noticed, only white girls make cheerleader.” When this warning proves accurate, Wanda, perhaps the most talented participant in the tryouts, is despondent, and her friends take turns trying to lift her spirits.
After Wanda and the others raise their fists in reply, Angie puts a new spin on their school’s cheer:
Angie doesn’t forget her pledge to fight. When she reaches her senior year, she uses her talents as a writer to criticize such sexist/looksist high school institutions as homecoming, senior favorites (e.g., “most likely to succeed”), and prom. She offers this criticism through a regular column for her high school’s newspaper, getting a lot of flak as a result, but also some appreciation. This experience proves transformative for Angie, and in one powerful scene, she comes to understand the significance of taking a stand, and of her outsiderdom:
There are many other things I admired about Living Color: Miscolta’s writing about the body shaming that Angie experiences, a topic that, sadly, remains just as relevant today; the scenes portraying Angie’s fraught, yet generally loving, relationship with members of her family; and Miscolta’s portrayal of how Angie starts to come of age sexually. In one of my favorite stories, “Extracurricular Activities,” Angie’s aunt takes Angie and one of her sisters to see Valley of the Dolls, intending it to stand in for a birds-and-the-bees talk. For Angie, the movie also becomes an education in arousal.
Together, the stories in Living Color vividly capture one young woman’s challenging, yet ultimately rewarding, journey toward self-discovery.
Would My Pick be Your Pick?
If you're interested in ________, the answer may be "Yes":￭ Coming-of-age stories
￭ Explorations of the effects of racism
￭ Stories of self-discovery
