tween/middlegrade realistic fiction (biracial girl with dead dad gets to know her father's side of the family for the first time). ( )

Violet Diamond lives in Moon Lake, a mostly white community outside Seattle, with her white mother, sister, and maternal grandparents. Her father was killed in a car accident before Violet was born, and Violet has never met his side of the family, but she longs to get in touch - and, with a little digging on the internet, she discovers that her father's mother, Roxanne Diamond, is an artist, with a show coming up in Seattle, and Violet begs her mother (a neonatal surgeon) to take her. Violet's mother reluctantly agrees, and after a bumpy start, Violet and her grandmother begin to form a relationship. "Bibi" brings Violet home to LA with her for a week-long visit, where Violet meets the Black side of her family. Even though there are a few hiccups and one emergency during her stay, Violet returns with a better sense of who she is.

See also: Blended by Sharon M. Draper; For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington ( )

"The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond," was an amazing story of a biracial girl, Violet Diamond. She lives with her mother and sister, who are both white. Violet's father died in a car accident before she was born, so she never got the chance to meet him. She lives in Moon Lake, Washington, where she sometimes feels "like a single fallen brown leaf atop a blanket of fresh snow. Alone." There are mostly whites in Moon Lake and only two other biracial kids in her school. Violet is tired of people looking at her with question marks in their eyes, wondering if she is adopted. As the chapter's in this book continued, Violet's character grew bigger and bigger. Violet has never met the black side of her family before. She discovers that her father's mother, Roxanne Diamond, who is a famous artist, was coming to Seattle to show her paintings at an art museum. Violet's mother agrees to take her to meet her grandmother whom she has never met before. They have a bumpy start, but before long, Roxanne Diamond and Violet are on a plane together, heading to Los Angeles, California. During the flight, Roxanne suggests that Violet calls her, "Bibi," which is Swahili for 'grandmother.' Violet liked that a lot. The two of them get to know each other as they plan an adventure for each day that Violet is there. Violet meets the black side of her family, which makes her feel as if she belongs. This part of the book was the climax for me as Violet's character does a major transformation, going from a boring life and being the only black girl to a life full of adventure where she feels like she fits in. Towards the end of the story, Violet finds Bibi lying on the floor, not breathing. Violet immediately calls 9-1-1 and soon finds out that the rooms in Bibi's heart wasn't working correctly; she had a heart attack. Violet fears that she will lose Bibi, just as she lost her father. She decides to kneel and pray to God, which is something she didn't normally do. Her prayers were answered; Bibi was going to be okay. Although she had to go back to Moon Lake with her mother, Violet was going back to visit Bibi during Christmas time. Even better than that, Bibi was going to join Violet and her family this August when they went to the mountain cabin. Violet loved Bibi, and she loved Violet. Violet's character finally accepted who she was; 50% white, 50% black = 100% Violet Diamond. ( )

Violet tells her story of her life as a biracial 11-year-old. Most families around her have what she describes a "real family"; a mom, dad, and their children. This was not the case for Violet. Her dad died when she was young. Violet's dad was black while her mom was white and since her dad died, she was the only one in her family that had dark skin. Along with her family being white, she lived in a city where the majority of people were white, too.

If Violet's life represented a puzzle, she was missing quite a few pieces and she could feel that. All Violet ever wanted was a "real family" (her mom, sister, and dad) so when she was seen with all three, the public would understand, oh she is biracial by looking at her dad and mom. Instead of people looking at her funny when she was out with her family due to the skin color issue. When Violet finds her missing puzzle pieces, she also discovers she is unique, beautiful, and proud of her family background of her dad's side. She changes her wish from being a real family (to stop the nasty looks) to herself discovering her dad's side of the family and being proud of what she looks like and why. She needed to discover her missing puzzle pieces in her life and she did not find this out until she hung out with her dad's family during the summer.

I would say the theme of the book is to discover who you are and be proud of it. Everyone is different in each and every way and that is perfectly okay. This does not refer only to race, but to other scenarios that make you different.

Violet had a 500-page journal that she wrote in, daily. In her journal, it included: new words & their definitions, wishes, & dreams to always remember. This journal helped Violet with her thoughts and learning new words. She used her big words and things she research to spark up conversations with people to show them how smart she was. By doing this, it also helped her feel a bit more confident in her self because people focused more on praising how smart she was instead of questioning her looks.

This book can relate to any race (minority or majority).
Readers can also relate to this, other than race, by being different, unique, or feeling out of place. It allows the readers to connect with what Violet Diamond is going through and how she, her family, and the outside world handles the big issue of being/looking different. ( )

The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond is a very touching story about a biracial girl finding her place in the world. Her father passed away, and she is raised by her white mother along with her white sister. She lives in a predominantly white community, and feels that a huge part of her life is missing. She seeks out her father's mother to have a better understanding of her African-American culture, and "blossoms" into a confident, self-loving young lady. ( )