Hart, Melissa. Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood. 2009. 288 p. Seal Press, $16.95 (9781580052948). Gr. 8-12.

“Palabras son libertades,” murmurs Melissa’s mother. “Words are freedom.” Melissa’s memoir shares her freedom ride as the White girl of a homosexual mother and an angry father in 1970s Southern California. The prejudice against homosexual parents limits Melissa’s time with her mother. Melissa yearns for her mother and the Latino culture her mother has embraced…the colors, flavors, music and language conflicts with Melissa’s WASP reality. And what about her sexual identity – is Melissa straight or gay – can she be someone other than what she is called to be – herself? Melissa doesn’t want to be a “tourist” and instead, prefers to be a “citizen of the world.” Melissa learns the cost of such a journey is paid with currency from the heart.-Laurie Spurling