Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

   This was a cute, quick, okay-written read. Lou, a Native American teenager, breaks up with her White boyfriend when he makes one too many insulting comments about Native American people. Luckily this wasn't drawn out. The boyfriend pops up now and again but for the most part, his story ends pretty quickly. The main conflict in the story arises when the high school drama teacher decides to hold "color blind" auditions, but the broader conflict is being brown in a society that is often hostile to brown people. Not surprisingly, some of the people in Lou's Kansas hometown aren't too happy when the auditions result in a Black Dorothy, a Native American tin man, and a Mexican American lion.

I can't say that I loved this book. The writing style didn't work for me. I can't pinpoint exactly what the problem was other than to say it didn't flow well. Also, there are several interesting ideas and story lines that start off well and then sort of peter out. For instance, Lou joins the high school newspaper. Inspired by a friend who is constantly working to help her dad and save money for college, Lou decides to do a series of interviews with students who work. It's a great idea but I'm not sure what the point is. We never learn how it all turned out. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read this. I am interested in the experiences of other people of color and this book did a good job pointing out some of the subtle and not so subtle crap Lou has do deal with as a Native American.