The Latte Rebellion

November 22, 2010
Stevenson's debut novel explores the complexities of mixed ethnicity, advocacy versus self-interest, and finding one's voice. Asha Jamison is at the top of her senior class and ready to attend any number of selective schools, until her focus shifts from academia to racial prejudice after being called a "towel head" at a pool party. The comment was meant as a joke (she indeed had a towel on her head at the time), but Mexican/Irish/Indian Asha and her half-Chinese best friend, Carey, see it as emblematic of a broader insensitivity. Shortly thereafter, they found the Latte Rebellion (complete with manifesto and Web site) promoting mixed-race pride—and ideally funding a postgraduation trip through T-shirt sales. Their group quickly gains national popularity, but despite this success, Asha's schoolwork suffers, her relationships with her family and with Carey are strained, and the group's militaristic tone attracts the attention of school administrators. As Stevenson alternates between the day-to-day dramas surrounding the advent of the rebellion and scenes from an eventual disciplinary hearing, she offers a thought-provoking account of a girl's search for identity. Ages 12–up.

January 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 Lattes of the world, unite! After 17-year-old half-Indian Asha is jokingly called a towel-head and barely Asian by a classmate, she is moved to advocate for people of mixed race and along the way earn money for a sorely needed summer trip before college. Thus the Latte Rebellion is bornlatte, a perfect blend of coffee and other, becomes shorthand for multiethnic people. Carey, Ashas driven fellow Latte and best friend, insists that they launch the enterprise anonymously, and rightly so. What begins as an online T-shirt-selling scheme becomes a movement, with chapters in colleges and high schools spanning the nation. As Ashas life is consumed by her cause, her grades slip, and her relationship with Carey deteriorates rapidly after the school begins to view the Latte Rebellion as a terrorist organization. In Stevensons debut, illustrated with a few drawings and comics, the portrayal of Ashas initially misguided but relatable social awakening is so honest that readers will find themselves first cringing at her efforts, then cheering her on.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2010

Shy Asha Jamison is snowed under with AP classes, college-application essays and the sky-high expectations of her Indian-American mom and Mexican-Irish-American dad. Digs from classmates at her mixed-race status don't help, but they give Asha an idea. Voil�, the Latte Rebellion is born, a scheme to promote blended ethnicity (like lattes, mixed people come in many hues and flavors) by selling T-shirts. The profits will fund a graduation trip with biracial friend Carey Wong. The cause quickly takes on a life of its own; Rebellion chapters spring up across the country, generating publicity good and bad. As Asha discovers a latent gift for leadership and passion for social justice (and for college activist Thad Sakai), her grades and college hopes, along with her friendship with Carey, deteriorate. While this debut skims over thornier issues of blended identity, and the Rebellion's strategy of social change through viral marketing is questionable, Asha is engaging and the depiction of her journey--a realistic mess of vague hopes, serendipitous events, serious missteps and gutsy choices--compellingly original. (Fiction. YA)

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February 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-After a classmate hurls a racial slur at her, Asha Jamison, who is half Indian, a quarter Mexican, and a quarter Irish, and her best friend, Carey, who is half Chinese and half Caucasian, use the experience as inspiration for a moneymaking enterprise to raise funds for a graduation trip. At first, the girls sell T-shirts emblazoned with the logo of their new venture, "The Latte Rebellion," hoping to promote awareness about students of mixed ethnicity. But business soon turns political, and Asha finds herself at the center of a burgeoning social movement. As her involvement in it deepens, she becomes more self-reflective in her search for identity, resisting categorization. Stevenson's debut novel expertly handles complex issues around race and ethnic identity without seeming pedantic, and her authentic descriptions of the San Francisco Bay Area complement the story well. Teens will relate to Asha's typical adolescent struggles with her parents, as well as her attempts to mend a heartbreaking rift with Carey. A welcome addition to a rapidly evolving genre of multiethnic young adult literature.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.