Light, Bright
Will be published approx. on 2. February 2027
Book
Paperback/Softback
168 pages
978-1-63779-104-2 (ISBN)
Description
Shipped away for the summer, Trey finally meets the parts of himself that he can't outrun.
Light, Bright is a heartfelt graphic novel about navigating family upheaval and identity. In this coming-of-age story, a mixed-race teen explores what it means to find himself when everything familiar is falling apart.
Fifteen-year-old Trey was looking forward to a summer of street hockey, fireworks, and hanging out with his friends-not his parents' separation or his exile to a rural town to live with a grandmother he barely knows. Cut off from home and unsure of where he belongs, Trey feels like he's losing everything. In this new place, surrounded by Black relatives who see him differently because of his light, bright skin, he is forced to confront questions he has long avoided about race, privilege, family, and his own identity. With the help of his outspoken cousin Tee and an intriguing new friend named Kareem, Trey begins to untangle painful truths, face prejudice head-on, and forge unexpected connections that make the unfamiliar start to feel like home.
Tender, funny, and deeply relatable, Light, Bright is a hopeful story about claiming your identity in a complicated world-and learning that who you are is something that you can choose.
Light, Bright is a heartfelt graphic novel about navigating family upheaval and identity. In this coming-of-age story, a mixed-race teen explores what it means to find himself when everything familiar is falling apart.
Fifteen-year-old Trey was looking forward to a summer of street hockey, fireworks, and hanging out with his friends-not his parents' separation or his exile to a rural town to live with a grandmother he barely knows. Cut off from home and unsure of where he belongs, Trey feels like he's losing everything. In this new place, surrounded by Black relatives who see him differently because of his light, bright skin, he is forced to confront questions he has long avoided about race, privilege, family, and his own identity. With the help of his outspoken cousin Tee and an intriguing new friend named Kareem, Trey begins to untangle painful truths, face prejudice head-on, and forge unexpected connections that make the unfamiliar start to feel like home.
Tender, funny, and deeply relatable, Light, Bright is a hopeful story about claiming your identity in a complicated world-and learning that who you are is something that you can choose.
Reviews / Votes
"A tender and unflinching testimonial to being mixed-race, artfully revealing the layers that make us whole and how love is found in the in-between."-Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos, author of To Love Like Venus "This book is perfect for any teen who's ever faced the horrific prospect of having to spend an entire summer alone with a 'boring' granny somewhere far off, hopeful, scared, or just plain old unsuspecting of the deep, personal changes to come."
-Malcolm Hansen, author of They Come in All Colors "Light, Bright is heavy with our legacy of racial pain, buoyant with the love of family and culture and community, and damned charming-it'll make you laugh just as much as it'll make you pause, reflect, mourn. It is abundant in its humanity."
-Moses Ose Utomi, author of The Lies of the Ajungo
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pennsylvania State University Press
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
317 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-63779-104-2 (9781637791042)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Steve Majors is the author of High Yella: A Modern Family Memoir and Man Made: In Search of Dads, Daddies, Father Figures, and Fatherhood. Steve's writing explores issues of race, class, and identity, and his essays have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, CNN.com, and NBC Think. Steve lives in Washington, DC.
Quincy Scott Jones is the author of two books of poetry, The T-Bone Series and How to Kill Yourself Instead of Your Children. He is a Cave Canem fellow, a VONA alum, and an educator living in New York City.
Kameron White is a comic artist, illustrator, and designer. As an Afro-Indigenous, queer, and disabled creator, Kameron strives to create inclusive, authentic representation that transcends stereotypes. Some of his clients include DC Comics, PBS, the International African American Museum, and the City of Houston.
Quincy Scott Jones is the author of two books of poetry, The T-Bone Series and How to Kill Yourself Instead of Your Children. He is a Cave Canem fellow, a VONA alum, and an educator living in New York City.
Kameron White is a comic artist, illustrator, and designer. As an Afro-Indigenous, queer, and disabled creator, Kameron strives to create inclusive, authentic representation that transcends stereotypes. Some of his clients include DC Comics, PBS, the International African American Museum, and the City of Houston.