Color Outside the Lines was one of the books that I was really excited about at the beginning of this year. My family is an interracial family, and I was looking forward to reading about couples who don’t look like each other. I did enjoy several of the stories; however, it didn’t quite live up to the hype that I initially gave it. Like all anthologies, I enjoyed some stories more than others. Thank you to Edelweiss and Soho Teen for providing me with an advanced reader copy!
The Good
Color Outside the Lines had a lot of variety to the stories. They weren’t all contemporary. Some were contemporary, while others were historical or even science fiction. There were different cultures involved, including made up cultures and there was one story about an adoptive family. Each couple had different challenges.
What I Might Have Liked Better
I like to read love stories with happy endings. I can’t really think of any truly happy endings in this book. At best, there are several that are open-ended and hopeful. There are a few that are heartbreaking though.
In many of the stories, there is a disconnect because of the cultures. You get the feeling that maybe it won’t work out because of the cultural difference. It kinda left me sad because I know that interracial couples today can work out just fine and nobody really cares. If this book had been written twenty-five years ago, I might have agreed with the way these stories are presented, but unless teens are more racist than adults (which I doubt) I think this book places a little more disconnect into intercultural love than actually happens these days? Or maybe I’ve just lived in a little Pollyanna bubble for half my life and everybody else experiences difficulties that I have not.
Overall
Overall, I did enjoy the stories in Color Outside the Lines, although it didn’t quite live up to the hype I placed upon it in my head. The picture of intercultural relationships it seemed to radiate: one where intercultural relationships are hopeful at best and sometimes heartbreaking, and where misunderstandings abound, has not been the situation that I’ve seen. Oddly enough, one of the most hopeful stories, “Something Gay and Magical” was written by Adam Silvara, who wrote They Both Die at the End. Who would see that coming? Although I liked many of the stories, they didn’t really leave me with the same sense of joy that other books like Summer Days and Summer Nights have. It is worth borrowing from the library though.