Mixed Feelings

This is a poetry collections that mainly explores what it means to be a mixed-race person in a world who is constantly trying to put everyone in a single and defining box. Told through multiple voices this book explores this theme alongside others, such as religion, violence, bullying, and love. The collection also offers some pictures from Avan Jogia’s childhood which are featured in some of his poems. The colours used compliment the poems so well and they truly add something more to this work. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and it gave me a lot to reflect on.

Wow. Mixed Feelings is a powerful book. I love the way Avan Jogia used pictures, illustrations, and poetry to explore experience -- all for a reading experience that is vital and should be shared. It was my pleasure to review a digital copy. Now, I am ready for one in print. Recommended reading.

Mixed Feelings is a gorgeous book— both in its' words and it's illustrations— and it was an absolute pleasure to read. Mainly focusing on being mixed race, this book also touches on religion, gender, family, and identity in general, and in such an elegant yet real way.

The world loves to label people and squish them into tiny little boxes. I fit into mine pretty well: I'm a white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, cis woman. Nobody makes me question which part of myself I should value and identify with, or asks me insensitive questions about my family. (Ex. "Was your grandfather okay with your mom marrying a brown man?") As such, this book has left me with a pile of things to reflect on and privileges to be mindful of. My beautiful great-grandma is Metis— part Native Canadian (Algonquin, specifically) and part French Canadian— and I wonder how much of her life was spent being stuffed inside a box too small for her. If there wasn't such a large language barrier, I'd love to ask about her experience. (Not that this has anything to do with the book, but she's the coolest person ever and I love to talk about her. 91 years old and still goes camping by herself, cooks up a storm, and shovels her own driveway!)

This book is beautiful in every sense of the word, and I highly recommend it.

This poetry collection was a sheer pleasure to read. The collection is vibrant and colourful. Each page has bright, colourful borders and backgrounds and in many pages also contains photographs. This added to my enjoyment of reading the whole thing. The collection tackles such difficult topics as racism, mixed race marriages and growing up as a mixed race child and living in a world obsessed by racial identity. The poems really moved me and the artwork was beautiful at times. An impressive collection.

Feeling of being mixed race, told through poetry , stories and pictures make this a beautiful, vivid book. The illustrations were lovely, the words were lovely, the stories were meaningful. Easy to read, easy on the eyes, with a lot to make me think.

The world we live in today is more divided than it has ever been before. In "Mixed Feelings," Avan Jogia wants readers to get a "societal overhead feeling," as he calls it of the earth. Like if you zoomed out as far as the moon and looked at space. To see the earth from there and to realize how connected we all really are from the "space" point of view.

As astronauts from the Apollo missions all have recounted many times, when they looked out of the command capsule at the earth almost 240,000 miles away, they could see how fragile the earth, how from up here, we are all humans and we are very much alike. That perspective is what Mr. Jogia is trying to present in her latest collection of poetry and stories, as he tries to explore the mixed up topics of race, gender, sexuality, religion and politics. It is a noble task he takes on in his book.

The book is a collection of personal stories of his family and those around him dealing with the struggles of finding their place in society that can be so hateful and so different and so afraid. He also takes stories from others who don't "fit" the stereotype and writes poetry to speak about "humaness" in a way that makes you stop and think and examine your own misconceptions and prejudices. This was a very thought-provoking book that caused me to see the world through new eyes. It helps me "see" that I need to withhold all judgments before I really get to know a person. It causes me to be much more lavish with empathy than to jump to conclusions about someone based on stereotypes or what the label the "culture" would stamp on a person.

We need to learn to replace hate with love and judgment with acceptance. We need to learn to see people as people, not as some label. We all breathe air. We all bleed red. We all want to be loved. We are all human.

I received this eBook free of charge from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I have always liked Avan Jogia, but admittedly I was a little worried that this book would not live up to the hype or would be a piece of work so obviously done with the intent of having a famous person's name stamped on it.

Fortunately, Mixed Feelings is a beautiful and interesting read with poignant pieces and lovely art. So many tough topics are tackled in the pieces, particularly the struggle of being mixed race and understanding/learning one's identity. I believe this is an important read for anyone looking for someone who can relate or put their feelings into words. As someone who could not personally relate, I still found the collection helpful and thought provoking. I truly appreciate the heart that was poured into Mixed Feelings and I highly recommend it for young adults and adults alike.

This was an exceptional collection of biographies, poetry, and nonfiction that left me agog from the first page until the last. I think that Avan has a gift for content collecting and I hope he publishes another text soon.

This was absolutely beautiful and unexpected. It was touching,and emotional and it made me angry because I could feel how so many of those people feel. Avan used his words and pictures to add more depth and feeling to it all. We are more than our color and our race, and in terrible times like now, Avan makes an impact. I really hope this does well and he puts out more work, he deserves to be recognized.

i loved this book! an amazing debut by a wonderful canadian author. i was intrigued because i knew Avan Jogia from TV and had no idea he had so many feelings. this book is a very good idea of how he feels and how it feels to be biracial in this day and age.

It was a wonderful book about multiculturalism, relationships, family and bonds all from the perspective of Avan. The illustrations are so aesthetic and they dialogue with the prose so beautifully. I really liked read this book and I'm forever thankful to have the opportunity to read it.

I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

This beautiful collection explores themes of race, culture, religion, gender, identity and family. It's a mix of gorgeous illustrations and personal stories and poems that touch on these subjects elegantly, but also with the rawness they need. Throughout the book you see how crucial it is to stop labeling people and being utterly insensitive to one's cultural background. What was interesting, yet hard to read was the internal struggle of betraying your identity by not completely accepting or knowing your families' racial and cultural background.

My final thoughts are that this book is thought provoking and addresses subjects that should be discussed by all. It felt very honest, raw and full of emotions as it should. I recommend it to anyone, truly!

This was a wonderful collection of poems about being mixed raced. I definitely relate to some of their experiences.

I absolutely adore the writing style of Avan. The poems in the book are very insightful and will shake you. This is a definite read. I believe Avan is voice of our generation today fighting against racism

We need this book so badly today.