Here is an ongoing list of U.S.-based mixed race books. For a searchable version, click here.
These texts are popular literature, not scholarly (for scholarly research, see Stephen F. Riley's www.mixedracestudies.org). They all feature at least one mixed race character and/or an element of mixed race experience.
This list is not exhaustive. Know of a book that should be here? See one listed that shouldn't be? Please send me your feedback--I love getting mail that isn't junk or bills!
(Disclaimer: Including a book here does not mean I'm endorsing it. I haven't read many of these texts yet. Others I've read, but wouldn't recommend--or would recommend with reservations--in which case I'll let you know in my review of the book.)
Biography/Memoir
- Abrams, Sil Lai
- Black Lotus: A Woman's Search for Racial Identity (2016)
- Anzaldúa, Gloria
- Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987)
- Boyd, Loree
- Spirit Moves: The Story of Six Generations of Native Women (1996)
- Broyard, Bliss
- One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life--A Story of Race and Family Secrets (2007)
- Campbell, Maria
- Halfbreed (1973)
- Cardwell, Daniel
- A Question of Color: A Brown Baby's Search for Identity in a Black and White World (2010)
- Chai, May-lee
- Hapa Girl: A Memoir (2007)
- Cheek, Gene
- The Color of Love: A Mother's Choice in the Jim Crow South (2005)
- Craft, William
- Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery (1860)
- Cross, June
- Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away (2006)
- Derricotte, Toi
- The Black Notebooks: An Interior Journey (1997)
- Fulbeck, Kip
- Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids (2010)
- Part Asian, 100% Hapa (2006)
- Gaskins, Pearl Fuyo (ed.)
- What Are You? Voices of Mixed-Race Young People (1999)
- Gibbs, Jewelle Taylor
- Destiny's Child: Memoirs of a Preacher's Daughter (2014)
- Golden, Marita
- Don't Play in the Sun: One Woman's Journey Through the Color Complex (2004)
- Graybill, Andrew R.
- The Red and the White: A Family Saga (2013)
- Haizlip, Shirlee Taylor
- Finding Grace: Two Sisters and the Search for Meaning Beyond the Color Line (2004)
- The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White (1994)
- Hartfield, Ronne
- Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family (2004)
- Jacobs, Harriet
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl / Written by Herself (1861)
- Lazarre, Jane
- Beyond the Whiteness of Whiteness (1996)
- Lee, Sherry Quan
- Love Imagined: A Mixed-Race Memoir (2014)
- Luvwefwa, Béatrice
- Mixed Marriages, Mixed Heritage: My Own Experience (2006)
- Lythcott-Haims, Julie
- Real American: A Memoir (2017)
- Madison, Paula Williams
- Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem (2015)
- McBride, James
- The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (1996)
- Miller, Cheryl D. Holmes
- Black Coral: A Daughter's Apology to Her Asian Island Mother (2013)
- Moraga, Cherríe
- Loving in the War Years/lo que nunca pasó por sus labios (1983)
- Murphy-Shigematsu, Stephen
- When Half Is Whole: Multiethnic Asian American Identities (2012)
- Murray, Pauli
- Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family (1956)
- Nissel, Angela
- Mixed: My Life in Black and White (2006)
- Obama, Barack
- Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995)
- O'Hearn, Claudine Chiawei, ed.
- Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural (1998)
- Peterson, Nancy M.
- Walking in Two Worlds: Mixed-Blood Indian Women Seeking Their Path (2006)
- Ragusa, Kym
- The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging (2006)
- Ratliff, Sarah, and Bryony Sutherland
- Being Biracial: Where Our Secret Worlds Collide (2015)
- Rekdal, Paisley
- The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee: Observations on Not Fitting In (2000)
- Roberts, Dmae
- The Letting Go Trilogies: Stories of a Mixed-Race Family (2016)
- Robinson, Frank E., Jr.
- Letters to a Mixed Race Son (2012)
- Rowell, Victoria
- The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir (2007)
- Sandweiss, Martha A.
- Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line (2009)
- See, Lisa
- On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family (1995)
- Senna, Danzy
- Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: A Personal History (2009)
- Silko, Leslie Marmon
- Storyteller (1981)
- The Turquoise Ledge (2010)
- Stevenson, Sarah Jamila
- The Latte Rebellion (2011)
- Tamagawa, Kathleen
- Holy Prayers in a Horse's Ear: A Japanese American Memoir (1932)
- Tauber, Mike
- Blended Nation: Portraits and Interviews of Mixed-Race America (2009)
- Tharps, Lori L.
- Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America's Diverse Families (2016)
- Walker, Rebecca
- Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence (2007)
- Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self (2001)
- Washington-Williams, Essie Mae, and William Stadiem
- Dear Senator: A Daughter's Memoir (2005)
- White, Walter
- A Man Called White: The Autobiography of Walter White (1948)
- Wilner, Geraldine Ebbert
- Lucky Hapa Haole: Memoirs of a Chinese, German, Irish Woman, Born and Raised in Hawaii (2011)
Children/Young Adult
- Adoff, Arnold
- Black Is Brown Is Tan (1973)
- Alexie, Sherman
- Flight (2007)
- Arboleda, Teja
- Jeni So Many (2016)
- Armstrong, Jason
- Chocolate Mixer (2015)
- Baker, Amanda
- Ella and the Knot Fairies (2016)
- Beauvais, Garcelle, and Sebastian A. Jones
- I Am Mixed (2013)
- Bednar, Chuck
- Derek Jeter: All-Star Major League Baseball Player (2009)
- Berlatsky, Noah
- Multiracial America (2013)
- Boney, Joanie
- Dad's My Best Buddy (2015)
- Catledge, Tiffany
- Mixed Me: A Tale of a Girl Who Is Both Black and White (2012)
- Cosman, Marsha
- Mixed Blessing: A Children's Book About a Multi-Racial Family (2012)
- Mixed Blessing 2: A Book About an Interracial Family (A Day at the Aquarium) (2015)
- Davol, Marguerite W.
- Black, White, Just Right! (1993)
- de la Peña, Matt
- Mexican Whiteboy (2010)
- Diggs, Taye
- Mixed Me! (2015)
- Edwards, Myrtice J.
- Dirty Sally: The Untold Stories of Mixed Race Children Who Find a New Identity, Love, Faith and Forgiveness Through God (2007)
- Mixed Race Kids of All Nations: Raising Awareness of the Biracial, Multiracial, and Transracially Adopted Kids in a Raceconscious World (2008)
- Mixed Race Pre-Teens of All Nations: Unmasking the Invisible Disabilities (2010)
- Flood, Pansie Hart
- It's Test Day, Tiger Turcotte (2004)
- Frazier, Sundee T.
- Brendan Buckley's Sixth-Grade Experiment (2012)
- Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It (2007)
- Cleo Edison Oliver in Persuasion Power (2017)
- Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire (2016)
- The Other Half of My Heart (2011)
- García, Cristina
- I Wanna Be Your Shoebox (2008)
- Golliday-Cabell, Gina
- Mixed Like Me (2012)
- Hilton, Marilyn
- Full Cicada Moon (2015)
- Hoyles, Asher and Martin
- Remember Me: Achievements of Mixed Race People Past and Present (UK) (1999)
- Hughes, Dean
- Missing in Action (2010)
- Kandel, Bethany
- Trevor's Story: Growing Up Biracial (1997)
- Kissiedu-Green, Mrs. Naomi Y.
- Same but Different: The Colourful Life! (2015)
- Lanier, Shannon, and Jane Feldman
- Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family (2002)
- Lester, Joan Steinau
- Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong (2011)
- Monk, Isabell
- Hope (1999)
- Myers, Walter Dean
- Riot (2009)
- Nash, Gary B.
- Forbidden Love: The Secret History of Mixed-Race America (1999)
- Roberts, Russell
- Alicia Keys: Singer-Songwriter, Musician, Actress, and Producer (2013)
- Ryan, Leslie V.
- I Am Flippish! (2011)
- Sapet, Kerrily
- Halle Berry: Academy Award-Winning Actress (2009)
- Smith, Crystal
- I Am Hapa (2016)
- St. Stephen's Community House
- It's Not All Black and White: Multiracial Youth Speak Out (2012)
- Szto, Trisha K. M.
- Hapa Babies, Happy Blessings: A Faithful Mother's Prayers Are Answered with a Special Sign for Each of Her Hapa Babies (2017)
- Varma-Change, Namika
- Nihao, Namaste Baby Kai! (2017)
- Watkins, Schertevear Q.
- Chyna's Doll: Chyna and Luna (2015)
Fiction
- Bodden, Marlen Suyapa
- The Wedding Gift (2013)
- Brodber, Erna
- Louisiana (1994)
- Brown, William Wells
- Clotel; or, the President's Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States (1853)
- Buck, Pearl S.
- The Eternal Wonder: A Novel (2013)
- Castillo, Ana
- Sapagonia: An Anti-Romance in 3/8 Meter (1990)
- Chesnutt, Charles
- The House Behind the Cedars (1900)
- The Marrow of Tradition (1901)
- Daniels, Lucy
- The Eyes of the Father (2005)
- Davenport, Kiana
- Shark Dialogues (1994)
- de Waal, Kit
- My Name Is Leon (2016)
- Díaz, Junot
- Durrow, Heidi W.
- The Girl Who Fell from the Sky (2010)
- Erdrich, Louise
- The Beet Queen (1986)
- The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse (2001)
- Love Medicine (1984)
- Tracks (1988)
- Faulkner, William
- Light in August (1932)
- Fauset, Jessie Redmon
- Plum Bun (1928)
- Fulbeck, Kip
- Paper Bullets: A Fictional Autobiography (2001)
- Hand, Dana
- Deep Creek (2010)
- Hill, Ingrid
- Ursula, Under (2005)
- Jackson, Helen Hunt
- Ramona (1884)
- Jen, Gish
- The Love Wife (2004)
- Jensen, Toni
- From the Hilltop (2010)
- Johnson, James Weldon
- The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912)
- Johnson, Mat
- Loving Day (2015)
- Jones, Edward P.
- The Known World (2003)
- Jones, Gayl
- Corregidora (1975)
- Lamb, Wally
- We Are Water (2013)
- Larsen, Nella
- Passing (1929)
- Quicksand (1928)
- Lee, Chang-Rae
- Aloft (2004)
- Lee, Don
- Country of Origin (2004)
- Lester, Joan Steinau
- Mama's Child (2013)
- Liu, Aimee E.
- Cloud Mountain (1997)
- López-Medina, Sylvia
- Cantora (1992)
- Morrison, Toni
- Tar Baby (1981)
- Mourning Dove (Hum-ishu-ma)
- Cogewea, the Half-Blood (1927)
- Ng, Celeste
- Everything I Never Told You (2014)
- Ozeki, Ruth L.
- My Year of Meats (1998)
- Phillips, Delores
- The Darkest Child (2004)
- Prasad, Chandra, ed.
- Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience (2006)
- Ra'Oof, Mae
- Biracial: Born Wrong--Half White, Half Black in America Deep South (2008)
- Revoyr, Nina
- Wingshooters (2011)
- Robbins, David L.
- Scorched Earth (2002)
- Roth, Philip
- The Human Stain (2000)
- Senna, Danzy
- Caucasia (1998)
- New People (2017)
- Symptomatic (2004)
- Silko, Leslie Marmon
- Ceremony (1977)
- Straight, Susan
- A Million Nightingales (2008)
- Tan, Amy
- The Joy Luck Club (1984)
- Thurman, Wallace
- The Blacker the Berry (1929)
- Toomer, Jean
- Cane (1923)
- Twain, Mark
- Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894)
- Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa
- The Dirty Girls Social Club (2003)
- Vizenor, Gerald
- Earthdivers: Tribal Narratives on Mixed Descent (1981)
- Waldfogel, Sabra
- Sister of Mine (2016)
- Walker, Margaret
- Jubilee (1966)
- Waters, Michele L.
- Through the Eyes of My Mulatto Daughter (2010)
- White, Walter
- Flight (1926)
- Xi, Xu
- Habit of a Foreign Sky (2010)
Last updated 26 January 2018