SARAH CULBERSON grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia. She attended West Virginia University, where she earned a B.A. in Theatre. She graduated from The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco with a Masters in Fine Arts and joined the Los Angeles acting community. Sarah has been seen acting on the stage as well as in TV and films. She has also danced with a professional salsa dance company called Conta-Tiempo. As President of the Kposowa Foundation in Los Angeles, she and many others head up fundraising with the goal of improving education for young people and rebuilding Sierra Leone. She lives in Los Angeles.

TRACY TRIVAS, a graduate of Dartmouth College, won a Dartmouth Graduate Fellowship to study Victorian Literature at Oxford University, England. She received her Masters Degree in English from Middlebury College. She is also the author of the middle-grade fiction book, The Wish Stealers. She lives in California with her family.

"A mannered account of a biracial woman raised by a white family in West Virginia who was reunited joyfully with her African family . . . The juxtaposition of the two narratives is deliberately jarring. While Culberson was being crowned Homecoming Queen, her family and other Mende people faced ambush, amputations--a favorite terror tactic of the rebels--and homelessness. As a girl growing up, Culberson was accused by other blacks of not being 'black enough' . . . Culberson's wrenching coming-of-age tale ably chronicles her love and acceptance by both of her families . . . Inspiring." --Kirkus Reviews

Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL

Pub date: 2010-05-11

Length: 384 pages