At the threshold age of 11 (or nearly 12, as she is fond of telling adults), the protagonist Izzy Thornton is divided. Initially, Izzy, much like any child, sees a simple world of either/or, not the world of “and.” Reflected by the variety of names she is called by her family and friends, she tests a variety of different identities, feeling pulled, her heart always divided as she wonders whether she is defined by who she is—her love of music, her fascination with nature, her openness to friendships, her giving and caring heart, her intellectual curiosity, her precocious creativity—or by what she is, a biracial child of divorced parents. As she is shuttled between her two parents’ homes, she is either Black or white, rich or poor, Izzy or Isabella.

In the end, she learns to embrace the idea of both and rejects the simple concept of either/or. The key to Izzy’s character rests with her exotic middle name, a gift from her father. Badia is an African term that means “unique” or more precisely “unprecedented.” Just saying her middle name aloud lifts Izzy up, making her proud of her complicated character and how so many different forces, perceptions, and ideas shape who she is.