# The Color of a Lie

**Author:** Kim Johnson
**Grade range:** Grades 9–12
**First published:** 2024
**Page count:** 337
**ISBN-13:** `9780593118825`
**ISBN-10:** `0593118820`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/the-color-of-a-lie
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

In 1955, a Black family passes for white and moves to a “Whites Only” town in the suburbs. Caught between two worlds, a teen boy puts his family at risk as he uncovers racist secrets about his suburb. A new social justice thriller from the acclaimed author of This Is My America! WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE • A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL AND KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Calvin knows how to pass for white. He's done it plenty of times before. For his friends in Chicago, when they wanted food but weren't allowed in a restaurant. For work, when he and his dad would travel for the Green Book. This is different. After a tragedy in Chicago forces the family to flee, they resettle in an idyllic all-white suburban town in search of a better life. Calvin

## Where this book is assigned

### Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

- **recommended** · 9th grade — [source: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction winners, via Wikipedia — 2025 Scott O'Dell Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_O%27Dell_Award_for_Historical_Fiction)
- **recommended** · 10th grade — [source: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction winners, via Wikipedia — 2025 Scott O'Dell Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_O%27Dell_Award_for_Historical_Fiction)
- **recommended** · 11th grade — [source: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction winners, via Wikipedia — 2025 Scott O'Dell Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_O%27Dell_Award_for_Historical_Fiction)
- **recommended** · 12th grade — [source: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction winners, via Wikipedia — 2025 Scott O'Dell Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_O%27Dell_Award_for_Historical_Fiction)

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