'Mexican WhiteBoy' tackles race for young adult readers

Every week, The Thread recommends a book that offers a fresh perspective on the news.

If you spent the weekend reading Harper Lee's new novel, "Go Set a Watchman," you are in good company. Amazon reported an avalanche of pre-orders before the book went on sale — with numbers second only to "Harry Potter."

While "Watchman" is getting a monumental amount of attention for its discussion of race, here's a great book that isn't: "Mexican WhiteBoy" by Matt de la Pena.

I'm not telling you to skip Lee. I'm five chapters into "Watchman" and I like it — just not as much as "To Kill a Mockingbird." The new book simply isn't as rich and nuanced as "Mockingbird." That doesn't matter, though, because it will still sell hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of copies.

De la Pena's book won't hit those sales heights, but you shouldn't miss it. I love Matt de la Pena.

He's a former basketball player with an MFA in creative writing. He grew up in a mixed-race family in San Antonio, Texas, and he told me that he didn't finish reading a whole novel — any novel — until he was in college. (He caught up, though. He's a quick study.)

De la Pena's books for young adult readers tell the stories of working-class kids for whom inequity isn't a policy debate. Though his books address heavy topics, de la Pena is subtle. He said, "I still strive to write books featuring diverse characters, but I now try to place them in stories that have nothing to do with diversity, not overtly anyway." So in a week when "Watchman" will be on everyone's lists, consider "Mexican WhiteBoy."

Did I mention it was banned in Arizona?

I'm a sucker for a banned book. Aren't you?

Tell me what you're reading on Twitter @thethreadmpr and @KerriMPR.

Kerri Miller is the host of MPR News with Kerri Miller and Talking Volumes.