Indigo & Ida

February 13, 2023
In Capps’s endearing debut, biracial (white and Black) eighth grader Indigo Fitzgerald faces scrutiny and microaggressions from her peers during her campaign for class president. When Indigo, an investigative vlogger, intentionally lands herself in detention to interrogate her school’s detention policy, which she believes is disproportionately harsh against students of color, she borrows a copy of the autobiography of journalist and activist Ida B. Wells (1862–1931), which contains letters between the pages written by Wells to an unnamed friend. Inspired by Wells’s drive and determined to better her own school, Indigo decides to run for class president. But when she posts a vlog about her detention policy findings (“No white students are being sent to after-school prison,” she says), her initially supportive classmates accuse her of disregarding “important issues” such as a no-homework mandate, claiming that “not everything is about race.” Wells’s fictional letters—created by Capps, who “used real stories from Ida’s life to shape them,” as outlined in an author’s note—appear throughout, focusing on historical aspects of the story. In particular, they shed light on the figure’s accomplishments and explore how her legacy bolsters contemporary advocacy pursuits. Forthright conversations surrounding privilege between Indigo and her white mother further elevate this complex depiction of race and discrimination. Ages 10–13. Agent: Shannon Hassan, Marsal Lyon Literary.