Gettiing caught up or caught out there is not right if you are unprepared to either accept reality or deal with a world full of challenges. Needless to say, having the right mindset is a first step in getting you ready for whatever comes your way. There are quite a few things that can happen, if you are not ready to do either.

Before I tell you more about Helen Oyeyemi's new book called Boy, Snow, Bird, let's prepare your thinking for the challenges presented in the storyline. Think about your own perspective on truthfulness, forgiveness, nurturing and deceit. Here is some Food For Thought.

Since February is officially Black History Month, it is only fitting that we indulge in a dab of School Daze, a pinch of Imitation of Life and a handful of Snow White. That way we are sure to have all the ingredients we need to decide whether or not Boy, Snow, Bird is worth a read.

Spike Lees School Daze Movie darn near hit the nail on the head by exploring the dialogue and self talk many African Americans have about skintone in today's society. His modern and touching cinematic masterpiece came long after the type of black and white language used in Imitation of Life. Yet, it is still as powerful and breathtaking.

Instead of educated and proud to be attitudes, the movie Imitation of Life showed us a girl who was ashamed, one who longed to be something she wasn't, white. How we draw our color lines seems so conflicting at times but I digress. Although this light skin, dark skin topic continues to be subject to creative exploration, the age old topic will never become extinct. Genetics won't allow it and so we have Helen Oyeyemi's Novel, Boy (the mother), Snow (the step daughther), Bird (the Black child).

The story builds around a young woman who thinks she's escaping a tumultuous life for what she believes is a Cinderella ending with her new husband, only to have reality give her a good slap in the face. Boy discovers that discovers that her husband Arturo is keeping a secret that shows up only after she gives birth to a baby girl, Bird. Yes folks, Boy is a woman and she is White.

Boy is confronted with so much all at once. Facing the fact that her marriage is built on lies that run genetically deep is only the half of it. Husband Arturo and his family have been passing for white. How will she respond to her h Arturo and her new baby Bird? Was her step daughter aware of her genetic roots and what about Bird's development? How will she feel?

This powerful story is designed to force us to consider how we feel about truthfulness, forgiveness, parental nurturing, and deceit. One reviewer described the story as a retelling of Snow White, playing on the "fairest of them all" beauty concept. The wordplay of the story includes talk of mirrors too.

The subject matter leaves the door open for some real big questions. Not only for Boy but for readers as well. Boy, Snow, Bird will be released on February 27, 2014 (Kindle Edition). What makes you curious about this story and how does your own life experiences affect your feelings about the story?  Would this story be good for the big screen?