Author Raj Tawney, whose mother hails from the Bronx, debuted a children’s novel last week at the Pelham Parkway-Van Nest Library in an event he called “sort of like homecoming.”
“All Mixed Up,’ which will be released Nov. 26 by Paw Prints Publishing, is Tawney’s first novel targeting middle-grade students. It centers on a multi-ethnic sixth grade boy named Kamal, who lives in the suburbs of New York City and befriends a boy from Pakistan in 2002— just a year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Tawney said launching his new book at the Pelham library was a personal highlight, as the New York Public Library remains a pinnacle institution for anyone who grew up in or near New York City.
Though the author is from Long Island, his Puerto Rican mother grew up just minutes from the Pelham library branch, and his father immigrated from India in the 1970s. Both parents were in attendance at the Nov. 12 event, as were groups of kids tuning in via Zoom from libraries in Soundview and Staten Island. Children’s Librarian Stephen Amato interviewed Tawney and fielded questions from the children about the soon-to-be-released book.
In “All Mixed Up,” the two main characters do not have cultures in common but bond over exploring the outdoors and through food, a theme Tawney frequently explores in his writing — especially his recent memoir, “Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience.” Food is “like a gateway to understand another person’s culture,” he said.
Tawney’s own mixed-race identity came to life in the kitchen, as his Puerto Rican-Italian-Indian family would cook up spaghetti and meatballs one day and chana masala the next, he said. “We weren’t rich growing up, but I always say my taste buds were really wealthy.”
The setting and time period of “All Mixed Up” also reflect parts of Tawney’s upbringing. He spent a lot of time in the city, traveling most weekends from Long Island to Queens and the Bronx to cook with relatives, especially his Puerto Rican grandmother, he explained. Tawney said he felt less connected to the mostly-white communities of the suburbs but having the woods and big yards in addition to the rich cultural experiences of city life.
“The Bronx is definitely part of my soul,” he said.
By setting the novel one year after 9/11 — an event that kids today only know about from history lessons — Tawney explores racial and religious tensions as the United States began its decades-long “war on terror” in response to the attacks. In “All Mixed Up,” Kamal has to learn that not being white is not a failure — a lesson he also had to learn, Tawney said.
Taking on a child’s perspective in the book was another way for Tawney to make sense of his own mixed-race identity and issues of assimilation versus individuality that he confronted as a child and still grapples with in his late 30s, he explained.
“When you’re mixed, you don’t belong to any scene,” said Tawney. “I wrote [the novel] for anybody who just kind of feels like an outsider.”
The author is currently at work on a teen story that he described as “a joyride of a novel.” His memoir “Colorful Palate” is receiving critical acclaim, most recently a Best Indie Book Award.
Through Tawney’s writing, whether memoir, fiction or essay, his exploration of race and identity continues and always pays respect to his family’s roots in New York City. “I feel it’s a privilege to be a New Yorker,” he said. “I’m a product of a lot of people’s American dreams.”
“All Mixed Up” can be pre-ordered from Amazon here.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
