A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, published as adult fiction but appropriate for and accessible to young adults, is divided into three sections, each titled with the name of its narrator. Rayona Taylor-a fifteen-year-old girl who is half Native American, half African American-tells of being abandoned by her mother, running away from her grandmother’s home, and working for a summer at a state park. Christine George Taylor, Rayona’s mother, reflects on her experiences growing up on an Indian reservation in Montana, escaping to Seattle, and returning in her 40s to confront her mother and her past. Ida George, Christine’s 57-year-old mother, completes the story by unraveling her own perspectives on herself, her family, and the choices people face and eventually accept. This novel was cited as a Best Book by the American Library Association in 1988.
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