In an exclusive interview with AMFM Magazine, actress and author Sara Amini reveals how she transformed a decade of personal essays into Mixed Feelings, her breakout semi-autobiographical graphic novel that’s earning raves from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly.
Born to an Iranian immigrant father and a Colombian immigrant mother in Houston, Texas, Amini has turned the very specific chaos of growing up mixed-race — complete with 1990s sitcom obsessions, puberty horror stories, and the constant search for belonging — into a laugh-out-loud, heartfelt middle-grade series that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable.
Why This Iranian-Colombian Story Had to Be a Graphic Novel
Amini first wrote her story as a prose memoir in 2016. When her agent suggested switching to graphic novel format in 2020, she hesitated — but quickly realized visuals were essential. “This was the way that it needed to be told,” she says. “It needed to be a visual medium.”
The format perfectly captures the mortifying yet hilarious reality of middle school: sprouting sideburns so thick she was called “werewolf” and “Elvis,” hiding facial hair like a Chia pet, and feeling like no one on TV or at school looked like her. “No one can escape puberty unscathed,” Amini laughs. “I really wanted to lean into the humor of that.”
Mixed Identity, Universal Truths
At home, her parents beautifully blended Iranian and Colombian cultures. Outside, she felt invisible. “There was no one like me at school… no one like me on TV.” Her father repaired televisions and VCRs, filling their house with screens that became both a family bonding ritual and a painful reminder of her absence from American pop culture.
Mixed Feelings doesn’t shy away from tough subjects — changing friendships, betrayal, racism, xenophobia, and immigration — while centering the joy of finding your people and the power of arts programs like drama club. The third book in the series is set during the 9/11 attacks, a storyline that feels strikingly relevant today. Yet Amini’s core message is one of connection: “We’re more alike than we are different.”
A Three-Book Journey & What’s Next
Scholastic gave Amini the gift of a three-book series, allowing her story to breathe across middle school. Book Two (out this October) dives into crushes, AIM chats, and first heartbreaks — “the funniest of the three.” Book Three arrives next summer.
For young readers who see themselves in Sara’s journey, Amini’s advice is clear and passionate: chase your passion relentlessly, write every day, treat your craft like an athlete trains, and embrace collaboration. Her own “Hail Mary” moment — quitting her job in Austin and moving to LA on a whim in 2010 — proves that bold leaps can change everything.
Currently, fans can catch the Iranian-Colombian actress (sporting blonde hair for the role) on Peacock’s The Copenhagen Test.
Mixed Feelings is more than a graphic novel — it’s a mirror for every kid who’s ever felt caught between worlds, and a warm, funny reminder that those awkward, fuzzy middle-school years don’t last forever. In a time when mixed-race stories are more needed than ever, Sara Amini has delivered a series that celebrates difference while reminding us how much we share.
