Author: Chrystal D Giles
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: That Girl Lucy Moon by Amy Timberlake
Pieces of Why by K. L. Going
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher: Brand-new kicks, ripped denim shorts, Supreme tee--
Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That--and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games--is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to.
But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they're doing is arguing. Even Wes's best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn't about to give up the only home he's ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it . . . before it's too late?
My opinion: Not enough books address gentrification at all, much less explain what it is in a way easily understood by a middle grade audience. Wes is a character whose parents want him to be socially aware and responsible. They want him to care about what's going on in the world. Like most kids, Wes doesn't see the point. Like most of us, he only really starts to care when things directly affect him. When he sees how gentrification affects his neighborhood he begins to understand the point of protesting. He see how a person can make a difference, how trying even when an action is futile says something to those in charge. Giles takes the exploration a step further by introducing us to two ends of the spectrum: a character whose family is benefiting from upward mobility but now faces increased social pressure and one whose world is falling apart, who faces bullying and violence at every turn. While the resolution rests on a few convenient turns, the ideas are worth discussing and the book on the whole is pleasant to read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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