Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on January 26, 2021
ISBN: 0593175174
Pages: 240
Genres: Adventure
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Wes Henderson is cool: well-dressed and well-liked. He is about to start 6th grade, and he’d rather be playing video games and being a kid than going to protests with his activist mom. The neighborhood is changing around them. Real estate developers have gentrified nearby neighborhoods, including ones where his friends Kari and Mya live. While Wes loves his friends, he doesn’t really understand the big deal with gentrification until it comes for his neighborhood, Kensington Oaks. Meanwhile, Mya is navigating being new in a more upscale (and whiter) neighborhood and Kari and his family are at risk of losing their home. Wes grows up before our eyes as he leverages his problem solving skills and intimate knowledge of his community in the fight to save his neighborhood. Sometimes you have to look back to see the way ahead. A wonderful middle grade novel, recommended for any library.

 

Reviewed by Savannah Sessions, District Elementary Librarian, RSU #17 (Oxford Hills)