Renée Watson does a good job on portraying what it's like to deal with new changes in a once commonly known black neighborhood. This book was very realistic especially to me.

The novel centers on teenager Maya and her twin sister Nikki. They are the best of friends along with another girl name Essence. Things change when Essence moves and a white family moves in. Now Maya has to deal with the challenges of falling in love and dealing with her neighborhood that is now mostly white now.

This book is great because it's so realistic. This book focuses on racism and how much harder it is for black people to get opportunities than white people. I love Maya and Nikki but I found myself relating more with Maya. As a Black Girl, I totally get where Maya was coming from. This book was an amazing read and I was totally invested in all the characters. I love Tony and Maya's relationship! And I love how honest their conversations were.

This novel was very great and I think everyone should read it because it has so much important topics most books won't talk about. I just wished it was more longer.

My actual start rating 4.5.

I really enjoyed this book.

Maya Younger is a black teenage girl who has to adjust to the changes that are made throughout her last year in High School. Her best friend has to move forty-five minutes away as the landlord wants to sell the house. Gentrification kicks in as the town Maya lives in starts to become affluent. Coffee shops pop up and what was once a predominantly 'black' neighbourhood has become a neighbourhood filled with big wigs and 'white' people.

This is something I can definitely relate to. London has become one of the most expensive areas to live in the UK, the those who could once afford Mayfair and Chelsea, now have to settle for inner city boroughs. The borough becomes affluent and the costs rise and before you know it, people you've known all your life, have to move out of borough because they can no longer afford it. My motto is that once you see a Costa or a Starbucks, what you once knew the area to be is gone (many inner city boroughs have never had Costas or Starbucks!)

It's a story that I know too well and I completely empathised with Maya on the challenge of accepting the changes that were taking place around her. What I loved about her development as the story progressed was that she may not have liked some of the changes within the town, but she understood the reasons as to why they happened, and in turn, made changes also.

The way Maya expresses herself and her feelings were flawless and she had such a mature attitude to towards life, but still making decisions that a normal teenager would.

Spoiler

She falls in love with the neighbour that moves into her friends house and has to also tackle the issue of diversity and race relations that we unfortunately still have to go through.

Thankfully throughout the book these issues were discussed with grace and respect and definitely not a biased point of view.

I can't stress enough, what a wonderful read this book was, and I would encourage others to read it!

At first I didn't like the way the main character, Maya, was written. I thought her voice was too young and she seemed to kind-of one dimensional. As the book progressed, I revised my opinion. Within a few chapters she has more of the balance between childhood and adulthood that charaterizes teenagers. While I didn't love all the teenage romance, I really enjoyed the honest discussions about race, authority, history, and the difference between good intentions and good actions.

I'd recommend for anyone looking for a book with a thoughtful teen protag, who doesn't mind a bit of teen romance.

This was a great (if somewhat heavy-handed) look into the gentrification of Northeast Portland through the eyes of a Black 16-year-old, whose whole neighborhood is changing rapidly as Black residents are pushed out to make way for middle- and upper-class White-owned businesses and residents. Maya is a relatable and passionate protagonist who does not shy away from discussing and addressing racism, classism, and tokenism. Her twin sister Nikki responds to the gentrification of their neighborhood in a different way, and ultimately Maya is able to see the validity of Nikki's reactions and actions too.

My main criticism of this book is that I would have liked to see it address intersectionality of oppression a little more thoroughly. While it dealt with race and class, it did not deal with how these two "isms" interact with sexism (despite the central protagonist being a girl), and there were no LGBTQ characters or characters with disabilities (except maybe Z, who was more of a Chekhov's gun than a 3-dimensional character). I did appreciate the diversity of Black characters: driven, college-bound students Maya, Devin, and Charles; alcoholic and abusive Mrs. Darlene Jackson (the mother of Maya's best friend Essence); Maya's father who is a civil rights activist and mentor for Black boys; sycophantic school principal Mr. Green; knowledgeable old Mr. Washington; inspiring and brilliant journalism teacher Mrs. Armstrong.

I also felt like some of the story arcs got dropped along the way rather than being resolved, which was a bit unsatisfying.

I hope this book is read in middle and high school classrooms, and that it is used to help students identify and act against various forms of oppression, particularly racism and gentrification.

Five stars a million times over.

Complicated, layered story about a changing neighborhood, changing relationships, and growing up. Really loved Maya. Really hated the principal. I think that's the way it's supposed to be. It left me wanting just a little bit more, which is always a good sign.

This Side of Home is a celebration of culture, Portland, and the importance of love and respect despite racial differences. This impressive young adult debut from Renée Watson is thought-provoking, riveting, and full of vivid descriptions of a well-loved Portland neighborhood. It highlights that differences needn’t be divisive and that young people can be more than one thing at a time. If you’re looking for a realistic, contemporary young adult novel that celebrates Black history and features twins, This Side of Home is a winner! Full review here https://readingmiddlegrade.com/this-side-of-home-renee-watson-review/

I appreciate what this book is trying to accomplish but it seemed a little cliche to me.

This is THE most timely and relevant book for my neighborhood in Seattle, which is undergoing the same social and emotional turbulence of gentrification as Portland depicted in this story.

Complications of loyalty, repercussions of activism, and the changing nature of childhood promises add depth. Main character Maya is the only character fully realized but I recognized all the rest as the community I interact with daily. My own experiences fleshed out what some might consider to be flimsy secondaries.

I think this book pokes the bruise of uncomfortable topics that many teens feel but cannot necessarily articulate. There is a lot to discuss here and it needs to be discussed for teens to get a fuller picture of all the issues. This is a classroom read or book club pick with lasting importance, not the fast pace and high drama that teens might choose for themselves.