I LOVED this. Loved it. I'm so grateful to Renee Watson for writing it.

A few years back, friends recommended I read _The Fortress of Solitude_ by Jonathan Lethem, because they said it was a great book about gentrification.

I wanted to love it, but it didn't grab me. And I couldn't figure out why until I read _This Side of Home_.

While _The Fortress of Solitude_ focused on young people, it wasn't written for them.

This was. And better, its protagonist was a young, black woman. (_Fortress_ was told from an entirely male perspective.) Furthermore, _Fortress_ was written in the 3rd person, and this book was written in 1st person. This made a huge difference to me-- got me closer to the characters. And even though the book was told from Maya's perspective, she's close enough with her sister Nikki (whose reaction to and opinion of what's happening in her neighborhood is different from Maya's) that Nikki's side of things is just as compelling.

This book is smart, accessible, and doesn't underestimate the intelligence of young people. And it beautifully articulates why an all-inclusive take on "diversity" is problematic. SPOILER ALERT: The principal of Richmond High was RIDICULOUS. No "Black History Month" celebration because it might piss off the white kids? And yet, authority figures like this are, unfortunately, everywhere. If they weren't, books like this wouldn't need to be written.

And yet I'm so glad that this was.