Shannon's Reviews > This Side of Home

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.