This Side of Home
We all want to see our communities flourish. With Oregon’s growth and change in population, the impacts of development can seem like improvement to some residents yet negatively affect others. This piece of young adult fiction by award-winning Oregon author, Renee Watson, tells the story of twin sisters navigating such circumstances in their neighborhood. Maya and Nikki used to agree on almost everything but find themselves disagreeing about the path to progress for their community. One sister is deeply passionate about her community and its history. The other champions all that is new and changing. Watson masterfully allows the reader to experience the conflict through her writing and come to their own conclusions.
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Emilyhakim
Review posted November 16, 2021
Being from Portland I really appreciated the book and all the Portland references. I thought it was a beautiful story that included very real experiences of growing up in a white city as a black person and what it is like to watch your city/ neighborhood become gentrified. I like that there are moments of history mentioned and very real social experiences and feelings throughout the book. Beautifully written and great character development.