Like Home

Starred review from December 1, 2020

Gr 6-10-Ginger East is the only home Nigerian American 16-year-old Chinelo, or Nelo as her close friends call her, has ever known. It has a reputation for being unsafe, but Nelo knows it's just a misconception formed by tragic events that happened in the past. An act of vandalism at her best friend's neighborhood store combined with the news of a fancy corporate spice store coming to her neighborhood send her reeling and seeking a way to express herself. When a viral video pushes Nelo into the spotlight, she becomes the face of Ginger East. On top of her sudden fame, it seems as though her best friend Kate, who is Vietnamese American, now wants nothing to do with her, and Nelo seeks out forms of protest through a neighborhood community group that shares her feelings about the recent changes. Nelo has to confront that whether she likes it or not, things are changing around her and she has to fight for her home. This book brings readers into the world of Ginger East, a neighborhood that is no stranger to violence, gangs, and police brutality, but introduces these topics in a way that is palatable for a middle school audience. The diverse cast of characters were a tight-knit group of best friends as kids, most of whom moved away from their neighborhood and now have been reunited through their shared experiences in Ginger East. VERDICT A touching coming-of-age story, this is highly recommended for younger audiences who are looking for alternatives to more mature titles like Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give and Nic Stone's Dear Martin without losing the poignancy of the topics at hand. A must-have for middle school collections.-Erica Coonelly, Monroe Township M.S., NJ

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2020
Chinelo is happy the way things are; she just has to convince everyone else to stop seeking change. Nigerian Canadian high schooler Chinelo has accepted the fact that some of her childhood neighborhood crew have left for what their families perceived as better neighborhoods. At least Kate Tran, her Vietnamese Canadian best friend, still lives in Ginger East. The Trans, who are like a second family to Chinelo, still run their store, a neighborhood institution. But things are changing: Rents are going up, and upscale shops are appearing along with a new crosswalk. But when the Trans' store is vandalized and Kate starts pulling away from Chinelo, the changes become too much. As Chinelo tries to prove it was an outsider to the neighborhood who threw the brick through the store window, her outspokenness lands her in a viral video and on the TV news, and a neighborhood protest she helps organize ends badly. Chinelo's youthful, down-to-earth voice is humorous and utterly believable. The serious topics of gentrification, stereotyping, and inequality are ruthlessly examined without getting in the way of an engaging story of a young woman trying to find her place in a changing world. The effortless diversity of the cast--supporting characters are Black, Trinidadian, and Colombian--is a model for fiction. Light and serious, playful and real, this is a debut not to be missed. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.