“This Side of Home” A Book Review You’re Sure to Love

You’re looking for a good book to read and the book “This Side of Home” is a great choice if you love stories about struggle and understanding.

The Plot

This Side of Home revolves around the main character Maya Young, an African-American high school senior who is growing up in Portland, Oregon, which is currently undergoing gentrification. Her father is a prominent member of the community, mentoring young black men in the neighborhood and offering scholarships to people at the local high school.

Maya is now facing many challenges in her life: she and her twin sister, Nikki, don’t see eye to eye on the changing of their neighborhood or their plans for the future, the twins’ best friend, Essence, is moving away, and Maya isn’t so sure about the feelings she has for her boyfriend or for the new boy who moved into Essence’s old house. On top of all of that, Maya’s high school has hired a new principal whose views differ drastically from those of Maya’s.

Throughout the novel, Maya learns how to deal with the many issues concerning class, race, and gentrification in her neighborhood, but also how to keep her values and adapt to her changing world. This Side of Home is a fantastic book, for several reasons, including strong female characters, a realistic and interesting plot, and the delicate handling of many real-world issues.

Strong Female Characters

Maya, Nikki, and Essence are great examples of strong female characters who care about each other, their futures, and the neighborhood and culture around them. Maya is always wanting to make a change for the better in her community, which is why it is so hard for her to maintain a balance between staying true to herself and her values and adapting to the changes and modernization that her neighborhood is undergoing.

Maya isn’t necessarily against the businesses and safety that gentrification is bringing, but wonders why natives of her community couldn’t bring the change and are bothered by the idea that things are only getting better because of the influx of outsiders. Essence has a tough personal life, with an alcoholic mother and limited financial resources, but she never gives up and continues to fight for her future.

The twins and Essence all support each other throughout their lives and their different points of view, caring much more about their neighborhood, real-world issues, and making a positive change.

Realistic and Interesting

One of the best things about This Side of Home is how realistic the plot is. When the book ends, it isn’t wrapped up with a perfect bow. Things are much better at the ending, but not every problem is resolved and the characters’ lives don’t become perfect. Maya, Essence, and Nikki don’t end up accomplishing their dream of going to the same college, but their friendship remains strong. Maya has resolved many of her personal issues, including those with her boyfriend, Devin, and the boy across the street, Tony.

She and her new principal still don’t see eye to eye at the end of the book, but were able to communicate better and come to some sort of a compromise. Maya learns more about herself over the course of the novel and finds the balance between her roots, values, and changing world. Author Renée Watson is able to incorporate so many different elements of a high schooler’s life to keep the plot interesting and at the same time, avoiding a book that is too overwhelming or confusing.

This Side of Homeweaves together many interesting elements that are combined with realism to achieve a fantastic book.

Real-World Issues

This Side of Home confronts many real-world issues with a unique and refreshing perspective. Maya’s ambition and drive, as well as her determination to stay true to who she is, doesn’t hide the fact that gentrification has a good and a bad side, and allows readers to think about their own opinions. Race and class issues also play a prominent role in the book and shape many aspects of Maya’s, Nikki’s, and Essence’s lives.

The local high school, which used to be predominantly black, is attracting more and more diversity, which causes conflict when the new principal wants to ignore the Black History Month tradition the school had in favor of a new ceremony that he believed would be more “inclusive”. This Side of Home brings to light many issues facing the real world today and shows how they can impact so many people and so many facets of their lives. The inclusion and importance of these issues further intensify how realistic the book is, and Maya’s frustration is equivalent to that which many people feel today.

This Side of Home serves as an excellent read for all ages, doubling as an interesting fictional book that orbits around several important, real-world events.