Some Places More Than Others

June 3, 2019
When “sneaker-head” Amara Baker expresses a wish to visit her father’s childhood home in Harlem for her upcoming 12th birthday, her mother, eight months pregnant with a baby sister Amara is less than thrilled about, isn’t too keen on the idea. But when her humanities teacher assigns a project requiring Amara to delve into her family history, her father agrees to take her to visit his family, including Grandpa Earl, with whom her dad hasn’t spoken in 12 years. New York City is far more intense than small-town Beaverton, Ore., where Amara’s from, yet the more of Harlem Amara sees, the more she begins to love the neighborhood for the wealth of African-American history it represents. And she begins to cherish the relatives that her father, a poet turned Nike executive, left behind, including his own father, a former basketball coach who once held a limited view of masculinity. Watson (Piecing Me Together) composes a quiet, emotive story of finding home in a new place and finding family among new people. Watson’s Harlem comes alive on the page, lovingly viewed by flawed but lovable characters whose story underscores themes of family, history, and forgiveness. Age 8–12.

Starred review from August 1, 2019

Gr 4-6-For Amara's 12th birthday, she longs to travel to Harlem with her father to see where he grew up and meet the family she's spoken with only on the phone. Amara's mother objects to the trip, but a school assignment requiring research on family history helps put father and daughter on a plane to New York. Watson, Newbery Honor winner for Piecing Me Together, is a master of structure and character development. Amara's emerging sense of self contrasts with yearning for stories of her family's past and foreshadows the strained family relationships that will be revealed, and healed, during the Harlem trip. Readers experience the city through Amara's eager eyes, taking in the sights, sounds, and history on every street. Seeing statues of Harriet Tubman and Adam Clayton Powell and touring the Schomburg Center give Amara the connection she's been searching for: "the journey I am on has many footprints, many stories coming with me." Her eloquent, powerful poem at the novel's end shows that her journey is off to a solid start. VERDICT Amara's search for her roots is tender and empowering. An essential purchase for all middle grade libraries.-Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
On a birthday trip to New York City, a girl learns about her roots, Harlem, and how to stay true to herself. Eleven-year-old sneakerhead Amara is struggling to feel seen and heard. A new baby sister is on the way, her mom still wants to put her in dresses, and that birthday trip from the Portland, Oregon, suburbs to New York City that she so desperately wants feels out of reach. When Amara gets a family-history assignment, she is finally able to convince her mom to say yes to the trip, since it will allow Amara to meet her dad's side of the family in person. In addition to the school project, her mom gives Amara a secret mission: get her dad and grandpa to spend time alone together to repair old wounds. Harlem proves unlike any place Amara has ever been, and as she explores where her father grew up she experiences black history on every street. Watson is a master at character development, with New York City and especially Harlem playing central roles. Through her all-black cast she seamlessly explores issues of identity, self, and family acceptance. Although the ending feels rushed, with no resolution between Amara and her mom, Amara's concluding poem is powerful. A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us--not to be missed. (Fiction. 9-11)

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July 1, 2019
Grades 5-7 Amara, almost 12, leads a comfortable life in Beaverton, Oregon. Her dad works for Nike, and that brings perks. Her mom owns a boutique and is pregnant with Amara's soon-to-be sister. But when her teacher assigns a family history project, she realizes there's a lot she doesn't know: Why is her father estranged from Grandpa Earl? Does it have something to do with her birthday being so close to her grandmother's death? After much pleading, Amara is allowed to accompany her father on a business trip to New York, where she visits with relatives, tries to mend old feuds, starts a new one, and unravels family secrets. Though there are few surprises here, Watson creates characters that pop, especially Amara, who, through her first-person narration, demonstrates how past events affect the present. The Harlem setting makes a good background for Amara's growing awareness of Black history and how her privileged existence (a source of irritation to her cousin Ava) has been built on the shoulders of those who came before?some historical figures, others closer to home. Satisfying in many ways.HIGH-DEMAND BACK STORY: Books from Watson, a Newbery Honor winner and Coretta Scott King-award winning author, always generate a buzz.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2019
What Amara wants more than anything for her twelfth birthday (in exactly two weeks and one day) is to visit New York City with her dad. In addition to experiencing a city with more diversity and excitement than her hometown of Beaverton, Oregon, Amara hopes to finally meet her father's side of the family. When she convinces her parents to let her go, her mother (who is eight months pregnant) makes a daunting request?that Amara get her father and grandfather to spend time alone together, after more than a decade of estrangement. Amara's trip becomes a whirlwind of highs and lows as she is introduced to the rich history of African Americans in Harlem, learns how to relate to her cousins, and uncovers the source of the animosity between her father and grandfather. As she learns more about her grandma, Grace, who died the day she was born, Amara discovers the importance of loving family through all differences. It's a lesson that reaches Amara (who has her own strained relationship with her glamorous clothing-designer mother) just in time for her to welcome the newest member of the family. As the author did in her YA novel Piecing Me Together (rev. 7/17), Watson proves her deftness in depicting settings; while the two places are as different as can be, the reader comes away with an appreciation of both Oregon and New York. The history that surrounds Amara in Harlem ( there's?no place else that constantly reminds us that we are important, that we come from a people who sacrificed and fought and protested for us to be able to walk these streets free ) provides a parallel to the resilience of Amara's paternal family. eboni njoku

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)