A review by sam_dupree_reads
There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 Heck yeah, you know it's gonna be good when the first read of the year is a 5 star!!

I started recommending this to students halfway through the book, that's how good this is. I didn't even need the ending, I just knew it was going to hit. And it did. I loved our lead character. As a teacher of 10th graders, this is one of the most sophomore-y sophomores to ever sophomore. She loves fiercely and passionately and contains zero ability to critically think very far in to the future in any way other than the most awful thing but she still fights for what she knows the be right and the right thing for her is saving the town she grew up in from the tide of gentrification and the looming threat of eviction for one of her best friends. Oh, and now she has a crush on one of the other ones...

I seriously loved this. It's like, YA Finlay Donovan but socially and politically conscious. There is serious weight to what happens here and even though theoretically it gets cleaned up nicely, there is a time when you genuinely believe it won't be. The characters had genuine love for one another and acted like friends/family, including plenty of fights and disagreements. A great new read to add to a collection and DEFINITELY one to add to a classroom library. 

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