A review by jennybeastie
The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley

4.0

Jin's adopted Korean grandparents run a neighborhood bodega, Elvin's mom is battling cancer in California, and Alex's family own a high end developer company that she is in constant rebellion against. Between the diversity of the characters and the complexity of the plot -- a decades long missing art puzzle that centers on Harlem, there's a lot to enjoy in this book. It _is_ complicated, and takes a while to really take off, pacing wise, but the community activism is inspiring and the puzzle solving is solid and interesting. The kids take a lot of risks on their quest, and don't keep the adults much informed, but that's more what being a kid used to be. Independence has to happen sometime. I'm not sure what grade they are in (guessing 7th?) and I wish they treated Rose a little better, but on the whole, a solid read.