I loved this book! It was so easy to fall into this story and kept me engaged. I loved the characters and will absolutely add this book to my classroom library and recommend to students!

Amara visits her dad's family in Harlem for her 12th birthday. There are a few surprises that are uncovered and she learns more about her family's history. Great read!

I love books that make the reader think, and this one definitely did just that. It brings up past, present, and future and what it means to find yourself. Everyone has to find their own way in life and Amara really wants just that - to find herself in her journey of finding her family and what family actually means.

Renée Watson can have my money. She is one of the authors whose books I'll buy sight unseen. I am reviewing this book almost a year after its publication. I bought a copy for my classroom library and it was never in the shelves for long. My students found Amara to be very relatable and the book's popularity is based on how effusively they talk about the book. I even had a teacher ask to borrow it after hearing one of my kids rave about it in the cafeteria.

This is just to say that adults and youngsters alike will relate to Amara's exploration of her identity.

Another wonderful, relatable story from Renee Watson. Since I enjoyed Peicing Me Together, as did many of my students, I was excited to be able to read this book as well. I enjoyed reading 12 year old Amara's story, and exploring the ideas of identity, family, and belonging as she spends time with her father's family in Harlem. This will be a welcome addition to my middle school classroom library.

Watson's Piecing Me Together was nothing short of stellar, so I was eagerly anticipating her next middle grade book and it did not disappoint. With a little less urgent pace than her first title (i.e: Jade's push to get out of her bad neighborhood), in Some Places More Than Others, we have a more mellow, often exploratory feel, where Amara is trying to piece together (sorry!) her history, roots and her own identity/space within.

That's not to say there aren't explosive or snarky moments, there are plenty. Case in point, Amara, taking off after a tiff with her cousin in the middle of New York without so much as a goodbye to anyone, or the rift between her father and grandfather and the reason why they haven’t spoken to each other for so long.

Watson infuses the story with so much depth and she does it subtly. There are layers in this book and much room for discussion of class, privilege (Oregon/Harlem), identity and culture (mom doing Amara’s hair, going to church). We need a million more publishers to say yes to books like this and I find myself eagerly anticipating Watson’s next middle grade book.

Renee Watson has a 100% success rate with me. I've loved everything I've read of hers (and I've read everything except her picture books) and I think this one is my favorite yet.

Amara is meeting most of her dad's family for the first time. She's met her aunt, but not her cousins or grandfather. (It turns out that her dad and grandpa haven't really spoken in years, and she doesn't know why.)

That's probably overwhelming enough but they live in New York City (specifically Harlem) and Amara's never been there before. (His dad is from New York but moved back to Oregon, where Amara's mom is from.) Combine the two, and this vacation is A LOT for Amara.

I love this book so much. It's all about history but it's both the history of Amara's family and of Black people in general. It's fascinating and it doesn't read like a lecture. (It makes me want to visit all the places mentioned in here the next time I go to New York and I definitely want to try those beef patties. They sound like perfection.)

If you haven't read Renee Watson, this is a great place to start---but there's no bad place to start, either. Highly recommended.

A young girl searches to learn more about herself while visiting her father in Harlem. She meets her extended family, learns about their family's history and secrets and grows more than she ever thought possible. I loved the description of Harlem as Amara walked through the streets of the neighborhood. Renée Watson is a wonderful writer and this book does not disappoint.

Some Places More Than Others is a beautiful story about family and connecting with one's roots. Amara lives a comfortable life in Oregon with her parents, but she doesn't know much about the rest of her family and has always wanted to visit New York, specifically Harlem, where her dad is from. A class assignment furthers her curiosity about her roots, but her mother doesn't approve the trip to New York, partially because her dad and her Grandpa Earl haven't spoken in twelve years. Though it takes some convincing, she finally gets her wish fulfilled and travels to New York with her father. There, she meets her grandfather and two cousins for the first time and starts to learn more about her family history as well as Black history. However, it's a struggle to get her father and grandfather to speak to each other and reconcile their differences and painful past.

I love that this story was centered on parent-child bonds and how the expectations parents project onto their kids can cause rifts in their relationship. I also appreciated the tour of Harlem and the important figures of and monuments to Black history that were featured throughout. I felt like I was there in Harlem alongside Amara, and reading about it has inspired me to want to visit the place in person to experience it for myself. The story has a happy end, and this book made me want to interview my dad about his childhood to delve into my own roots.

As I read through this book, I was initially unimpressed. The exploration of family secrets is fairly standard. In fact, it has some notable plot failings. There are moments that don't make much sense. Even the inciting incident - Amara's mother is insistent that she is too young to visit New York. Then suddenly, without explanation, she not only changes her mind, she expects Amara to help mend the rift between her father and grandfather. And for a rift that has lasted over a decade, it's resolved quickly, with a calm conversation. I'd also complain that her dad is very dismissive of Amara's feelings regarding her relationship with her mother. Amara says that she feels like she doesn't live up to her mother's expectations, the very thing that lies between the father and grandfather, but the father waves this away. Even with all of these concerns, I still love this book. I love the exploration of the ways that a place make us who we are, that we are more than just our experiences. We are generations of history. And that is a beautiful idea to contemplate.

It’s rare to read a book with so few pages that can tackle very difficult topics and yet leave the reader feeling such resolve. Watson did just that in Some Places More than Others. Amara lives in Beaverton, Oregon with her mother and father. She’s an only child and has watched her mom go through multiple miscarriages. Her mom is finally pregnant again with a little girl and Amara doesn’t quite know how she feels about this pregnancy since she’s long past hoping for a sibling.

Amara’s dad grew up in Harlem where her grandfather and cousins all still live. And over the course of the book, she discovers that her father and grandfather haven’t spoken since the day Amara was born. As luck would have it, Amara’s class is doing a suitcase project where she must look at her family and include all sorts of important pieces (pictures, poems, small items, etc.) that help define where she comes from. So for her 12th birthday, she asks to go to New York, tour the area, and get to know her family roots. However, she has NO idea how her experiences will change her life and outlook forever.

The characters in this story are so realistic and relatable. I personally hurt through Amara’s recognition of the broken relationship, knowing what it feels like to be a child witnessing confusing conflict between the ones we love. Additionally, rarely is miscarriage discussed from a child’s point of view. But Watson’s examination was so eloquent — showcasing the confusion and evident pain through young eyes. I also appreciated the bits and pieces of black history weaved into the heart of the story — I was reminded of important events and even learned about new ones. Oh my, I heartily recommend this one for both middle grade and young adult libraries. Thanks to NetGallery and Bloomsbury for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

- 5 Stars -

CW: miscarriage (while this isn't graphic, it is mentioned frequently so this is just something to be aware of).

Happy book birthday to this tender, heartfelt novel! And thanks so much to Netgalley for letting me read an eARC.

This is about Amara: she's on the cusp of her twelfth birthday and all she wants is to visit New York with her father, who travels there frequently for business. Amara gets her wish, and she plans to visit all the sights in New York as well as her family in Harlem - the thing is, her father and grandfather haven't spoken in twelve years. Alongside this overarching plot, Amara also has to complete a project for a class: a suitcase project, in which she must choose important relics and memories from her family and present them to the class. What follows is a story filled with heartbreak and second chances.

I loved the characters. They were authentic, flawed, and realistic. Their relationships with each other were believable and very fleshed out. Their motivations, hopes, and fears were well developed, too, and I was rooting for them the whole time.

Amara is such an intuitive, compassionate person. I especially loved her relationship with her father, and how she tried to help him face the conflicts with his father.

This is about family and the history and memories that make us who we are. It's a hopeful story that shows young readers how everyone is flawed and has baggage. If you love Jacqueline Woodson and Ashley Herring Blake, then this is the story for you! I'm looking forward to reading more from Watson.

I highly recommend this novel!

Families are complicated. When circumstances are hard to discuss and specific events are avoided at all costs, they can become untouchable and secretive. In Some Places More Than Others, Amara is an only child in a happy family, but there is tension in the extended family, and she doesn't understand how her father hasn't spoken to her grandfather since the day she was born. Amara wishes to learn more about her relatives before becoming a big sister, and when her class is assigned the Suitcase Project, a research project to showcase their family's impact on their lives, Amara is able to convince her parents a trip to New York City is exactly what she needs to better understand her roots. Through being willing to persevere after misunderstandings and being brave enough to have the tough conversations, new bonds are formed.

This is a heartwarming middle-grade story of relationships being restored and the value of being connected to others, of how we can discover how we belong to others and the role a family plays in how we view the world.

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Everyone’s family is filled with stories of the past and how everything connects. This tale will have you thinking about your own family and how there might still be some I love you’s that need to be expressed.

Amara flies out to New York City from Oregon with her dad. Her pregnant mom stays home as Amara’s new little sister due is soon. Once in New York City, they stay in Harlem at his father’s house who he has not talked to in twelve years. Something in their relationship caused the rift. Amara only knows her grandfather from conversations on the phone. With a family project she must do for school, Amara wants answers about the past but doesn’t know where to look. No one wants to revisit the bad feelings.

When Amara meets her two cousins they don’t hit it off—especially Ava. She sees Amara as a spoiled brat living a rich person’s life. Not entirely true but to someone living in a cramped space in Harlem, Amara’s setup in Oregon has all the earmarks of the privileged class.

Told in first person through Amara’s eyes, it’s a heartfelt story of discovery. The writing flows in beautiful style and the poetry at the end bring a lasting tribute to all.
(For the full review visit: https://gpattridge.com/2019/08/25/some-places-more-than-others/

I unfortunately won't be able to finish this by the archive date, but I really love what I've read so far. This author is a real talent!

More than anything else Amara wants to go to NYC with her dad for her birthday. It becomes even more important when she learns about a family history project for school and she realizes how little she knows - in fact, she didn't even know her dad and grandfather haven't spoken for 12 years (the year she was born, the year her grandma died - coincidence?). When her parents finally agree to let her go Amara takes the opportunity to learn more about her family, her roots, and maybe bring healing to her father and grandfather.
This was a good story about family relationships, healing, and also some good African American heritage especially in the Harlem area.

Thank you to @netgalley and @bloomsburypublishing for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I just love Renee Watson, and this is a wonderful story about family and identity for middle school readers. When Amara is assigned a family history project in school, she sees an opportunity to do what she has always wanted - convince her parents to take her to visit her father’s childhood home in Harlem. There, she meets her grandfather, to whom her father has not spoken in twelve years, along with her aunt and cousins. She is able to immerse herself in Black culture, which is so different from her home in Oregon. I highly recommend this for all middle school collections. Go ahead and order multiple copies.

Some Places More Than Others is a really well-crafted coming-of-age novel that explores who we are and how we fit into the world of family and into the wider world, past and present. For Amara, New York and her family there are a whole new world and she can't get enough of it. And everything excites her, unlike her cousins who take it all for granted, not understanding Amara's need to linger and take pictures of what she's seeing for the first time:

"...I am starting to understand by Big T is always saying there's no place like New York. No place else that constantly reminds us that we are important, they we come from a people who sacrificed and fought and protested for us to be able to walk these streets free. What is it like to be reminded of this everyday?" (pgs. 102-103) Watson's message is very clear here - do not forget who you are and where you come from.

I think that Amara is a well-intentioned, but flawed character who nevertheless really understands what her week in New York means for her life, as she says "I want to feel like...there's a history keeping me moving, living. Like the journey I am on has many footprints, may stories coming with me." (pg. 103) Her awakening is such a wonderful part of this story.

I also felt that in Watson's hands, Harlem becomes another exciting character in Amara's identity quest. She has captured all it's beauty from the quiet reverence of the Schomburg Center to the hustle and bustle of 125th Street, and the streets named for famous African Americans - Frederick Douglas Boulevard, Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard, among others. And by the time you finish this novel, you will really appreciate the title of this novel.

Be sure to read Amara's poem at the end of the novel to find out what she puts in her Suitcase Project.

What would you put in a Suitcase Project?

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Amara's mom doesn't want her to travel with her father on his work trip from their home in Oregon to New York City. But Amara wants to see her father's family and the city where he grew up. Eventually, her mom lets Amara go with her dad but it took half the book which seemed too long in my opinion. She stays with her grandfather and hangs out with her cousins, delighting in extended family and the busy city.

I am a Renée Watson fan, so I was ecstatic when NetGalley approved my request to review this book. It will be released September 3, 2019. Preorder a copy or two for your library.

Amara is the only child in her middle class urban family. Her mother is expecting a new baby, but since there have been numerous miscarriages, Amara reists getting excited about it. She has solid friendships and is mostly happy to be where she is. Her mother is happy to live in Colorado, and could care less about returning to New York where she met Amara’s father.

Amara has never met her father’s family although she talks to her grandfather on the phone regularly. When her father, who works for Nike, is set to go to New York on a business trip, she announces that she wants to go and meet his family as a 12th birthday present. Her mothers adamantly refuses. When the visit is combined with a family history school project, her mother relents with the proviso that Amara leave her father and grandfather alone so they can mend their fences.

Once in New York, Amara is immersed in a city rich with black culture, art, history and people. As much as her grandfather wants his grandchildren to connect, there is tension between the cousins because they don’t want to have to ‘babysit’ Amara while she is visiting. This culminates in Amara taking off on her own to explore New York.

The schism between her father and grandfather stems from different understandings about what it means to be a man. Her grandfather was a coach who thought boys should be into sports while her father was a writer of poetry. They haven’t spoken since her grandmother’s funeral.

Renée Watson writes powerful characters, puts them into realistic situations, and delivers authentic responses. All readers will end up attached to these individuals and wanting the best for them. I appreciate that she shows us successful families inside and outside Harlem, all the while connecting them through similar experiences and history.

I especially appreciated this book because as a white reader of primarily children's fiction, I am mostly exposed to black families in inner cities or the American South living under difficult situations. I am thankful for this opportunity to extend my understanding of what it means to be black in American today.