Take Back the Block is an insightful, inspiring, and hearty middle-grade book about community, friendship, and speaking up. This realistic debut also touches on poverty and homelessness as well as navigating a pre-pubescent crush. If you enjoy reading books by Black authors about social issues, then you should definitely add this one to your TBR!

I liked how the main character Wesley Henderson was inspired to be involved in activism by his parents. This novel introduces gentrification of urban low income neighborhoods to children. The story unfolds in an unpredictable manner and explains to readers how gentrification can directly impact people within a community.

I laughed, I cried, I finished it in under two hours. This is an essential book to keep in your classrooms, and could serve as a really interesting complement to All American Boys by Jason Reynolds. Take Back the Block breaks down gentrification and explains it in a way that is accessible yet not over simplified. The characters are scary real, and the situations feel true to life. Giles is absolutely going to be part of the new YA canon.

I really enjoyed this book. Led by a driven main character unwilling to give up, it holds community, relationships, and friendships at its core and covers an important topic I haven't seen in middle grade until now. It balances well, with good and bad outcomes, but manages to keep that all important hope alive

This was a great read! I enjoyed following the story of Wesley and his classmates as he led the fight to save his community. Ms. Giles has written a well-rounded story that is grounded in family, friendship, community, and social justice. Wes may be your everyday teen who just wants to go to school and hang out with his friends but things are turned upside down with his neighborhood being threatened with high-end development. Read this story about a boy and how he rallies to save the place he loves.

TAKE BACK THE BLOCK is THE MOST AMAZING STORY IVE READ IN SUCH A LONG TIME! I was honored in receiving an e-arc. It had everything I wanted: a strong message, powerful characters, and a realistic atmosphere. Chrystal did a phenomenal job writing this story. There is a message in these pages that everyone needs to read. I think this sorry will push the genre forward!

I loved this book. Wes is such an appealing character and the story explores important topics without being pedantic or preachy. Highly recommend.

I have a soft spot for MG novels. People don’t realize how much skill it takes to navigate adult topics with young adults. This novel deals with gentrification, and how 6th grader Wes handles it when it comes knocking at his door. This has a distinct preteen voice, and is perfect for middle schoolers.

TAKE BACK THE BLOCK is a fast-paced and exciting story about one boy's growing awareness of social justice. I'm so impressed by the voice in this novel! Twelve-year-old Wes feels like a real boy to me, with real worries about his friends and his neighborhood. His growth, from someone in the beginning who cares most about his shoes and clothes and video games, to a socially-aware and strong leader among his neighbors and classmates, is phenomenal! The writing style is highly accessible, and middle-grade readers will learn about gentrification and social injustice without even realizing they're learning. A powerful, timely read.

Thanks to the publisher for an e-arc.

Thank you to Random House Kids, for the eArc of Take Back the Block, which I loved. Authors that tackle current issues like gentrification, in their own voice and using their own life experience, are powerful for kids to read. Gentrification is a complex issue that negatively affects people of color all across the country. Giles did an incredible job not only explaining what gentrification is, but also helping young readers see the effects it has through her characters' experiences.
I hope my students take Wes' lead and use their voices to help the "arc of moral universe bend toward justice." I will definitely be adding this realistic fiction middle-grade novel to my classroom library and booktalking it with my students.

I loved this book! Giles does such a great job of building a story that you cannot put down. I loved reading along and seeing how this young boy made such an impactful change to his community. I can't wait to read this to my kids.

This story is about a group of middle school friends who are living in an older neighborhood that has been targeted for gentrification. The characters are well developed and have a wide variety of interests so lots of kids will be able to connect to them. The plot around gentrification is very timely and will resonate with many communities.

I absolutely adored this book!
Cool, swaggerific Wes is a relatable character that everyone will want to be friends with. He is an authentic portrayal of any middle-schooler concerned about their clothes, managing clashing best friends and trying to make it through all of their school assignments in one piece. Wes's voice is spot on–the dialogue is rich and funny, and we immediately root for him when he turns from a carefree tween to a hardcore activist to save his beloved neighbourhood.
The author does a fabulous job at describing the feel and atmosphere of Kensington Oaks, and showing how a neighbourhood and its residents are such an integral part of children and their identity. It was refreshing to read about a majority black close-knit community with the focus on an African American family who love and support each other, while still touching on themes of discrimination, racism and lost/stolen history.
Take Back the Block is not just an important story about the effects of gentrification, family and friendship, but it's an enjoyable, fun read. I highly recommend!
Thank you to the publisher and author for providing an eARC to this book.

When people ask me, why do you read middle-grade books? I think, from now on, instead of giving people a long-winded answer about how I think contemporary middle-grade stories offer a window and mirror to the issues that young people face today, I’ll just hand them a copy of Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles – because yes, it really is that good.

You may not have heard of Take Back the Block, which is why I am so excited to tell you all about this incredible book. It follows Wes, a Black boy who would rather hang out with his friends and play video games than follow his mum to yet another protest. But when a real estate developer makes a compelling offer to buy the houses in Wes’s neighbourhood to build fancy apartments and shops, Wes realises that he has the power to stand up for what he believes in and protect what is important to him.

There are so many things that I loved about Take Back the Block, but I believe the reason why this book is just so unquestionably good was how this book was just so brilliantly balanced. Though I want to say that Take Back the Block is about gentrification and activism, it’s also a story about growing up, grappling with change, family life, how friendships change, and just trying to get through middle school while completing a huge class project. Everything in this book, and in the same vein, everything in Wes’s life, plays a meaningful role in the story but also are equal parts important in Wes’s life. Readers will feel pulled into Wes’s world, which makes the story even more engaging, interesting, and also just so much more relatable.

There were three things that I loved about Take Back the Block. Let’s talk about the first one: Wes himself. I try to avoid hyperbole when I write reviews, but I genuinely think that Wes is one of the coolest main characters I’ve read, ever. I utterly adore Wes; love that he’s a kid who is out there just trying to do his best and do right by people, that he was kind but also kind of shy and prides in having great style as well! But above all, I just love that Wes gets to be a kid; he gets to learn, he gets to reflect on change and how that affects him, he gets to be annoyed at his friends and family, and he gets to just… be an imperfect yet earnest young person going through life. And I really loved that.

The second thing that I loved was the story’s amazing, empathetic, yet accessible exploration of gentrification. I didn’t know what gentrification meant until I was well into adulthood; it’s a complicated and fraught topic with a lot of ‘layers’ to its implications. In saying that though, I felt that Take Back the Block did an amazing job at exploring the impact and implications of gentrification, in a way that was easy to understand, relatable (as everything is seen and understood from Wes’s perspective), and fair as well. In other words, I think Giles did a truly outstanding job at explaining and exploring gentrification in a way that readers of all ages can understand – and I think that makes the book such a treasure.

I appreciated that the story reflected on the different ways that gentrification is perceived and understood - why it may actually be appealing to poorer families, why they do end up moving away – and challenges the perceived benefits in a gentle and thoughtful way. Something that the story raises is how ‘gentrification is the new segregation’; prior to reading this, I hadn’t thought of gentrification that way before, but the way that the story handles and examines this idea was really interesting and insightful. Indeed, I thought that Take Back the Block was not only a fun and good read, but I can also guarantee that, after reading this book, readers will be thoughtful about gentrification and institutional, modern racism, and its wider social impacts (especially on people who are poor).

The third thing, which I think brings everything I love about this book together, is that Take Back the Block is ultimately an empowering story. Across the story, we see many different forms of activism; we see the loud and present activism like protesting in the community, and we also see how activism is also a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ work, such as planning, strategising, learning, and working with others. Wes, in particular, grows across the book and I loved that he gets creative with his own activism. I firmly believe that Take Back the Block is the sort of story that will inspire the activists and leaders of tomorrow.

MY CONCLUSION: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Take Back the Block is a phenomenal, empowering, and timely story and it is one of my favourite reads of 2020. This is a book that I’ll be recommending to everyone and anyone – for its fantastic and rounded portrayal of a young boy’s life who grows into his activism that feels so genuine, real, and relatable – and I genuinely cannot wait for all of you to pick this up next month.

Thanks for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Take Back the Block. It's a timely and important story, beautifully told.

YES, YES, and YES. All elementary and middle school libraries and classroom libraries need this debut from Giles. Wes Henderson is a little anxious about the start of the school year. He'll be in sixth grade and wants nothing more than to make sure his outfits are spot on. He has the best style in school, and he doesn't want to worry about anything else, but his parents are always dragging him to protests. School starts off in a way that he was not expecting, too. He has a friend who is slowly distancing himself, another who is moving to an uppity school, and another who is now living in a rough hotel. What gets even worse is a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks—Wes' neighborhood. No one is taking immediate action (not even the parents), so it is up to Wes and his friends to do something. A mix of Black Joy, activism, justice, community, family, and friendship. Such a refreshing read that gives hope! I will book talk and share this book like crazy!

I really enjoyed this book. Wes' voice is strong and engaging, and I loved how he went from being a kid without much interest in activism to getting into it when it come to his home. I liked the friendships too, and how things may change (it's tough! especially in middle school). I did think his switch from not being into activism to being into it was pretty fast, but that was so minor. Short chapters, great characters...and perfect for fans of A GOOD KIND OF TROUBLE by Lisa Moore Ramee. Also GREAT cover!

I really enjoyed this book. Led by a driven main character unwilling to give up, it holds community, relationships, and friendships at its core and covers an important topic I haven't seen in middle grade until now. It balances well, with good and bad outcomes, but manages to keep that all important hope alive.

This book was a great read! It was interesting! It is about a subject that is not overdone in the middle grade world. The characters are likable.

This book was such a fun read. I was attached to the main character as soon as I started to read. Wes and his friends are starting to drift apart as they are dealing with the gentrification of their neighborhood. This would be a great book to have a book club meeting around. There were so many storylines that are relatable with students or adults. I think the author did a great job of making characters that readers wanted to read about and care about.