Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson - ESSENTIAL

Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson, 194 pages. Bloomsbury, 2019.  $17. 

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Amara, 11yo, loves her family and her life in Oregon, but she also wants to meet her family in New York City – especially since she has not been getting along with her mother and is not wholly excited by her coming baby sister.  When she finally gets to NYC, though, everything is not fun and light.  Her older cousins feel like Amara is spoiled and they don’t want to babysit her around their town. And her mom has tasked her with getting her dad and his father to talk – but its been 12 years, what is Amara supposed to do in a few days?

I love that Renee wrote a heartfelt story that shows a family that has problems and tries to come together without being slave to a cultural situation or ahistorical time period. Its just a girl trying to fit in and bring her family together. Amara are her problems so relatable.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS