Publishers Weekly
01/30/2023
Fifteen-year-old best friends Rhea and Malachi, who are Black, and Zeke, who is Salvadorian, have spent their entire lives in their racially diverse Los Angeles neighborhood. But when gentrification prompts Zeke’s callous landlord to dramatically increase his building’s rent, the three teens attempt to come up with a solution that will help him, as well as the rest of their community. Meanwhile, Rhea struggles to overcome feelings of jealousy and frustration when magnetic newcomers Lou and Marley, described as having brown skin, infiltrate her friend group. Unbeknownst to their new peers, Rhea, Malachi, and Zeke decide to use gentrifiers’ prejudice to their own advantage by creating a fake gang called SOSI, hoping its sudden appearance will garner enough negative attention to persuade developers to stop “colonizing the neighborhood.” But after SOSI begins cultivating real fear among local denizens, it sparks deadly consequences. In this riveting portrait of community care, debut author Adia paints the pain, danger, and consequences of gentrification with visceral clarity, highlighting changes such as displacement and fractured families via Rhea’s biting and witty voice and her unwavering loyalty to her hometown. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"A charming and beautiful ode to found family, nerdy Black girls, and urban communities everywhere surviving and thriving despite it all.”——Ashley Woodfolk, New York Times best-selling co-author of Blackout and Whiteout
"A transcending story of what it looks like to be uprooted and how far you'll go to stay intact. Beautifully done and laced with the constant reminder of how friends aren't only family, they're also home."——Britney S. Lewis, author of The Undead Truth of Us
"Equally strong in its magnetic messiness and potent candor, the novel plunges into discussions of youth activism, capitalism-fueled displacement, and racism’s myriad forms with fierce vision and conviction. A robust cast of characters diverse across various dimensions gives voice to contemporary perspectives on community-oriented social justice and performative wokeness . . . this one’s a much-needed read. Plain terrific."——Kirkus Reviews
"In this riveting portrait of community care, debut author Adia paints the pain, danger, and consequences of gentrification with visceral clarity, highlighting changes such as displacement and fractured families via Rhea’s biting and witty voice and her unwavering loyalty to her hometown."——Publishers Weekly
"Outstanding. This book packs such a fierce, fantastic punch in the best possible way. I devoured it and still wanted more. Alive with love and fully awake to the joy, hilarity, rage, and heartache of this broken world, There Goes the Neighborhood fires on all cylinders and takes no prisoners."——Daniel José Older, New York Times best-selling author of Shadowshaper
There Goes the Neighborhood is part coming-of-age, part thrilling mystery, with a razor-sharp wit that cuts deep. This book radiates joy while not shying away from necessary truths."——Elise Bryant, author or Happily Ever Afters and One True Loves
“There Goes the Neighborhood is the epitome of ‘for the culture.’ Adia’s debut is hilarious, heartfelt, and sometimes as bitter as it is sweet. With a trio of friends who will do anything to stay together and protect their community, you’ll discover a new found family to root for and a craving for all your favorite street food. A true love letter to the Block and its people."——Lane Clarke, author of Love Times Infinity
School Library Journal
04/01/2023
Gr 9 Up—Fifteen-year-old Rhea is adjusting to falling for her best friend Malachi and worried about how this romance may impact her other best friend Zeke, as the three friends watch their South L.A. community face gentrification. When Zeke's family begins receiving eviction notices, Rhea devises a bold plan to start a fake gang that will deter the gentrification. This plan starts out innocuous but soon exposes drug deals, murder, and extortion, which are blamed on the nonexistent gang. While the three friends collaborate with other students to advocate for their neighborhood, they also face the harsh consequences of their decisions as they see how far some individuals will go to protect their racist ideals. Full of wonderful BIPOC representation through Rhea and Malachi (Black) and Zeke (Latino), this debut novel will appeal to fans of Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, and Jas Hammonds. This work explores the cost of gentrification on communities of color through much pain and trauma and a little hope. VERDICT A well-written debut that tackles issues of friendship, first love, gentrification, racism, and eviction through a compelling, fast-paced narrative full of suspense, tension, and questions of fairness. Recommended for teens alongside discussions of contemporary issues.—Tracey S. Hodges
Kirkus Reviews
2022-12-14
Three friends concoct an elaborate ruse to spare their beloved neighborhood from the crushing effects of gentrification in Adia’s politically charged debut.
Change is creeping across Rhea, Malachi, and Zeke’s South Los Angeles community. Mom-and-pop shops are closing their doors, rising rents and evictions are pushing people out of their homes, and a growing influx of overpriced, mostly White-owned businesses are altering the landscape. When Zeke’s apartment building becomes the latest battleground, thanks to a planned 60% rent increase, the tightknit group of 15-year-olds decides to act by playing into White fears of Black and Latine folks like them. The plan: whip up rumors of a fake gang named SOSI taking over the block to scare away any would-be gentrifiers. Soon enough, the trio’s efforts to promote the gang through social media pay off. Then the death of Zeke’s landlord is pinned on SOSI, and the fabricated scheme has serious unintended consequences. Meanwhile, a couple of new kids—Marley and Lou—move into the bougie side of the neighborhood, ingratiating themselves into the friends’ lives and threatening to alter their tightknit relationships. Equally strong in its magnetic messiness and potent candor, the novel plunges into discussions of youth activism, capitalism-fueled displacement, and racism’s myriad forms with fierce vision and conviction. A robust cast of characters diverse across various dimensions gives voice to contemporary perspectives on community-oriented social justice and performative wokeness. Though it loses steam near the end, this one’s a much-needed read.
Plain terrific. (Fiction. 13-18)
