Some Places More Than Others
By Barbara Saunders,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Tween girl helps heal family rift in charming novel.
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I LOVE THIS BOOK
What's the Story?
When SOME PLACES MORE THAN OTHERS begins, 11-year-old Amara is begging her parents to let her travel to New York City with her father when he goes there for business. Amara lives in Portland, Oregon, where her father, Charles, works for Nike and her mother, Leslie, designs dresses and owns a boutique. Amara's mother is eight months pregnant with a baby girl after having had many miscarriages. Her dad's side of the family -- Amara's aunt, two cousins, and widowed grandfather -- live in Harlem. Amara is surprised when her parents relent. Before they go, her mom explains that Charles and his father, Grandpa Earl, haven't really spoken for 12 years. The rift dates to the time Amara was born, which was the same day that Grandma Grace died. Leslie encourages Amara to help her father and grandfather mend their relationship. Also, Amara has been assigned a school project to create a time capsule that captures her family history and hopes for the future. Amara has a week in Harlem to learn what she can about both her family and life in the big city.
Is It Any Good?
This book about family history and relationships charms from its opening chapter. In Some Places More Than Others, Renée Watson weaves a connection between the complicated realities that characterize New York City, the history of black people in America, and one particular loving and lovable family.
New Yorkers and people who love that city will have fun with the details: the line of taxicabs at JFK Airport, Jamaican meat patties, and taking the uptown train by mistake when you're headed downtown. A strength of this book is that it deals with painful emotions without invoking controversial or disturbing situations.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how family members share their feelings in Some Places More Than Others. Amara and her cousin say things to each other that they come to regret. Charles and Grandpa Earl's hurt feelings build up over years. How does your family talk about feelings?
For a school assignment, Amara is supposed to assemble photographs, artifacts, interviews, and symbols with meaning for her family and put them in a suitcase. Try making your own time capsule -- a family tree, a photo album, or an oral history.
Have you ever visited a place very different from your hometown? What was the hardest thing to adjust to?
Book Details
- Author: Renée Watson
- Genre: Family Life
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters , Middle School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
- Publication date: August 29, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 208
- Available on: Hardback, Kindle
- Award: ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated: February 4, 2020
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