Take Back the Block, Hardcover

Brand-new kicks, ripped denim shorts, Supreme tee--

Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That--and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games--is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to.

But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they're doing is arguing. Even Wes's best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn't about to give up the only home he's ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it . . . before it's too late?

Exploring community, gentrification, justice, and friendship, Take Back the Block introduces an irresistible 6th grader and asks what it means to belong--to a place and a movement--and to fight for what you believe in.

Filled with hope, friendship, and grit--guaranteed to leave readers feeling inspired. --Stacy McAnulty, best-selling author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Timely and penetrating. --Kelly Starling Lyons, author of Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations

Chrystal Giles's sparkling debut will have you standing up and cheering. --Lisa Yee, award winning author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius and the DC Super Hero Girls novels

Chrystal Giles really nailed it. I loved this book. --Linda Williams Jackson, award winning author of Midnight Without a Moon

Necessary and inspiring. An empowering read. --Ashley Herring Blake, author of the Stonewall Honor Book Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

Wes will welcome middle grade readers into his delightful circle of friends, his strong and loving family, and his powerful community. --Barbara Dee, author of the ALA Notable Children's Book Maybe He Just Likes You

About author(s):Chrystal D. Giles is an own voices writer, with a strong focus on creating stories that bring the hopes and hurdles of African American children to the mainstream children's book market. She is a member of SCBWI and was selected as a 2018 We Need Diverse Books Mentee. One of Chrystal's poems appears in the poetry anthology, THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE (Lerner/Millbrook, September 2019). She lives with her family in Charlotte, North Carolina.