On the Block

Starred review from August 15, 2024
We Need Diverse Books co-founder Oh follows upFlying Lessons & Other Stories (2017) with a collection of 12 interwoven, slice-of-life tales from acclaimed middle-grade authors. In an unnamed American city stands a (potentially haunted) yellow apartment building called the Entrada, where aromas of food and loud sounds set the tone for a summer of communal living. Desir�e, apparently of West Indian descent, helps Ro perform a lion dance for her Chinese school. Yaniel learns about his abuela's history in Cuba while contemplating his feelings for Filipina American Pacy, aStar Trek aficionado with a crush on him. Many kids are first- or second-generation immigrants, and their cultures intermingle in authentic ways. Angel's family is late on the rent, and his parents' memories of their home city, Sephardic-founded Monterrey, Mexico, leads them to feel confident reaching out to their white Jewish landlords for help. Vietnamese American Hao discovers the ghost he's been seeing around the building has a connection to Mr. Joe, the Italian American barber. Though each story was written by a different author--among them Tracey Baptiste, Adam Gidwitz, and Erin Entrada Kelly--they nevertheless coalesce into a rich depiction of a loving community. With candor and sensitivity, the authors take on both lighthearted issues such as burgeoning romance as well as more serious ones, including bigotry and the harsh realities of the American dream. A superbly rendered love letter to identity and heritage. (foreword by Meg Medina)(Anthology. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 1, 2024
Grades 3-7 *Starred Review* From first crushes to family dynamics to a not-spooky ghost story, this middle-grade anthology is a mosaic of experiences, people, cultures, and friendships. The Entrada apartment building is home to a variety of families, many of whom are brought together by the building's youngest residents. Intersectional, interconnecting stories by 12 authors pinpoint specific moments in the characters' lives, whether they're coping with financial insecurity, dealing with damaged reputations, finding friends, discovering a sense of home in a new place, or solving a mystery, among other adventures. Each author populates their story with believable characters and relatable plots, culminating in a collection where each story can stand alone yet shines brightest when viewed as a whole collection. The ways in which these characters' lives overlap is authentic, showing a community growing and changing without ever veering into message-y territory. Whether the family is first-generation immigrant or their relatives immigrated a few generations ago, the Entrada community celebrates the differences in their heritages and holds space for every resident. Edited by We Need Diverse Books founding board member Oh, these stories ebb and flow together in such a way that the reader feels like a resident of the Entrada, and thus part of a vibrant, loving community where everyone can belong.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 25, 2024

Gr 4-7-The third middle grade anthology from We Need Diverse Books opens as Lila and her parents, newly arrived from Trinidad, move into the Entrada, a six-story apartment building whose name translates to both "entrance" and "the beginning." Lila's parents promise things will be better now that they have their own home, yet Lila is unsure. When she sets off to explore the building, she encounters other kids who live there (and one who does not) who will be her classmates at Octavia Butler Middle School. Their stories and others unfold and connect in the book's subsequent chapters, each penned by a different author, including Adam Gidwitz, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Andrea Yang. Seemingly unlikely friendships form as the kids plan an international potluck to try to put an end to a cranky neighbor's complaints about their "stinky" cooking. The mantra "we are all immigrants" persists from one chapter to the next, as families from Cuba, India, Japan, Nigeria, and beyond share their stories and their food. Oh aptly sets the tone for the book by recognizing buildings like the Entrada for providing new immigrants with friendship, support, stability, and safety as they find their way in a new home. VERDICT A genuine celebration of family, friends, and the immigrant experience, recommended for all collections.-Alicia Rogers

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 23, 2024
In this heartwarming anthology, edited by Oh (Haru, Zombie Dog Hero) and set in N.Y.C. apartment building the Entrada, a dozen authors—including Tracey Baptiste, Adam Gidwitz, Meg Medina, and Jasmine Warga—chronicle the exploits and misadventures of the building’s young residents, who come from myriad backgrounds. Though each offering stands alone, characters frequently interact and overlap, forming friendships and helping one another. In “Apt. 5B,” Lila—her family having newly arrived from Trinidad—delights in exploring her new home. The following story, “Apt. 1B,” features the building owner’s son Lenny, who befriends resident Angel over a shared love of action figures. Ro, an occupant in “Apt. 6A,” would rather learn Chinese lion dancing than “girly” traditional movements, and “Apt. 6C” resident Yaniel wants to win a Popsicle stick bridge building contest. Memorably realized and intersectionally diverse characters each lead upbeat stories in this rollicking collection, which maintains an air of positivity, empathy, cooperation, and inclusion throughout. While selections feel more like bite-size appetizers than full meals, they come together much like a community potluck and will leave readers wanting more. Ages 8–12. Agent: Marietta B. Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary.

March 1, 2025
Composed of twelve stories written by a dozen different authors, this We Need Diverse Books anthology is organized by apartment number in a New York City building. Each tale is narrated by a young person from one of the building's immigrant families. Ro Chen, in Andrea Wang's entry, attends Chinese school on the weekends and wants to join the lion dancing class, which seems limited to boys only. Yaniel Fernandez, in Adrianna Cuevas's story, learns that his abuela, who works in a school cafeteria, was once a civil engineer in Cuba who designed bridges. Alex Kim, in Oh's tale, secretly leaves Korean food for a cranky neighbor. Through its series of brief slice-of-life vignettes, the collection paints a vivid picture of urban life for the children of immigrant parents. Immigrant experiences are a thread that connects each story, but it is neither a single experience nor the sole focus -- it's something shifting, multifaceted, and multidimensional that coalesces in the closing scene: a building potluck party. While the offerings are interconnected, many individual pieces will stay with readers for a long time. An engaging, thought-provoking collection that can be read from front to back for a more novelistic approach or experienced (and savored) by dipping in and out. Julie Hakim Azzam

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)