This Side of Home

Published in 2015, Renée Watson’s This Side of Home is a young adult realist fiction novel set against the backdrop of a gentrifying neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. As old neighbors move out and new residents move in, twin sisters Maya and Nikki grapple with differing responses to the changes. Maya feels a deep sense of loss and a desire to hold onto her community’s history while Nikki embraces the new opportunities. The novel was nominated for a Cybils Award and explores The Complex Effects of Gentrification, Building Community Amidst Change, and The Importance of Solidarity.

Citations in this study guide refer to the eBook edition released by Bloomsbury Books in 2023.

Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of racism, alcoholism, and abuse. This study guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

Maya Younger and her identical twin, Nikki, live in an area of Northeast Portland which is experiencing rapid gentrification. Their best friend, Essence, has to move away when her landlord decides to renovate and sell her home, and the white Jacobs family moves in. Tony Jacobs is an incoming senior who will be attending Richmond High with Maya and Nikki in the fall. Tony and Maya bond over their mutual love of ice cream and black-and-white horror movies. She tells him that she wants to study journalism at Spelman, and he wants to study music engineering at Stanford.

Essence’s mother, Darlene, has an addiction to alcohol and is verbally abusive. When Nikki begins spending more time with Tony’s little sister, Kate, than Essence, Maya accuses her sister of not being a good friend. In turn, Nikki accuses Maya of not truly supporting her community because she doesn’t patronize the white-owned businesses on Jackson Avenue. Maya tries to help her sister recognize that what is happening in their community is part of a pattern of gentrification impacting people of color across the country.

Maya is elected student body president, but Principal Green decides to let unelected students participate in student council meetings. This includes a new student named Cynthia who instantly dislikes Maya. When the principal asks for ideas about celebrating diversity, Cynthia suggests having a multicultural potluck for Thanksgiving. The principal ignores the elected council members’ concerns that this is an ineffective way to help students understand other cultures. Only three students join Maya’s boycott of the Thanksgiving potluck: Tony, a boy named Charles who is the student council vice president, and a girl named Star who delivers a passionate speech about the need for change at the school.

During winter break, Tony tells Maya that he’s liked her since the day they met. Although she is conflicted because of the differences in their racial backgrounds, Maya reciprocates his feelings, and they share their first kiss.

Principal Green decides to replace Richmond High’s traditional Black History Month celebration with a diversity assembly. After Star tears down some posters for the assembly, students begin posting their own messages on the school’s walls. Some of these messages affirm the importance of honoring Black history while others express racist views. The principal declares that students who post anything on school property without permission will be suspended for vandalism. Despite this, Maya and her friends put up informational posters about pioneering Black journalists.

Tensions run high at the school as students continue to post and deface messages. During an outburst, a student says the n-word. Immediately afterward, Tony tries to hold Maya’s hand and is upset when she pulls away. Likewise, Maya is hurt that Tony hasn’t told his father about them. Tony tells Maya that he wants to be with her but that he needs some time. Maya is surprised when Tony comes to the winter formal and tells her that he’s informed his father of their relationship. She kisses him, and Nikki sees them together.

The next morning, Nikki explains that she is upset with Maya because she kept her relationship with Tony a secret from her, not because Tony is white. Maya admits that she feels like a hypocrite for falling in love with a white boy, and Nikki says that her relationship doesn’t diminish her commitment to race and class issues. After that, Maya and Tony are openly together at school.

After the school’s lackluster diversity assembly, Cynthia accuses Maya of putting up unapproved posters. Tony, Charles, and Star try to take the blame, but Maya protects them. Principal Green suspends Maya for two days but allows her to remain student body president. Maya suggests inviting alumni to the school’s senior block party, and Green agrees on the condition that local businesses will be invited as well. At a local coffee shop, Maya meets an elderly man named Mr. Washington who teaches her about Portland’s Black history and sees some positive effects of the new businesses in the neighborhood.

Essence gets into a fight with another student and is suspended, and her mother is asked to come to the school for a meeting. Darlene arrives intoxicated and swears at her daughter. As a result, Maya’s mother takes Essence to live with the Youngers.

In the spring, both Maya and Nikki are accepted to Spelman. Maya is excited that she and Tony will be able to attend their dream schools, but she’ll miss him when he’s at Stanford. Essence enrolls in the local beauty school. With Maya’s encouragement, she decides to take business classes as well.

Richmond High’s senior block party receives support from local businesses, and an alumnus named Dr. Lewis gives an inspiring speech about how his alma mater and community formed him. After the party, a fight breaks out on Jackson Avenue between newcomers and long-time residents. Several businesses are vandalized. The next day, Maya asks Richmond students to join her in the cleanup efforts, and many answer her call. Maya recruits several business owners to partner with the school. On the last day of school, Maya, Nikki, and Tony go to the coffee shop for a history lesson from Mr. Washington.