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Meet Me on Mercer Street
Harriet the Spy meets Front Desk in this funny, surprising graphic novel by Booki Vivat, author-illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Frazzled series. Aspiring artist Kacie spends most of her time on Mercer Street with her best friend, Nisha, people-watching and doodling whatever is happening in their neighborhood. But when she comes back from a summer away, the local corner store is boarded up, the adults in town are all on edge, and Nisha is nowhere to be found! Everything is changing, and Kacie’s not sure what to do about it. Especially without Nisha to help her. But Kacie has a knack for noticing things, and with her sketchbooks and observational skills, she just might have what it takes to figure out what’s really happening on Mercer Street. Filled with both cartoons and graphic comic panels, Booki Vivat draws a hilarious-yet-deeply-perceptive portrait of a changing neighborhood, a mysterious disappearance, and the girl who’s determined to understand how she fits in to the picture.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2024
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2335 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
April 7, 2024
Delightful, heartfelt, so charmingly drawn! This sweet story made me cry!
June 3, 2024
This book has a similar vibe as the Vanderbeekers books by Marina Yan Glaser. Except, instead of the place feeling like New York City, it has a decidedly west coast vibe. The author currently lives in Oakland which explains the familiar landscape of fictional Mercer Street.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2024/com...
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2024/com...
March 1, 2025
I couldn’t resist this book while browsing the book fair…. Half graphic novel half text.
Very cute, easy & approachable for young readers around middle school age. Great message & loved how it covered different levels of emotions in the main character. It gives kids examples of how it feels for everyone to be included and coming together, provides validation for thoughts that they may have if they’ve ever had a friend move away, also dealing with coming to the realization that things are a little more complex than they seem.
The only con was that it was little bit long at times. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very cute, easy & approachable for young readers around middle school age. Great message & loved how it covered different levels of emotions in the main character. It gives kids examples of how it feels for everyone to be included and coming together, provides validation for thoughts that they may have if they’ve ever had a friend move away, also dealing with coming to the realization that things are a little more complex than they seem.
The only con was that it was little bit long at times. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 27, 2024
this was such a sweet story about neighborhoods and community! and change! :) made me miss iowa city!!
January 1, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Soon-to-be sixth grader Kacie Sitthiwat lives in the city on Mercer Street, where her parents work very hard at their business, Smiley's Cleaners. Kacie is very fond of drawing, and spends a lot of her time chronicling her life in a series of notebook sketches. In an uncharacteristic move, she was sent away "on vacation", living with relatives for the summer, and so has not been in touch with her best friend, Nisha Khanna, whose father has a grocery store down the street. When she returns home, she finds that the grocery store is shut down for renovations, and she still hasn't heard from Nisha. She knows that her friend was upset before Kacie left, and looks around the neighborhood to find her. Before long, she realizes that a new boy who has been skateboarding around (and getting in some trouble) is now living in the Khanna's apartment. She and Danny explore the street, checking out the community garden, talking to the "bench grandpas", and having paletas at the local shop, but still can't figure out what has happened to Nisha. Kacie's parents seem stressed, but tell her it's nothing to worry about, but Kacie can tell that things are changing in her neighborhood. The Khanna's shop reopens... but as a $mart store, where Kacie is definitely not welcomed. There is talk of shutting down the community garden, and there are men in suits wandering around the area, which is never a good sign. When Kacie runs into her parents as they are coming out of the bank, she finally learns that things are very hard. Rents are going up, stores are closing, and even Smiley's might be in danger. Kacie uses her artistic abilities to try to help her family's business as well as to help another local artist cover up some graffiti. She also writes a letter to Nisha, having asked the local mail carrier for help in finding her friend. As the neighborhood pulls together, will Kacie be able to come to terms with the changes in her world?
Strengths: Vivat's Frazzled (2016) series is very popular with my students, and Mercer Street looks like the pages will be in full color! Since I don't like the smell of that much ink (or the cost!), I wish it were in black and white, but my students would much prefer color. This is a highly illustrated novel, like Pichon's Tom Gates, and the illustration style is very appealing. Mercer Street definitely comes alive in the illustrations. I liked that she was able to go out on her own and explore, along with Danny. This will be a popular choice with both elementary and middle grade readers, so I will definitely buy a copy.
Weaknesses: Change is hard for middle grade readers, but also inevitable. I wish there were more books about dealing positively with change rather than railing against it. Also, I think it's time to stop comparing books to Harriet the Spy (1964), which is older than I am, and not all that applicable in this case. (The publisher describes this book as "Harriet the Spy meets Front Desk". It also seemed unlikely that Kacie would have no idea where her friend went, but it makes for a bit of mystery.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like reading about fighting gentrification and have enjoyed Giles' Take Back the Block, Watson's This Side of Home, Dilloway's Five Things About Ava Andrews, Nelson's Umbrella House, Negron's Underdog City, Broaddus' Unfadeable, or Cartaya's The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora.
Soon-to-be sixth grader Kacie Sitthiwat lives in the city on Mercer Street, where her parents work very hard at their business, Smiley's Cleaners. Kacie is very fond of drawing, and spends a lot of her time chronicling her life in a series of notebook sketches. In an uncharacteristic move, she was sent away "on vacation", living with relatives for the summer, and so has not been in touch with her best friend, Nisha Khanna, whose father has a grocery store down the street. When she returns home, she finds that the grocery store is shut down for renovations, and she still hasn't heard from Nisha. She knows that her friend was upset before Kacie left, and looks around the neighborhood to find her. Before long, she realizes that a new boy who has been skateboarding around (and getting in some trouble) is now living in the Khanna's apartment. She and Danny explore the street, checking out the community garden, talking to the "bench grandpas", and having paletas at the local shop, but still can't figure out what has happened to Nisha. Kacie's parents seem stressed, but tell her it's nothing to worry about, but Kacie can tell that things are changing in her neighborhood. The Khanna's shop reopens... but as a $mart store, where Kacie is definitely not welcomed. There is talk of shutting down the community garden, and there are men in suits wandering around the area, which is never a good sign. When Kacie runs into her parents as they are coming out of the bank, she finally learns that things are very hard. Rents are going up, stores are closing, and even Smiley's might be in danger. Kacie uses her artistic abilities to try to help her family's business as well as to help another local artist cover up some graffiti. She also writes a letter to Nisha, having asked the local mail carrier for help in finding her friend. As the neighborhood pulls together, will Kacie be able to come to terms with the changes in her world?
Strengths: Vivat's Frazzled (2016) series is very popular with my students, and Mercer Street looks like the pages will be in full color! Since I don't like the smell of that much ink (or the cost!), I wish it were in black and white, but my students would much prefer color. This is a highly illustrated novel, like Pichon's Tom Gates, and the illustration style is very appealing. Mercer Street definitely comes alive in the illustrations. I liked that she was able to go out on her own and explore, along with Danny. This will be a popular choice with both elementary and middle grade readers, so I will definitely buy a copy.
Weaknesses: Change is hard for middle grade readers, but also inevitable. I wish there were more books about dealing positively with change rather than railing against it. Also, I think it's time to stop comparing books to Harriet the Spy (1964), which is older than I am, and not all that applicable in this case. (The publisher describes this book as "Harriet the Spy meets Front Desk". It also seemed unlikely that Kacie would have no idea where her friend went, but it makes for a bit of mystery.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like reading about fighting gentrification and have enjoyed Giles' Take Back the Block, Watson's This Side of Home, Dilloway's Five Things About Ava Andrews, Nelson's Umbrella House, Negron's Underdog City, Broaddus' Unfadeable, or Cartaya's The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora.
November 14, 2024
Yes you may have noticed I have two 2024 graphic novels back to back. Meet Me on Mercer Street was recommended to me by Kris @wildpeachesbook. When you tell your friends you have not read any new release graphic novels this year, they give you lots of great recommendations. I was able to find several of them at the library.
Meet Me on Mercer Street is a wonderful book about the importance of small business in a community. Kacie spends most of her time with her best friend Nisha. They have been friends FOREVER. But when Kacie comes back from summer camp, Nisha and her family’s local grocery store is no longer there. No one knows where Nisha and her family went. However, all the adults in the community are stressing out because times are tough. Kacie is determined to learn what is going on.
This is a great ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star book that shows how each and every person has a place in the community and how we all help one another out.
It was weird to read this book at this time because I just got back from Europe and this was one of the things my husband and I commented on so many times as we went from city to city. There are so many small businesses in Europe. We live in a big city and there are all big chain stores, very few small businesses.
Meet Me on Mercer Street is a wonderful book about the importance of small business in a community. Kacie spends most of her time with her best friend Nisha. They have been friends FOREVER. But when Kacie comes back from summer camp, Nisha and her family’s local grocery store is no longer there. No one knows where Nisha and her family went. However, all the adults in the community are stressing out because times are tough. Kacie is determined to learn what is going on.
This is a great ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star book that shows how each and every person has a place in the community and how we all help one another out.
It was weird to read this book at this time because I just got back from Europe and this was one of the things my husband and I commented on so many times as we went from city to city. There are so many small businesses in Europe. We live in a big city and there are all big chain stores, very few small businesses.
October 15, 2023
Artist Kacie is heading into 6th grade when she’s shipped off for a summer with the cousins. When she’s back home, her bestie is nowhere to be found so Kacie uses her artist observation skills to figure out what the grownups aren’t telling her. This book perfectly captures all the angst and heartache of your bestie leaving as well as the frustration of not knowing what’s happening and the helplessness that can come when you finally learn. It explores how change is a normal part of life so we need to make our voices heard when we can to have a say in our future. I felt a real message of hope in the end and loved that Kacie found sharing her art makes it more real and further connects her with her neighbors when she uses her drawing skills to save a community space that she and her bestie cherished. And of course the art in the book itself is incredible! Booki Vivat’s illustrations are super fun, full of energy and movement, and truly make me feel like I’m part of the story world. I gasped at the last spread - it was so perfect in pulling the entire book together. Thank you to Scholastic for the chance to read early!
May 3, 2024
Meet Me on Mercer Street: two stars. The writing just didn't work for me at all. Odd pacing and very repetitive--the same vague platitudes over and over (except when they sometimes contradict each other). I wonder if this would have worked better as a full graphic novel than in this hybrid form? And the choice of how much information to reveal was really bizarre. After a long while of Kacie going, "something is changing in my neighborhood but I can't figure out what!", her parents finally tell her... except we don't get to hear the actual conversation or even a summary! Just a bunch of pictures of money and buildings! I can't think of an audience this would work for. For older readers who already know about gentrification, it's obvious from the beginning that that's what's going on, and Kacie comes off as pretty clueless for a while, while younger readers who don't know about gentrification won't be able to learn about it from this book (and aren't even given the word to look up or ask about) and are likely to come away confused! So I'm puzzled who the intended audience is here!
June 18, 2023
Touching and heartfelt, I downloaded an ARC while horizontal in bed, sick with the nastiest cold 2 years post pandemic. I couldn’t ask for better company.
The book juggles a host of topics, primarily the absence of a best friend after a move, and it also covers so much more: parental anxiety over finances and communicating grown-up stuff to kids (or lack thereof), settling into the identity of an artist, the notion of community and who decides how a neighborhood should change.
Props to Vivat for believing her readers capable of discussing these larger themes, and for the reminder there’s value in building community, or at least getting to know your neighbors a little better.
“I used to think being an artist meant capturing the world exactly as it is. But I’m learning that it can also be about imagining the world as you want it to be. I don’t know exactly what that will look like, but I want to be part of making it happen.” ❤️
Go forth, readers.
The book juggles a host of topics, primarily the absence of a best friend after a move, and it also covers so much more: parental anxiety over finances and communicating grown-up stuff to kids (or lack thereof), settling into the identity of an artist, the notion of community and who decides how a neighborhood should change.
Props to Vivat for believing her readers capable of discussing these larger themes, and for the reminder there’s value in building community, or at least getting to know your neighbors a little better.
“I used to think being an artist meant capturing the world exactly as it is. But I’m learning that it can also be about imagining the world as you want it to be. I don’t know exactly what that will look like, but I want to be part of making it happen.” ❤️
Go forth, readers.
January 2, 2024
“Something is happening and I didn’t see it coming.
🏪
Kacie has grown up on Mercer Street with her best friend, Nisha. Both their parents own businesses on Mercer Street, but when Kacie goes away for the summer she comes back to everything different. Her best friend is gone and so is her family business. Things are changing around her and no one is talking about it. As she dives into her art, drawing everything around her, Kacie realizes there’s a lot to love and protect about Mercer Street.
🏪
This was such a heartwarming MG book by @bookibookibooki It chronicles her (semiautobiographical) story of gentrification and community. This novel is filled with great illustrations and a mix of graphic novel panels as well. It releases April 2 from @scholastic
CW: financial hardships, gentrification, classism
I wanted more closure with the friend at the end.
🏪
Kacie has grown up on Mercer Street with her best friend, Nisha. Both their parents own businesses on Mercer Street, but when Kacie goes away for the summer she comes back to everything different. Her best friend is gone and so is her family business. Things are changing around her and no one is talking about it. As she dives into her art, drawing everything around her, Kacie realizes there’s a lot to love and protect about Mercer Street.
🏪
This was such a heartwarming MG book by @bookibookibooki It chronicles her (semiautobiographical) story of gentrification and community. This novel is filled with great illustrations and a mix of graphic novel panels as well. It releases April 2 from @scholastic
CW: financial hardships, gentrification, classism
I wanted more closure with the friend at the end.
April 15, 2024
Author Booki Vivat wrote Meet Me on Mercer Street to explore overwhelming questions like: Why do things change? and What do we do when those changes feels so much bigger than us? And she does that through insightful cartoons and graphic novel comic panels.
At the center of the story is Kacie, a girl who uses her doodles to make sense of things. Meet Me on Mercer Street reads like Kacie’s journal, with her first-person narrative and sketches bringing the story to life.
The story here is one that most readers can relate to in some way or another — who hasn’t faced change and the overwhelming feelings that come with it? Vivat’s writing is conversational and her illustrations are full of humor and emotion.
At less than 200 pages, Meet Me on Mercer Street will also appeal to readers who sometimes find “thicker” books daunting.
At the center of the story is Kacie, a girl who uses her doodles to make sense of things. Meet Me on Mercer Street reads like Kacie’s journal, with her first-person narrative and sketches bringing the story to life.
The story here is one that most readers can relate to in some way or another — who hasn’t faced change and the overwhelming feelings that come with it? Vivat’s writing is conversational and her illustrations are full of humor and emotion.
At less than 200 pages, Meet Me on Mercer Street will also appeal to readers who sometimes find “thicker” books daunting.
May 1, 2024
This middle grade graphic novel is a realistic and child-centric look at a changing neighborhood due to gentrification. Even as things change around her, Kacie is mostly kept in the dark by the adults who live on her street. But when her best friend Nisha suddenly moves away and her father's small grocery and deli is replaced by a corporate chain, Kacie starts to realize what's happening -- and wants to take part to preserve the family and neighborhood she loves. Notably, the author points out that all neighborhoods change over time, but it should be up to the residents to decide what type of changes take place. This is a timely and engaging picture that will appeal to graphic novel readers. And, though graphic panels and illustrations are frequent, a hybrid format with lots of longer chunks of text makes this an accessible book for lots of readers.
October 21, 2024
Kacie has spent the summer at her cousins' house and is so excited to be back in her neighborhood on Mercer Street and to see her best friend, Nisha, but she can't find her and her dad's store is gone. No one will tell Kacie what's going on, so she has to use her drawings to notice the details and see what she may have missed. I like the idea of artwork capturing details that an artist might not consciously take in and using it to solve a mystery, but I had a hard time believing that Kacie wouldn't have been told about her best friend moving away nor given any real contact information to keep in touch. It's a light introduction to gentrification for an elementary school audience. For another story about gentrification that goes into more depth, I really liked Unfadeable. Also, a good read alike for Kelly Yang's books, Merci Suarez, and Squished.
January 2, 2025
What I Loved: This mix of graphic novel/chapter book is going to be visually interesting and accessible for middle graders. The themes include adapting to change and also finding ways that your talents can be valuable in your community. I loved the "Bench Grandpas" that hung out in the park.
What I Didn't Love: There was a lot of explaining how Kacie's drawings of her observations in her notebook help other people and I wished we actually saw those examples in the artwork. This book is about gentrification of urban neighborhoods and that is clear to adult readers right away. However, Kacie spends a lot of the book talking about how confused she is and the concepts aren't ever really explained to her. We also are left handing with the mystery of where her best friend went! This lacked both character and plot development.
What I Didn't Love: There was a lot of explaining how Kacie's drawings of her observations in her notebook help other people and I wished we actually saw those examples in the artwork. This book is about gentrification of urban neighborhoods and that is clear to adult readers right away. However, Kacie spends a lot of the book talking about how confused she is and the concepts aren't ever really explained to her. We also are left handing with the mystery of where her best friend went! This lacked both character and plot development.
July 18, 2025
3 stars (I liked it)
While I'm not sure this really counts as a graphic novel, I'm categorizing it as one because I'm reading this book as part of the Black Eyed Susan committee for grades 3-5 graphic novels. I don't love the hybrid look.
I really wish Kacie had some resolution with her friend, Nisha. That part of the plot seemed unfinished.
I read another review that questioned the author's choice of not revealing all the information about the problem. That reviewer said that readers who are old enough to know about gentrification will identify that it is happening way before Kacie does yet those that do not know about gentrification will not end up learning because the final conversation between Kacie and her parents when she finds out the problems is glossed over. I definitely agree with that reviewer.
While I'm not sure this really counts as a graphic novel, I'm categorizing it as one because I'm reading this book as part of the Black Eyed Susan committee for grades 3-5 graphic novels. I don't love the hybrid look.
I really wish Kacie had some resolution with her friend, Nisha. That part of the plot seemed unfinished.
I read another review that questioned the author's choice of not revealing all the information about the problem. That reviewer said that readers who are old enough to know about gentrification will identify that it is happening way before Kacie does yet those that do not know about gentrification will not end up learning because the final conversation between Kacie and her parents when she finds out the problems is glossed over. I definitely agree with that reviewer.
June 16, 2024
4.5 stars
Kacie and Nisha have been best friends since Kacie's family moved to Mercer Street and opened Smiley's Cleaners right across from Nisha's father's deli and grocery. Kacie is an artist and she draws what she sees in her neighborhood but it doesn't prepare her for the changes that are happening and when she returns for a visit with her cousins to find Nisha has moved, Kacie wonders how she could have missed it. Now she's seeing all the subtle changes of incoming gentrification and she doesn't like the changes in her neighborhood, especially when it threatens the community garden and her family's business.
Kacie and Nisha have been best friends since Kacie's family moved to Mercer Street and opened Smiley's Cleaners right across from Nisha's father's deli and grocery. Kacie is an artist and she draws what she sees in her neighborhood but it doesn't prepare her for the changes that are happening and when she returns for a visit with her cousins to find Nisha has moved, Kacie wonders how she could have missed it. Now she's seeing all the subtle changes of incoming gentrification and she doesn't like the changes in her neighborhood, especially when it threatens the community garden and her family's business.
October 14, 2024
I enjoyed the book for the most part! It covered a lot of difficult topics that may be difficult for a child to understand. The graphic novel made it easy for the message to be conveyed.
I thought it was a bit dumb that she asked every Tom, Dick and Harry about Nisha and Mr Khanna’s disappearance but never thought to ask her own parents first lmao. Also it would have been better if they actually reconnect again because she left without saying anything. I think they left it quite ambiguous about the laundromat’s failing business. It would have been better to provide more clarity (perhaps a bit too deep for a children’s book).
I thought it was a bit dumb that she asked every Tom, Dick and Harry about Nisha and Mr Khanna’s disappearance but never thought to ask her own parents first lmao. Also it would have been better if they actually reconnect again because she left without saying anything. I think they left it quite ambiguous about the laundromat’s failing business. It would have been better to provide more clarity (perhaps a bit too deep for a children’s book).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2025
Started reading this book with a 5th grade student with ASD that loves graphic novels. After 20-30 minutes of reading, she asked that we changed books, which she has never done before.
To be fair, I can understand why she wasn't that into it initially. The "big mystery" that's introduced of Nisha's disappearance is very easily chalked up to the fact that she moved. Why continue reading chapter after chapter just to find out what we already know. As an adult, I can see the author is trying to introduce young readers to the idea of gentrification, but the pacing and choices behind the revealing of information didn't communicate this clearly. After several chapters of Kacie (MC) going around trying to figure out how/why her neighborhood is changing by talking to various adults, she finally outright demands that her parents tell her what's going on. The readers don't get a meaningful explanation, just a page of pictures of money, buildings, and adults being adults. I'm not convinced that younger readers are going to understand the implications of this.
To be fair, I can understand why she wasn't that into it initially. The "big mystery" that's introduced of Nisha's disappearance is very easily chalked up to the fact that she moved. Why continue reading chapter after chapter just to find out what we already know. As an adult, I can see the author is trying to introduce young readers to the idea of gentrification, but the pacing and choices behind the revealing of information didn't communicate this clearly. After several chapters of Kacie (MC) going around trying to figure out how/why her neighborhood is changing by talking to various adults, she finally outright demands that her parents tell her what's going on. The readers don't get a meaningful explanation, just a page of pictures of money, buildings, and adults being adults. I'm not convinced that younger readers are going to understand the implications of this.
January 28, 2025
3.5? Kacie returns home from summer camp to find her best friend's family and their store is gone, and adults keep giving each other looks and emphatically not telling her anything about what is happening. I enjoyed this a lot, and the art is fantastic. But it just seems so weird to me that she didn't just ask where Nishi was from day one? I guess that could be her just not wanting to know what she guesses to be the truth. And then at the end she gets upset and her parents finally tell her everything...but the book doesn't tell the reader any of it. That also felt like an odd choice. So a good book, but not great.
January 13, 2024
Another fantastic middle grade read by Booki Vivat! I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this fun, heartfelt book. Love the illustrations and how it's clear that Vivat trusts readers to go on a journey together exploring some big topics--a friend leaving, gentrification, change, feeling isolated and left out. It's done with such care and I read it in one evening, needing to know what happens with Kacie and her family and community. There are no easy answers to the questions raised, but we're left with hope, and an empowering sense of fun and community. And, bench grandpas!!!
July 13, 2025
Young artist Kacie is terrific when it comes to observing the people, places and events of her neighborhood -- but finds it tougher to understand the sudden disappearance of her best friend, the arrival of a slick new chain store amid the mom-and-pop retailers around the corner, and what all these changes have to do with each other. Booki Vivat's graphic novel is lively, exuberant and fun -- but also unsparing when it comes to dealing with the real-life challenges and tragedies of middle school.
April 23, 2024
An illustrated chapter book I can happily recommend to all my lovers of graphic novels! A just right-amount of text, engaging illustrations, likeable characters, and a story to get into!
I really liked the big themes in this one of gentrification, changing communities, and the loss of friends/making new friends.
I would love to see more books from this author- either Mercer Street as a series, or just similar to this style!
I really liked the big themes in this one of gentrification, changing communities, and the loss of friends/making new friends.
I would love to see more books from this author- either Mercer Street as a series, or just similar to this style!
Read
June 19, 2024While I liked the message about finding and fighting for your community against gentrification, it kind of became repetitive and overall this didn't quite work for me.
Kelcie's best friend moves away over the summer, and not only does Kelcie not immediately ask her parents about it, but when it does come up, all the adults in her neighborhood just brush it off like they hadn't noticed that Nisha and her family were gone? Really? That was just...weird.
Kelcie's best friend moves away over the summer, and not only does Kelcie not immediately ask her parents about it, but when it does come up, all the adults in her neighborhood just brush it off like they hadn't noticed that Nisha and her family were gone? Really? That was just...weird.
March 30, 2025
Great blend of detailed art, artist discovering a purpose, friendship, humor and gentrification!
Kacie has seen things, but now she NOTICES them, wonders what they means and about the people.
She remembers how Nisha befriended her when she was new, and thus befriends Danny, even though he sorta took Nisha's place (lives in her old apartment).
What makes a neighborhood or a town, itself? Is some change good?
Kacie has seen things, but now she NOTICES them, wonders what they means and about the people.
She remembers how Nisha befriended her when she was new, and thus befriends Danny, even though he sorta took Nisha's place (lives in her old apartment).
What makes a neighborhood or a town, itself? Is some change good?
April 6, 2024
Great middle grade read about change, confidence and community. My only qualm with the story is how the parents didn’t tell Kacie when her best friend moved away. It’s hard to believe any loving parent would let a child go through that. (However I think the intended audience for this book will overlook this and still connect with and love this book!)
April 17, 2024
Totally LOVED.
Loved this one, and it’s real, honest reflection of a community experiencing change.
I love that this one tackled real-life issues (ex gentrification, immigrant families, changing friendships) and also showcased them in an honest, not “happy ending” type of way :)
Definitely recommend for grades 4-7!
Loved this one, and it’s real, honest reflection of a community experiencing change.
I love that this one tackled real-life issues (ex gentrification, immigrant families, changing friendships) and also showcased them in an honest, not “happy ending” type of way :)
Definitely recommend for grades 4-7!
May 31, 2024
I really liked the graphic novel/written book mix with this book. Loved the illustrations. The whole theme behind the book hooked me and I felt so sad for Kacie. As an adult, I knew exactly ehat was going on with the changes on Mercer Street but I think kids would be pulled along in the "mystery" alongside Kacie as she figures it out.
July 2, 2024
A really fun engaging graphic novel about a girl who is an artist, is missing her best friend who moved away, and is trying to understand the changes going on around her that her parents won't talk about. As a kid is is scary when you know something is going on, but the adults won't tell you what is happening. The art was charming.
June 25, 2025
Funny, clever, well-illustrated, sweet--this book has it all. And it's a story we all need nowadays, since it's about the power of community and the significance of art in activism. Loved everything about this! And kids will love it too, especially with its engaging narrative voice and captivating illustrations!
January 12, 2024
Meet Me on Mercer Street by Booki Vivat is a compelling and empowering story about gentrification and caring about your community. Thoughtfully executed with engaging illustrations, it’s a fun read with meaningful themes.
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