MEET ME ON MERCER STREET

What’s happening on Mercer Street?

Rising sixth grader Kacie Sitthiwat knows that a great artist must be observant. But she must not have been paying close enough attention, because she’s bewildered when her best friend, Nisha, disappears over the summer. Determined to figure out what’s going on, Kacie notices other changes on Mercer Street: Nisha’s family’s shop, Khanna’s Grocery & Deli, has been replaced by a corporate chain store. Kacie’s parents, who run a laundry and dry-cleaning business, seem distracted. And she’s heard rumors that someone’s trying to get rid of the community garden. After Kacie accepts that Nisha’s family has moved, she befriends the new boy living in Nisha’s old apartment and begins to realize that she still has an opportunity to shape what happens in her neighborhood—and that her artistic talents might be the key. Vivat handles a tough topic with lightness, almost to a fault—at times, Kacie’s dogged commitment to detective work obscures the emotional impact of the upheaval that she and her neighborhood are experiencing. Notably, the word gentrification isn’t used; still, the author draws an effective picture that will be recognizable to children who have encountered similar situations. Relying on both prose and comics, Vivat fills Kacie’s world with textured, diverse neighbors, and the engaging cartoon artwork and gentle yet honest writing result in an authentic and accessible read. Names imply that Kacie and Nisha are, respectively, of Thai and South Asian heritage.

An appealing story of neighborhood change.