Take Back the Block

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Jordan RC, Brooks WR, Howe DV, Ehrenfeld JG (2012 b) Evaluating performance of volunteers in mapping invasive plants in public conservation lands. Environ Manag 49:425–434 I honestly loved this; loved how Giles just blended all the themes together to create this really genuine and holistic picture of Wes's life. All aspects of Wes's life - from school to family to his friendships to even those moments he has to himself to think and reflect- are so well balanced. Even though we’re surrounded by noise, the Oaks is calm—­quiet, even. That’s mostly because of the community’s board of organizers. Mom is the board’s director. Yep, that means I’m a volunteer, by default.

It is impossible to choose which friend I liked the most! I loved creating each of these characters and believe all of them are important to the story. Creating the friend-turned-crush relationship between Wes and Alyssa was fun and effortless. Alyssa is smart and sweet and supportive; she was a delight to write. Wes couldn’t help but fall for her. Teachers play such a major role in kids’ lives. Wes has an excellent one in Mr. Baker. Is he inspired by any teachers in your life? But when a powerful developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks—the neighborhood Wes has lived in his whole life, everything changes. The grown-ups 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 without a fight. He’s always been good at puzzles and he knows there must be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it…before it’s too late?

Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That—and hanging out with the crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games—is what Wes wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to. I turned to see Mom trading hugs with a few of the ladies. “Stay strong!” she called out, her fist raised in the air.

It’s LOUD. Neighbors, demolition, news crews, people fighting...Wes has lived in Kensington Oaks his whole life, and now it’s just for sale? His mom, a board member, has all but forced him to join her cause. And Wes goes along with it. He’d “rather eat dirt than listen to another lecture on counting blessings.” Chrystal Giles's sparkling debut will have you standing up and cheering."—Lisa Yee, National Book Award FinalistBut when a powerful real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived in his whole life, everything changes. The grown-ups 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 without a fight. He’s always been good at puzzles, and he knows there must be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it before it’s too late? Folke C, Colding J, Berkes F (2003) Synthesis: building resilience and adaptive capacity in social-ecological systems. In: Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (eds) Navigating social-ecological systems: building resilience for complexity and change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 352–387