The Street Belongs to Us

by Karleen Pendleton Jiménez

In 1984 Los Angeles, Alex is a tomboy who would rather wear her hair short and her older brother’s hand-me-downs, and Wolf is a troubled kid who’s been wearing the same soldier’s uniform ever since his mom died. They temporarily set their worries aside when their street is torn up by digging machines and transformed into a muddy wonderland with endless possibilities. To pass the hot summer days, the two best friends seize the opportunity to turn Muscatel Avenue into a battleground and launch a gleeful street war against the rival neighborhood kids.

But when Alex and Wolf make their headquarters inside a deep trench, Alex’s grandmother warns them that some buried things want to be found and some want to stay hidden and forgotten. Although she has the wisdom of someone who has survived the Mexican Revolution, the Spanish Flu, and immigration to a new country, the kids ignore her warning, unearthing more than they bargained for.

This exuberant novel perfectly capture the summers of youth, when anything feels possible and an adventure is always around the corner. Bursting with life and feeling, both the people and the land come alive in a tale interwoven with Mexican-American identity, experience, and history. The Street Belongs to Us is a story of family, friendship, and unconditional acceptance, even when it breaks your heart.

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A Simple book with few images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

Genres: Historical Fiction, LGBT, Middle Grade, Historical

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2021

Reviews

[Storytime With Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s the early 80s in Los Angeles, California. M*A*S*H is the sitcom of the day and the streets have been torn up to add sidewalks. Karleen Pendleton Jiménez takes readers back to a time where disputes were solved by slinging mud balls at each other and if you needed to find information you used the microfilm machine at the library in The Street Belongs to Us, illustrated by Gabriela Godoy.

Alex and Wolf are best friends. Each of them has lost a parent and they are each other’s rocks. When Wolf’s mom died he started wearing only army fatigues and when Alex’s dad left, her older brother began to resent her, saying it was all her fault.

The Street Belongs to Us gave me some serious Wonder Years vibes. I really loved just being in the story and living with Alex and Wolf for the time. This story is the story of friendship, of life’s good times and bad times and the enduring comfort of friendship.

There were so many amazing moments that stood out. Alex’s nana reliving the Mexican Revolution, Alex and Wolf walking through the wash on the way to the swap meet, and the front yard war all combined to make this story an experience. The heartbreaking moments were eased by the kindness the friends show to each other. Wolf and Alex accept each other as they are. Alex is not quite sure how she identifies and is horrified by the growing breast buds she can feel beneath her skin. Wolf has had some trouble at school and even with the police. They are each other’s ride or die. There is a beautiful moment when Alex and Wolf are in the wash and talking about Alex’s growing breasts where Wolf provides so much comfort and insight to Alex, saying just the right thing to comfort her.

Another aspect of the story I really loved was that Karleen Pendleton Jiménez never over explains things. There are allusions to happenings in the past that’s are not fully explained which may frustrate some readers but I found it made the story that much ore intimate. She includes the reader as if they have grown up with Alex and Wolf and know the backstory, they are already part of the team.

We don’t have many books written by Canadians from a Mexican perspective. I loved the history lesson within the pages. We learn through Nana about the Mexican Revolution and the history of the Mexican people in California especially, which mirrors the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Readers will connect with the similar histories which creates so much more empathy and inclusion.

The Street Belongs to us is a time capsule of sorts, addressing topics that continue to be relevant even into the 2020s, and showing readers how childhood has changed but in the same breath, remains the same. This is an incredible story that many readers will be able to connect with.

[Rhyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t praise this book enough. It’s a family friendly children’s book that is appropriate for all ages, but because of the topics, I would imagine it being especially valuable for readers in grades 4-6ish?

The main characters are two low class, Mexican American prepubescent kids who are living in LA in the 80s. Both of their parents are single parents who work hard and love their kids to death.

The premise of the story is that the city dug up the street in the beginning of summer with the promise of installing concrete sidewalks. Throughout the summer, the two kids play outside and use their imagination to enjoy the dirt, their neighborhood, and their city.

What I like about this book is the amount of awareness and education it has. There is so many, I will explain them below:
1. Living in single family households
2. Experiencing a parent who doesn’t love/want you
3. Life with Working parents and moody teenage brothers
4. Living with a Grandparent with Alzheimer’s. I loved this because it showed it in such a positive, optimistic light. It acknowledged the difficulties that come with it, but spun it to also highlight all of the good! It changed MY perspective of Alzheimer’s; I can only imagine how beneficial it would be for a kid who had a family member with it, too!
5. Death of a parent. When one of the MC’s parent died, things changed. They refused to wear anything but an army uniform, stopped having great hygiene, and started acting out in school a bit more. The book clearly describes these things and offers two perspectives - the perspective of the child and his feelings and reasoning (which make you have empathy for him). And the second perspective is of the friend, who acknowledges things are tough and doesn’t push boundaries to upset him
5. Healthy boundaries in relationships. I LOVE the way this book highlighted boundaries between the two MCs. They are friends, but they also respected each other’s boundaries and respected each other’s decisions.
6. Neurodivergent rep. I suspect one MC is neurodivergent because of the way he does/doesn’t answer questions (social cue things), his special interests in the military/war, his vast knowledge and enjoyment of learning yet terrible experience in school… there are so many things. And honestly? I love it. I’m sure so many kids will not only see themsleves in him, but see their friends in him (and learn through the other MC HOW to be friends with kids like him, WHY they do/don’t do things a certain way, and how NORMAL it is).
7. Genderqueer rep. I love the subtle cues at how the MC prefers masculine terms and being mistaken for a boy. I love that she corrects her mom to say that “girls can do __, too” when the mom doesn’t want her getting dirty or playing rough. But I especially love her relationship with her body. Her chest growing was a problem for her and made her upset about her gender - about not wanting to be a woman, at least she’s not sure she wants to be. And the way her bestie replied and explained how gender doesn’t match our body’s appearance?! How if her chest grows and she decides she’s a man, then it’s a man’s chest?! How no one can make the decision of if she’s a woman or not but her?! How some “animals” are male, female, or IN BETWEEN?! It was *chefs kiss* and made my little transmasc heart full. (PS SUPPORT TRANS KIDS)
8. Puberty fears. The way the puberty topic was handled was hilarious and awesome. I appreciate how the chest growing was something she was bothered by (bc same) but laughed so hard when she thought it was a heart problem. The librarian is the real one for figuring out that it was puberty-related though (and for stepping up when the kid was mistaken for a boy and harassed by another librarian when trying to use the bathroom!)
9. Education on the Mexican revolution, the Chicano movement, and what both Mexico and LA was like for both of those periods. I love how flawless these history lessons were integrated. It didn’t feel like a history lesson - it felt like a genuine STORY, both entertaining and captivating!
10. A happy ending. We all love a good happy ending. But you know what I love the most? A happy ending where kids aren’t forced into a romantic relationship, but are completely platonic. An ending where the kids feel loved and supported by their family and feel like they have a home. And that is what this book offers🥰💖

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss for a advanced digital review copy. A cute story set in the 1980's. There's a lot of Mexican American history brought into the story by Abuela who is dealing with Alzheimers. The kids are dealing with parental separation, grief, and growing up. The serious and the downright fun make for a good story.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my bookselling work and thought it was touching and wonderful.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Beth E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Bildungsroman about kids dealing with growing older and the loss of a parent.

[danielle ! · Rating 4 out of 5]

this made me cry

[Lillian Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

awe. Adults should read kids chapter books more

[Theodore Karp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good.

[Mosey · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS AUTHOR NEEDS TO WRITE MORE BOOKS!!!
My 5 year old was enamoured. We had to read it again.