Take Back the Block

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-11

Chapters 12-19

Chapters 20-27

Chapter 28-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 12-19Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 12 Summary

Wes is too focused on saving Kensington Oaks to pick a topic for Mr. Baker’s social justice project. Brent is hurt that his friends are spending time in Mr. Baker’s classroom after school without him, even though he does not want to help save the neighborhood. Over the weekend, Wes goes to the park to play basketball with Brent and Jas. Brent doesn’t show up, so Jas and Wes play alone until an older bully named Drip steals their ball.

Chapter 13 Summary

Kari misses school because his little sister Danica is sick and his mom has to work. Kari and Wes make a slideshow of neighborhood pictures for the block party. Wes thanks Kari for always being there for him. Kari says that Wes is like his brother, and he appreciates the fact that Wes is still friends with him even though others think he’s “weird.” Wes feels guilty for all the times he didn’t support Kari or invite him to group events, and he resolves to treat Kari better from now on. Kari says that the hotel is noisy and a bit scary, so his mom is considering moving the family in with Kari’s aunt, who lives a couple of hours away.

Chapter 14 Summary

On the morning of the block party, Wes and his friends finish decorating the park. Ms. Monica and Mr. Baker drop off tons of food, which Jas arranges in different areas so that people will have to move around and interact to try everything. At the party, everyone seems happier than they have been since before the Simmons offer. Jas plays lots of songs that invite group dancing. The slideshow of pictures is so touching that it makes several people cry.

After the party, Mr. Hank instructs Wes and Kari to retrieve some wheelbarrows from his backyard to haul trash to the dumpsters. Wes and Kari get the wheelbarrows but are stopped on their way back by some unfamiliar white police officers who accuse them of trespassing and forbid them from taking the wheelbarrows anywhere. They discover that Kari doesn’t live in the neighborhood, but Wes does. They make the boys lie on the ground, and when Kari says that they didn’t do anything wrong, they put him in the police car and inform Wes that they are taking Kari to the station.

Chapter 15 Summary

Wes runs back to the park, crying, to tell his parents and Mr. Hank what has happened. They all head to the police station. Mr. Hank tells the police that the boys were doing him a favor, not trespassing. Officer Stewart claims that he was going to give Kari a ride home, but Kari wouldn’t say where he lived. They have to wait an hour before Kari is released to them (with his mom’s permission). Wes was surprised to see these officers patrolling Kensington Oaks, because he knows most of the usual officers, who are Black, friendly, and don’t cause trouble.

Wes and his parents take Kari home with them. Wes’s dad says that Kari could file a complaint against Officer Stewart if he wants to. Wes used to feel safe around his neighborhood police officers and was not worried about police brutality like he sees on the news. Now, he is worried about this issue because even though he and Kari weren’t doing anything wrong, something bad still happened.

Chapter 16 Summary

On Monday at school, everyone has already heard about the police bringing Kari to the station. Mya starts saying bad things about Kari, and Wes points out that Mya is still just angry at Kari over one joke from long ago. Mya’s dad is pulling her out of their middle school, partly because of the incident with Kari. She will switch to a school that is closer to her house.

Chapter 17 Summary

Wes chooses climate change for his social studies project but hasn’t started work on the assignment yet. In math class, Ms. Hardy returns quizzes in order from who got the best grade to who got the worst grade. This embarrasses Wes because although she doesn’t announce his exact grades, everyone can tell that he is not doing very well because he is usually near the end. He receives a “D,” and she offers to let him do extra credit assignments if he gets a parent's signature on his “D” quiz.

Kari’s mom is moving their family to his aunt’s house in a couple of weeks. After the police incident, patrol cars have been frequenting the hotel, which bothers everyone else there. Kari’s mom believes that filing a complaint would just get Kari into more trouble. Wes suggests that maybe Kari could live with him and his parents, instead of moving hours away with his aunt. However, Wes’s parents say that this would be a big decision that would require thought on their part and a discussion with Kari’s mom.

Chapter 18 Summary

Wes is mad at his parents for not immediately inviting Kari to live with them. He is also nervous at the idea of telling them about the “D” on his math quiz. To avoid this, he walks to Jas’s house to hang out and eat dinner there. Wes’s mom calls, finds out that he is there, and gives permission for Wes to eat with them. However, when Wes gets home, his parents are upset that he didn’t ask them before going to Jas’s house. Ms. Hardy emailed them about the low-scoring quiz, and they are upset that he didn’t tell them about his grade. They forbid Wes from watching TV and playing video games until his extra credit is done.

Two months have passed since Simmons offered to buy Kensington Oaks, which means that their original offer is now void. Most neighbors decided not to sell. However, Simmons sends a new letter making a higher offer to each homeowner. Wes’s parents forbid him from getting involved in saving Kensington Oaks until he gets his schoolwork sorted out. However, Wes doesn’t plan on following this restriction.

Chapter 19 Summary

Unbeknownst to his parents, Wes attends the community meeting about the new Simmons offers. People are yelling and arguing so much that he has to go outside, where he bumps into Alyssa. They try to comfort each other, but Wes now confronts the possibility that his family really might have to move.

Wes finishes his math extra credit. He starts on his climate change project for social studies but struggles because the topic is so grim. He spots Ms. Monica in the school library and tells her about the new Simmons offers, which many families want to take. Wes wants to give up, but Ms. Monica encourages him to keep trying even though change can take a long time. Wes walks home through the park and admires the fountain, to which he has always felt connected. He feels as though the fountain represents his home. Wes’s parents say that Kari can’t come to live with them right now, which upsets Wes.

Chapters 12-19 Analysis

Although Wes gains a great deal of maturity, his journey is not straightforward. True to life, his personal growth ebbs and flows, with setbacks and discouragement temporarily inhibiting growth. In this section, Wes is discouraged by several events, and he sometimes responds in ways that are counterproductive or even childish. For example, when he earns a “D” in math class but has an immediate opportunity to submit extra credit, he keeps his grade a secret from his parents and tries to ignore the problem entirely, allowing it to fester rather than figuring out a way to address it. Likewise, when he chooses a social studies topic to which he doesn’t feel connected, he ignores that problem as well, neglecting to work on his project and allowing the problem to grow bigger as the deadline approaches. Wes’s social world is also deeply disrupted, and he becomes even more discouraged by the police’s incident with Kari, Kari’s new move, Simmons’s second offer, and his parents’ reluctance to allow Kari to live with them. Faced with this storm of worries, he responds by distancing himself from his parents and neglecting to ask permission to go to Jas’s house, thereby making the problem worse rather than working to solve it. This temporary downward spiral is designed to reflect the discouragement that activists of any age can feel when their problem-solving efforts do not bear fruit right away. However, although Wes is tired and discouraged, this does not mean that he has stopped making progress. Instead, he has simply hit a “roadblock” and needs further encouragement to keep going. He receives this when Ms. Monica reminds him that he has made too much progress to give up now, and although she is referring to the goal of saving Kensington Oaks, Wes applies the same concept to all his problems, facing his issues head-on instead of ignoring them.

As a counterpoint to the looming possibility of gentrification, the block party symbolizes The Significance of Community and Cultural Heritage. The party’s setting is significant because the neighborhood park is the center of community life, and the decorations emphasize the community’s beauty. Likewise, the slideshow symbolizes the positive memories that the community has shared over the years and even over the decades, and the photographs honor and celebrate the myriad people who make up the community. As the DJ, Jas picks songs that encourage collaborative dancing to emphasize the community’s togetherness and teamwork. The act of eating together also illustrates the community’s ability to peacefully share resources and ensure the well-being of all its members. Overall, the block party symbolizes the most positive aspects of the Kensington Oaks community and serves as a reminder of why the neighborhood is worth saving. However, the incident with the police that occurs immediately after the party’s end symbolizes the external threats that the community still faces, implying that while the event is important for promoting unity, the block party itself cannot neutralize the threats or “fix” the “puzzle” of the community’s future.

In previous sections, the setting of Kensington Oaks was described as almost completely idyllic, but in this section, the setting is portrayed in a more complex way, with some negative elements mixed in. This shift illustrates Wes’s growing maturity and more realistic perspective, but it also indicates The Impact of Gentrification on Communities now that the process of gentrification has begun in Kensington Oaks. Wes still enjoys some moments playing basketball or admiring the fountain in the park, but he and Jas also get their basketball stolen by an older bully; this incident shows that although Kensington Oaks is still worth saving, it is not “perfect” or free from problems, because no place is perfect. Recognizing the flaws in his community may be difficult for Wes, but doing so is an important step on the way to saving his community so that the neighborhood can improve itself, rather than yielding to development companies who want to “improve” it by erasing it altogether. The incident with the police and Kari also illustrates how gentrification can make communities more dangerous, rather than “safer.” The scene shows that although police are supposed to serve and protect the population, these particular officers abuse their authority by preventing Kari and Wes from doing a favor for Mr. Hank, taking Kari to the station without explaining the reason, sending Wes into a crying fit, and ultimately causing Kari’s family to have to move again. All of these actions are disruptive, emotionally trying, and potentially unsafe. On the surface, gentrification seems to involve no more than an influx of stores and fancier homes, a development that doesn’t necessarily seem unsafe or problematic at first glance. Similarly, although the presence of new police officers is not an obvious threat, it soon becomes clear that serious problems can lurk under the surface. Overall, the setting of Kensington Oaks is beginning to morph, and Wes’s perception of it becomes more complex as a result.