The Stats
📖 BOOK REVIEW⠀📚
BOOK: When No One Is Watching
AUTHOR: Alyssa Cole
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks @williammorrowbooks
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Published: September 1st 2020
The Review
Sydney Green lives in a neighborhood in Brooklyn, an old neighborhood of predominantly black people with plenty of history. The buildings are classic brownstone and the community is actually a community, not just a stock-holder’s meeting that nod to each other as they walk their dogs. They know and take care of each other.
And slowly, one-by-one, homes go vacant. Rich white people snatch them up and start renovating them. As land values are going up, real estate agencies start getting pushy with the residents. Police start planting evidence to ruin the lives of promising teens so they will never be anything more than a convict. Cornerstone businesses can’t afford the rent and turn into boutique stores with none of the inexpensive products the residents can afford. Yes, this is a thriller about gentrification. And I was legitimately scared. And educated.
The second main character, Theo, is one of the rich white people who have moved in. Except he isn’t all that rich. His ex-girlfriend is, and she’s about ready to kick his sorry self out. He’s jobless, but he grew up in a poor community, and fell in love with this brownstone neighborhood as soon as he moved in. As there is a block party coming up, he volunteers to help Sydney with research for her tour of the neighborhood. A real tour about the events that happened there, not the white-washed anglocentric one for tourists.
This doesn’t sound like that scary of a story, but stick around. There’s a reason this thing is summed up as Rear Window meets Get Out.
The Title/Cover Draw:
The cover gave me vibes of Rear Window, another thriller about being aware of your neighborhood.
What I liked:
I was already aware of gentrification and the red line. However, if you are just starting to see the racial injustices against African-Americans, and are interested in learning more, you should definitely read this book. This is a compressed version of all the different things done to push minorities out of neighborhoods and keep them impoverished.
Furthermore, Theo is a great way to show how to be (and not be) a black ally. He learns as he goes. Because plastering yourself with a Black Lives Matter shirt isn’t always the best way to show support.
What I didn’t like:
The book was a slow burn, but it picked up speed as it went.
The Ending:
The ending clears up everything that is going on, but it doesn’t stop it. Because what has happened to this neighborhood continues to happen, in a smaller scale, every day.
Reminds me of:
Yeah, this is Rear Window meets Get Out. That summary is dead on.
*****
Summary:
Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning…
Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.
But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.
When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?
I voluntarily read a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.