MEET ME ON MERCER STREET, by Booki Vivat, Scholastic Press, April 2, 2024, Paperback, $12.99 (ages 8-12)
A girl tries to make sense of her changing neighborhood through observation and sketching in Meet Me on Mercer Street, a graphic novel by Booki Vivat.
Aspiring artist Kacie spends most of her time on Mercer Street with her best friend, Nisha, people-watching and doodling whatever is happening in their neighborhood. But when she comes back from a summer away, the local corner store is boarded up, the adults in town are all on edge, and Nisha is nowhere to be found! Everything is changing, and Kacie’s not sure what to do about it. Especially without Nisha to help her.
But Kacie has a knack for noticing things, and with her sketchbooks and observational skills, she just might have what it takes to figure out what’s really happening on Mercer Street. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
Author Booki Vivat wrote Meet Me on Mercer Street to explore overwhelming questions like: Why do things change? and What do we do when those changes feels so much bigger than us? And she does that through insightful cartoons and graphic novel comic panels.
At the center of the story is Kacie, a girl who uses her doodles to make sense of things. Meet Me on Mercer Street reads like Kacie’s journal, with her first-person narrative and sketches bringing the story to life.
The story here is one that most readers can relate to in some way or another — who hasn’t faced change and the overwhelming feelings that come with it? Vivat’s writing is conversational and her illustrations are full of humor and emotion.
At less than 200 pages, Meet Me on Mercer Street will also appeal to readers who sometimes find “thicker” books daunting.
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