Review by Teaching For Change
"The House on Rondo" by Debra Stone via University of Minnesota Press tells the story of the devastating impact of the 1963 construction of the Interstate on the Black community in St. Paul. A story repeated all too often around the country where Black homes, families, communities were displaced through eminent domain.
By focusing on one family and their neighbors on Rondo Street, Stone shines a light on this history of theft and resistance -- and its legacy today. For middle school readers and above.
Release date in early October, pre-order now.
The House on Rondo, a novel
Thirteen-year-old Zenobia must leave her North Minneapolis home with her two younger siblings to spend the summer with her grandparents in Saint Paul on Rondo Avenue while mama recovers from a stroke.
She argued with daddy that she can take care of everyone but he refused to listen. He has three jobs he needs to support his family and he can’t afford to worry about what’s happening at home.
It’s 1963. All of Zenobia’s summer plans unravel. With packed suitcases daddy drives across the Mississippi River to University Avenue, the main artery that connects Minneapolis and Saint Paul. There are no freeways and few people venture beyond their comfortable neighborhoods except Zenobia and her family, since the family visits her grandparents, Joe and Essie every Sunday.
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