Meet Me on Mercer Street

Meet Me on Mercer Street by Booki Vivat tells the story of Kacie Sitthiwat, a soon-to-be sixth-grader. She loves to spend her time on Mercer Street watching and doodling, usually with her best friend Nisha. But when Nisha moves away, and Mercer Street starts to change, Kacie struggles without her best friend to help but still has her powers of observation and her sketchbooks.

The book is really interesting by the way it introduces the businesses on Mercer Street, with Kacie’s sketches showing each place and the owners. It’s really interesting that it’s based off of the author’s experience, when one of her friends moved away. But this is a fictionalized version. The artwork was great, it really helped me see the story and experience it in a different way.

I like the uniqueness of Kacie’s community. There’s this business man who wants to make Mercer Street more modern. People in the area don’t like this idea. It reminds me of some of the issues going on around our community. Kacie showed me that change is scary and won’t be fixed overnight, but change is inevitable. We can choose the ways we do, or don’t, want to change.