In This Side of Home, award-winning poet, author, teacher, and activist Renée Watson delves into subjects and themes frequently found in her writings and draws upon her Portland, Oregon roots. Watson’s fiction examines the intersections of race, class, and gender through the lens of Black girls’ experiences. Her first two published titles were picture books, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (2010) and Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills (2012). This Side of Home was published on February 3, 2015 and marked Watson’s debut in young adult fiction.

Like Watson herself, the novel’s protagonist, Maya, grows up in Northeast Portland and witnesses urban renewal transforming her neighborhood. Reflecting the author’s passion for educating others about Black history, Maya learns about the history of Portland’s Black community and about pioneering Black journalists such as Ethel L. Payne. Watson was motivated to tell this story by her desire to foster dialogue about social issues:

I hope my books are a catalyst for youth and adults to have conversations with one another, for teachers to have a starting point to discuss difficult topics with students. Though my writing is fiction, it is definitely not for escaping reality. It is all about dealing with reality—sorting through the good and bad—trying to make sense of it all.