When No One is Watching

Is Sydney crazy? Or is her world being changed around her?

Alyssa Cole steps into a new genre with this title. Sydney comes home to Gifford Place, Brooklyn, to help take care of her mother as she has fallen ill. But since she came home, the neighborhood has started to undergo some drastic changes. Many old neighbors have moved out. Weirdly - no one has heard from anyone who has recently left! Is Sydney reading too much into her surroundings? Or are things happening way beyond her control? 
Cole brilliantly interweaves the process of gentrification, New York City's history with slavery, a hint of romance, and creates a world full of suspense and relatable characters. As with her other works, she works in current trends in social media and creates her own style of informing the reader. At the end, Cole has included a list of resource works for further reading on the history of Brooklyn and the concept of gentrification.