Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Memories - told in Jacqueline Woodson’s poetic prose.
Ann Patchett, an author I love and admire wrote:
"Another Brooklyn is a sort of fever dream, containing both the hard truths of life and the gentle beauty of memory. The story of a young girl trying to find herself in the midst of so many conflicting influences and desire swallowed me whole. Jacqueline Woodson has such an original vision, such a singular voice. I loved this book."
I did too, Ann. I cannot recommend this book to you enough. It is so beautifully written, you will finish it in one sitting. Read it.
"Another Brooklyn is a sort of fever dream, containing both the hard truths of life and the gentle beauty of memory. The story of a young girl trying to find herself in the midst of so many conflicting influences and desire swallowed me whole. Jacqueline Woodson has such an original vision, such a singular voice. I loved this book."
I did too, Ann. I cannot recommend this book to you enough. It is so beautifully written, you will finish it in one sitting. Read it.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A novel that reads like poetry. Told just above a whisper, almost sacred — first friends, first love, loss of innocence against a backdrop of tragedy and fierce dreams. Woodson is a master.
I couldn't love this dream-like novel any more than I do. It's simply magical. Woodson creates a lyrical and gorgeous story in this novel-that-must-be-devoured about the wonders and dangers of friendship and the experience of growing up a girl of color in 1970s Brooklyn. August returns to Brooklyn to care for her ailing father, and it’s after his funeral that she crosses paths with one of her childhood best friends on the subway. The sight of Sylvia releases the flood of memories that comprise the novel, with August as narrator. Because these are memories, readers know they are not only getting August’s perspective, but that the story being told is also subject to the rewriting that our minds often do to our memories. But, memory is what makes us who we are, so August is laying out exactly who she is as she relays her memories of her formative adolescent years. A MUST read.
Another Brooklyn is an interesting book in that, more than anything, it reads like a memory. This memory tells of the intense bonds of young female friendship, of the unreliable spirals of grief and loss, of the always-present fear of being female in Brooklyn in the 1970s, of the ever changing creative process of growing up.
I loved the dusty glass of memory through which Another Brooklyn was told - the story truly feels like the reader's own lived experience because of August's (the main character's) bare emotions and realistic, unreliable memories. August is admirably honest and this honesty is what makes Another Brooklyn captivating, feeling more personal and important than any other book I've read.
Another thing that I loved about Another Brooklyn was how clearly it allowed me to glimpse what life would have been like as a teenage woman of colour in 1970s NYC. To me, the 1970s still feel so recent, yet the difference and progress that can be noted between August's life and my own (though, to be fair, I am an educated white woman living in Canada) helps me see how far feminism has advanced life for women in North America.
Really fascinating book, and a quick read. Do note that this is not a plot driven novel, though I still would consider it a four star read. I'd recommend it to lovers of historical fiction, feminists, and young women everywhere.
I loved the dusty glass of memory through which Another Brooklyn was told - the story truly feels like the reader's own lived experience because of August's (the main character's) bare emotions and realistic, unreliable memories. August is admirably honest and this honesty is what makes Another Brooklyn captivating, feeling more personal and important than any other book I've read.
Another thing that I loved about Another Brooklyn was how clearly it allowed me to glimpse what life would have been like as a teenage woman of colour in 1970s NYC. To me, the 1970s still feel so recent, yet the difference and progress that can be noted between August's life and my own (though, to be fair, I am an educated white woman living in Canada) helps me see how far feminism has advanced life for women in North America.
Really fascinating book, and a quick read. Do note that this is not a plot driven novel, though I still would consider it a four star read. I'd recommend it to lovers of historical fiction, feminists, and young women everywhere.
fast-paced
More of a novella - very short read and almost poetic.