Review: Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

August returns to Brooklyn after the death of her father.  Upon her return, and reuniting with an old friend, her youth comes flooding back to her.  Growing up in 1970s Brooklyn was a paradox; on one hand she and her girlfriends believed nothing could hurt them as they walked down the streets, arm in arm.  Yet there was another side of Brooklyn...one in which mentally ill mothers leave their families, adult men seek the attention of innocent young girls.

As August flashes back to the past, we follow her, gaining perspective of Brooklyn through the eyes of a child.  She insists they weren't impoverished, for they always had food in their bellies and clothes on their bodies.  Despite the scenes they witnessed as they people watched from their apartment window, they still had a hopeful and promising outlook on the world.  Still, there resonated a dull, empty ache for their mother, a woman suffering from mental illness.

We follow the path of August and her girlfriends as they grow into adulthood, paths that always don't have happy endings. An emotional, compelling and wholly rewarding coming of age novel, a true examination of how the relationships and experiences in life leave indelible marks upon our soul.

This is the sort of novel that packs a mighty punch, despite such a short page count.  Told in a unique method, in short, verse-like paragraphs, Another Brooklyn is the kind of book you carry around with you, sampling short bits at every spare moment.  Her poetic style of writing makes it easy to juxtapose the different worlds in which August resided: a hopeful one full of love and friendship with the leering world of violence and drugs just outside her door.  She expertly captures what it was like for August, a young African American woman, to grow up in 1970s Brooklyn, how her experiences shaped her into a remarkable young woman.

It’s impossible to relay the beauty, the power that resides in this novel.  One of the most eye-opening coming-of-age novels I have read in some time. Highly, highly recommended.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to take part in this tour.