Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

In January, FoF met to discuss Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson-

Running into a long-ago friend sets memories from the 1970s in motion for August, transporting her to a time and a place where friendship was everything—until it wasn’t. For August and her girls, sharing confidences as they ambled through neighborhood streets, Brooklyn was a place where they believed that they were beautiful, talented, brilliant—a part of a future that belonged to them.

But beneath the hopeful veneer, there was another Brooklyn, a dangerous place where grown men reached for innocent girls in dark hallways, where ghosts haunted the night, where mothers disappeared. A world where madness was just a sunset away and fathers found hope in religion.

-Summary courtesy of Goodreads.

We had a very interesting discussion of Another Brooklyn, which received mixed reviews in our group. Here are some of the comments readers made while discussing their reaction to this month’s selection:

• I liked it. An easy read. The culture was so different from mine- gave me insights into another life. There was always a feeling of hope, even when horrible things happened.
• I liked how she wrote, so descriptive. I just didn’t like the subject matter and couldn’t get into the story itself.
• It was almost too short…nothing developed much. It did make me consider my own young adulthood. I could relate to parts of this. I remember that idea of boys being dangerous.
• I appreciated the content. I’m not a fan of Woodson’s writing style.
• Not crazy about it. Girls who are friendly at that time of their lives don’t usually lose touch…so it didn’t ring true for me. The moving back and forth in time was confusing.
• I just couldn’t get past the writing style. Not for me.
• I liked it! Someone once told me- “beware of books that have few words on the page.” I liked the 70’s references.
• It felt poetic. Not what I would normally read, but that’s what I like about book club!
• Beautifully written, but not uplifting. I grew up in the inner city so this brought back memories.
• I feel pretty neutral about it. I liked the writing style but it was choppy and confusing (moving through time).
• I loved it. Read it twice and definitely worth a second read. The struggle of saying no all the time, I could relate to that from high school.

These are simply some of the highlights from our discussion. Feel free to leave additional thoughts on Another Brooklyn in the comments section below.