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    Another Brooklyn: A Novel
    Another Brooklyn: A Novel
    Another Brooklyn: A Novel
    Audiobook2 hours

    Another Brooklyn: A Novel

    Written by Jacqueline Woodson

    Narrated by Robin Miles

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Longlisted for the National Book Award

    New York Times

     Bestseller

    The acclaimed New York Times bestselling and National Book Award—winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming delivers her first adult novel in twenty years.

    Running into a long-ago friend sets memory 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.

    Like Louise Meriwether’s Daddy Was a Number Runner and Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina, Jacqueline Woodson’s Another Brooklyn heartbreakingly illuminates the formative time when childhood gives way to adulthood—the promise and peril of growing up—and exquisitely renders a powerful, indelible, and fleeting friendship that united four young lives.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateAug 9, 2016
    ISBN9780062472663
    Author

    Jacqueline Woodson

    Jacqueline Woodson is the 2014 National Book Award Winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, which was also a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor Award, the NAACP Image Award, and the Sibert Honor Award. She is also the author of New York Times bestselling novel Another Brooklyn (Harper/Amistad), which was a 2016 National Book Award Finalist and Woodson’s first adult novel in twenty years. In 2015, Woodson was named Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. She is the author of more than two dozen award-winning books for young adults, middle graders, and children; among her many accolades, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a three-time National Book Award finalist, and a two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner. http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/

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    Related categories

    Reviews for Another Brooklyn

    4/5

    640 ratings68 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a well-written coming of age story that explores themes of classism, racism, and internal oppression. The language is beautiful and transports readers to Brooklyn. However, some readers found the story to be incohesive and inconclusive, and the sequencing confusing. Overall, the book is praised for its exquisite writing and exploration of Black girlhood.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      What a beautiful, powerful, perfect novel. So many facets, such clearly developed characters, all achieved with such a light textual touch. Woodson's precise writing conveys an extraordinary amount. I lost myself in this book and couldn't stop reading it until I was done.
    • 4/5
      Beautiful writing and evocative setting from Jacqueline Woodson. A comparatively short novel but the characters and story really pack a punch, and I love the seamless blend of nostalgia ('Rock the Boat' playing on the radio) and haunting memories.
    • 1/5
      Beautiful language in some parts but the story is incohesive and inconclusive. I was so excited to finally read this, but I ended up disappointed ?
    • 5/5
      I love the authors writing style.Memories...
    • 4/5
      What hunted me was the classicism intertwined with racism and internal oppression among people in this novel.
    • 4/5
      The story is about coming of age in Brooklyn in the 1970s. Woodson writes about teenagers with a rare astuteness. An exceptional book, beautifully written in delicately spare prose.
    • 4/5
      A return home leads to revisiting a childhood past. Well-written coming of age story of 4 young girls who were as different as night and day, yet bonded despite of circumstances.
    • 3/5
      The story was ok. I read something that stated that this was an adult book. I felt as though it was more of a teen read.
    • 5/5
      Written like a delicate poem to Black girlhood and all it’s ups and downs. Woodson’s writing is exquisite and transports you to Brooklyn with these girls, in this memory. Brava!
    • 3/5
      2.5 stars

      Another Brooklyn tells the story of a woman coming home to Brooklyn as an adult due to a tragedy. She then begins reminiscing about the defining moments of her youth, the good and the bad.

      The story is relayed in stream of consciousness, a format that I tend to avoid at all costs because I prefer chronological order, but I finished the book because it's short. With this format there are no quotation marks but the dialogue is italicized. It's not like a regular novel; you only get small slices of a much larger story that could have been more compelling than it actually is.

      Just as I expected I wasn't left satisfied in the end, mainly because the various subjects that come up are barely explored in this format. I couldn't really feel what the narrator was going through. Overall it's a quick and easy read but not particularly robust or engaging.
    • 3/5
      I loved the premise, but it wasn’t what I expected. It didn’t hold my attention and I found the sequencing confusing.
    • 4/5
      I listened to this is in audiobook format.

      This very short novel is about a woman looking back of the events of her formative years-- her mother's death, her best friends' coming of age, her realization of being black and poor. It was well written and interesting but I would have liked to see it developed more, especially the ending. The threads weren't pulled.
    • 3/5
      Protagonist August returns home to meet her brother due to her father’s illness. She runs into an old friend, spurring memories of growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s. She also recalls earlier childhood memories of Tennessee. The friends become aware of the perils and responsibilities that come with adulthood. They face the dangers of an urban environment. It is a story of friendships and loss.

      I very much enjoyed the poetic writing, but it did not quite gel into a cohesive story for me. It is a short book about grief and memories, and the scenes feel impressionistic. This is my first novel by Jaqueline Woodson, and I liked it enough to read more of her catalogue.
    • 4/5
      Growing up a motherless black girl in 1970s Brooklyn, August has friends who lives get bent or ended in ways she narrowly escapes in part because of her father is a good, if mostly absent man, and she has her love and connection to her brother when her friends troubles overwhelm them. Intense and involving and poetic.
    • 5/5
      My second Jacqueline Woodson book and I was entranced!

      This book felt like an impressionist painting. A young girl growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s, her brother, the kaleidoscope of neighbors, her three closest friends.

      A really rich view into a time that seems long gone.
    • 4/5
      A quietly sad coming-of-age tale set in the impoverished Brooklyn of the 1970s. Brilliantly performed on audio by Robin Miles and one of Jacqueline Woodson's rare adult novels. It explores friendship, grief, and the traumas faced by girls as they become women.CONTENT ADVISORY: non-graphic rape, drug use, suicide
    • 3/5
      Woodson tells a complex story in many disconnected pieces. As far as creating character, mood, and image, she excels, though sometimes the plot is confusing and I felt like I was "missing" something several times. This is well-done, though I definitely like Brown Girl Dreaming better. 3.5 stars.
    • 5/5

      Another Brooklyn breathtaking.

      A beautiful portrait of longing and memory that is as raw and sharp as it is true and tender. The rhythm of writing mirrors Brooklyn in a way that will have you finishing the pages before you are ready to let August and her story go.
    • 4/5
      Series Info/Source: I borrowed this as an audiobook from my library.

      Audiobook Quality (4/5): The narrator does an excellent job reading this. No complaints about the audiobook quality.

      Thoughts: I picked this up on a true whim. I wanted a very short story or novella to listen to on audiobook and a list online of good novellas recommended this one. It’s pretty far outside of something I would normally read.

      This is the story of August, who moves back to Brooklyn with her dad and brother after the death of her mother. She makes friends with two other girls and all of their families have some pretty deep-seated issues. They are poor but don’t quite live in poverty. We get to watch as they go from carefree young girls who are oblivious to their situation and have big dreams for themselves, to pre-teens well aware of the dangers of men and drugs. They spend a lot of time trying to dodge them both with varying success.

      This is a very good job of catching the mood of the 1970’s in Brooklyn. It’s lyrically written and feels more like a poem than a book. The feelings and stories are told more in broad strokes and can come off as a bit ambiguous.

      What really drives the story forward is the vector of these girls’ lives. Will they realize their dreams and make it out of Brooklyn or will they succumb to the slow decay around them? Also, there is a subplot about August’s mom and what really happened to her (which I thought was a bit off and was talked about quite a bit in the story).

      I liked the mood of the story and how it did an excellent job of making me feel like I was in 1970’s Brooklyn. However, I found the story a bit too ambiguous at times and after the fact struggled a bit to figure out exactly what happened to all the girls. However, I think that is just part of the style of this story…you are supposed to kind of wonder.

      My Summary (3.5/5): Overall this was fine and I didn’t mind listening to it. It is beautifully written and does a good job of making 1970’s Brooklyn come alive. I found parts of the story to be a bit too ambiguous for me and you don’t get a lot of closure. It was fine and gave me something to listen to while I sorted out Legos for a couple hours. If you are into these kinds of coming of age stories or interested in 1970’s Brooklyn this might be worth a listen.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful heartbreaking book that gives a glimpse of what it means to grow up girl.
    • 4/5
      This is my 2nd book by Woodson. She is a poet so her prose is wonderful. This is a short novel that deals with memories of August's a 35 year old anthropologist from her time growing up. It focuses on her girl friends, her brother, dad, and her mom. It is an excellent tale of a life coming together. At 170 pages it is a short read but it is very worthwhile. It deals with the Brooklyn environment in the 70's and the difficulty of dealing poverty and racism. Also read "Red at the Bone" which is even better.
    • 4/5
      This is a beautiful little book. I was surprised, although I shouldn't have been, to be moved to tears at the end remembering all the various pains we as girls and young women carry and hold.
    • 3/5
      This is the type of book I want to study. It's extremely lyrical, in a way that makes you slip into the words and finish the entire thing in one sitting. I loved its honesty, and how it described-- quite shamelessly-- what it is to grow up "Girl" in Brooklyn. I feel like the characters weren't given as much life as I would have liked, and I had trouble remembering who was who, but the story itself is simple and beautiful. It made me sad, and nostalgic for a life I never had. There's much sadness in these words, yet it doesn't come across as sad: this book does not want your pity, it just wants you to see the truth.

      A stunning novel, one that-- if you're lucky-- will haunt you.
    • 4/5
      An excellent story of four childhood friends growing up to young adulthood in a poor Black neighborhood told in snipers of memory. Haunting.
    • 4/5
      Outstanding tale of girls growing up in Brooklyn. A prose poem of adolescent confusion, heartbreak and understanding. This was not at all what I was expecting from an author known primarily for works aimed at children. Tough and vulnerable, nostalgic but clear sighted, this is about as adult as fiction gets.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of August and her best friends; Sylvia, Gigi and Angela, growing up on the mean streets of 1970s Bushwick, Brooklyn. Each of the girls has family problems that they keep hidden from each other- for the most part. But when these four girls hang out together they know that they have each other's back and they know they are fierce and beautiful, and that all the boys want them - even if they're not sure how to feel about that just yet. Their friendship acts as a shield against the bad in the world, even if it's only for a little while. As they get older life starts to pull them apart - career dreams, religion, family tragedy and teen pregnancy.
      Woodson always makes me feel nostalgic for my own childhood and teen years in 1970s NYC. This book is an ode to girlhood, to hanging out with your best friends, to roaming the neighborhood and the parks because it was still mostly safe, discovering boys, and the music that made the 70s.
      Recommended.
    • 4/5
      This isn't just a novel, it's a love letter to girlhood. Specifically, it's a gorgeously crafted, prose style, love letter to growing up as a black girl in 1970's Brooklyn. Anyone who has read Jacqueline Woodson's writing, knows that she has a knack for transporting her readers straight to wherever her story is set. In this case, that's even truer than before. Through August's memories, through the snippets that she deigns to share with us, the reader is transported straight back to her childhood in a place that wasn't quite home. A place where the mean streets chewed people up, and spit them back out. Unfortunately, not always whole. You can feel this place, this time, pulsing on the page. Another Brooklyn is stunning, and even that compliment is an understatement.

      August allows the reader to follow her back to a time and place where friendship was the only thing keeping her whole. Woodson manages to bring these four girls, and their separate home situations, to life in vivid color. I didn't think it was possible to accomplish that in such a short amount of pages. I was wrong. Each one of these girls is hiding their true self from the others, in the hope that it will allow them to escape into one another for a while. Hoping it will allow them to fade into a group that provides its own kind of family. As those true selves came to light, and I was treated to a glimpse at why these girls needed one another so deeply, my heart broke into pieces. The whole world, at least as they knew it, was against them. Their bravery, as thin a shield as it may have been, was commendable.

      If I had one small complaint, it would be that this book simply isn't long enough. I know that seems trivial, since Woodson is clearly capable of weaving a perfect story in this small amount of pages. However I missed these girls after the story was over. I wanted to hear more about their pasts. To live their stories. To be able to fully mourn the ones who didn't make it. I'd have read 400 pages of this, and not even batted an eyelash. That's the kind of writer that Jacqueline Woodson is, and why you should pay attention. So yes, in case it wasn't obvious, you should read this. It absolutely deserves your time.
    • 3/5
      Meh! I wasn't too impressed with this book which I listened to. It's a coming of age recollection by one of a group of 4 black girls growing up in Brooklyn. It seemed contradictory and disjointed to me.
    • 5/5
      What can I say about this? To say it’s engrossing, riveting,fascinating and amazing just doesn’t seem enough. August returns to Brooklyn for her fathers funeral A chance glimpse at a former friend transports August back to the Brooklyn of her childhood and everything that cam with it: poverty, under, a desire to fit in and young love. So much of this resonated with me and brought me back to the Brooklyn of my childhood. Unde4 200 pages it’s a quick read but oh so good.
    • 5/5
      This book reads like poetry rather than prose. It is even broken up almost in stanzas like poetry. Set mainly in the 1970s of Brooklyn, New York City this novel tells the story of a woman, August, from our time looking back to those days after the death of her father and to the friendship she had with three girls, Sylvia, Angela, and Gigi.



      August, her brother, and her father left her mother's family home in Tennessee after their mother went crazy when her brother died in Vietnam and she refused to believe it and threatened to become violent. August hopes that her mother will join the family soon. She was eight and her brother was four when they moved to Brooklyn.



      It would take them a while to fit in, but when they did and she made friends with the three girls, Sylvia the singer whose family has money and disapproves of them, Angela the dancer who is keeping secrets about her home life, and Gigi, the actress. The girls are inseparable and seek to protect each other from the men who lurk in the shadows seeking to harm them.



      This is a world of damaged veterans returning from the war and of drug addicts, mainly heroin, seeking to escape the pain of life. Her downstairs neighbor is a prostitute drug addict. But her world is also made up of her father's new religion, The Nation of Islam. While her brother readily embraces it, she does not quite so much. This is a beautifully written book that explores the themes of growing into womanhood and childhood friendships. You really want to know what makes August into the woman she becomes and the people who influence that character along the way. I highly recommend this book.



      Quotes

      I know now that what is tragic isn’t the moment. It is the memory.

      -Jacqueline Woodson (Another Brooklyn p 1)



      My mother had not believed in friendship among women. She said women weren’t to be trusted. Keep your arm out, she said, And keep women a whole other hand away from the farthest tips of your fingernails. She told me to keep my nails long.

      -Jaqueline Woodson (Another Brooklyn p 19)