Another Brooklyn

For the past several months I've seen pictures and reviews of Another Brooklyn, Jacqueline Woodson's first adult novel in twenty years, and an author whose name I recognize from her more recently published Brown Girl Dreaming, which received a Newbery Honor.

Another Brooklyn is a slim novel, which should be no surprise after reflecting on the fact that Brown Girl Dreaming is a novel in verse. Woodson is master of careful wording and saying a great deal in few words.  

When August runs into a friend from long ago, she recalls her childhood of the 1970s - her girlfriends and their time together, the scary parts of life in a city, the mother she has not seen since she was a young girl, her father's girlfriends, and her younger brother and their relationship.

This is a coming of age story beautifully written.  

Although classified as an adult novel, mature teen readers may also enjoy it, and Woodson's gift with words is evident again in this novel.