Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

7 reviews

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.75

I think I might’ve enjoyed this more in a print format. Hearing it as an audiobook made the plot feel a bit disjointed at times. This is a story about girlhood and trauma and grief and religion and the things we tell ourselves and others. It’s got a powerful message, even if the execution wasn’t exactly to my liking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Drug abuse

dee_hzz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Death

jcstokes95's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is best enjoyed like a painting. I think the sooner you release the idea that a narrative is going to form, the better off your reading experience will be. Woodson is drawing vivid portraits of a place, time and its people. The stories here are heartbreaking, but presented as the mundane life of a community. Woodson doesn't dwell on the abuse, addiction or violence or at least, she doesn't present it for us to leer at. It feels so fluid, like you're moving through life with these girls. It also shares their moments of joy, of confidence and their friendship. Another Brooklyn manages to tell a real, dynamic story about young, Black girls and their different but intrinsically tied paths to adulthood.

It's really astonishing how full of a picture Woodson can draw in such a short book. I read it in audiobook form (highly recommend) and it felt like someone spilling their life history in a late night talk. It got straight to the heart of everything that could possibly touch girlhood without pulling punches or gawking. Woodson's always evocative writing is the centerpiece holding this together. Favorite quotes include:

"And she whispered how she was the queen of other places. ‘Close my eyes and boom, I’m gone. I learned it from my mother,’ she told us. ‘So many days you look in that woman’s eyes and she isn’t even there.’”

"We had blades inside our kneesocks and were growing our nails long. We were learning to walk the Brooklyn streets as though we had always belonged to them - our voices loud, our laughter even louder. But Brooklyn had longer nails and sharper blades."

There are so many of these gorgeous, lyrical moments here. I think this book will feel a bit plotless to some. I also am not sure if Woodson fully hammers home her message on memory at times; though I feel that may be because everything these young girls experience feels relevant and recent.  In all, this books feels like a great doorway into lives of young girls not always fully seen.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction

azyef's review

challenging emotional relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Rape, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug abuse

theintrovertedintrovert's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and War

melaniereadsbooks's review

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was such an interesting and well-written novella.  I was able to read this in practically one sitting and it flew by.

I loved the character growth that happened in this memoir-esque fiction. It felt so real and I was definitely empathizing with the main character and her friends.

The writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. One thing I really loved about it was its repetition of memory, and how it played around that theme.  There were some twists I didn't really see coming and the unreliability of the main characters memory really kept me on my toes.

Great and important story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Grief

grei's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very poetic and meaningful. Good book for when you want to feel a bit down and depressed, I just don't tend to like those kind of books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Pedophilia