Another Brooklyn

A Novel

By: Jacqueline Woodson

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

The acclaimed New York Times best-selling and National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming delivers her first adult novel in 20 years.

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.

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.

©2016 Jacqueline Woodson (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"[Narrator Robin] Miles's rich voice embraces dialects, accents, and moods as August's thoughts float back and forth in time.... Miles illuminates the novel's themes, celebrating Woodson's lines as if they were fine jazz improvisations." ( AudioFile)

Good Book

I listened to this book twice back to back. I was lost in the story, and the narrator was perfect for the story.

Tiny flaws

The book itself is good. It has a lot of flash backs and jumping between time periods that made the book more interesting and colorful but also a little bit confusing, especially at first. The author really makes the characters and events come to life as I read (listened) through. There is definitely parts in here that's inappropriate for young readers. I liked the overall book but the ending could be better. I felt like something was missing after finishing the book. That's the only downside to the book itself. The narration is about as good as the book. It's great for a narration overall, but sometimes I would hear little cuts to the recording (I suppose it's from editing out all the mistakes and such) and it really distracts me from the story. This is my first audio book and I was surprised to realise that the narration really helped me understand this book and made it flow well, but the cuts distracted me from that. since this is my first audio book I have no idea if it's like this in every audio book, but it definitely broke the flow of the story a little. It would happen anywhere any time at the end of any sentence and I would think this must be an intentional break to let the reader (listener) know that the next part is a different theme/topic from before the small break, but it's not. I wouldn't mind as much if the cut was made at the end of a paragraph but it happens randomly at the end of a sentence. This made the already pretty confusing book with all the jumps in time more confusing. nonetheless the narration was pretty good as it exceeded my expectations for my first audio book. It really did help me understand the book dispite all the tiny breaks.

Resonate to Bushwick area in Brooklyn NY i

I could reflect back to 1970s in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn NY when I was 10-14 years old. Including while we drove to the area and seeing the Black Muslims. So much story in a short book. The audio presents the book as a performance. Enhances the reading of this book. Very explicit book.

A great start to an amazing story…

I fell in love with the characters and the storyline. The narrator was amazing but the story felt unfinished and left too many questions unanswered. I felt this story had just really got started when it finished.

Exquisite Writing

Exquisite writing and wonderful narration makes beautiful any topic Jacqueline Woodson takes on. Her poetry fuses with her prose and her development of characters is both engaging and enchanting.

Wonderful character development

I didn't want this story to end. So well written and performed. I felt an attachment to each of the characters and would love to know where they are today.

A stunning story beautifully told.

This was a well read and presented production. I loved the music chosen for the intro and ending.

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

The mixing of present and past was excellent. It was easy to follow. Loved it.

Nothing stellar here

More of a linear ho hum retelling. Nothing surprising. Didn't leave me feeling inspired. Disappointed.

Exquisite

Oh Jackie Woodson, you write so beautifully, so powerfully, so exquisitely. Your stories are so filled with your humanity, experience and truth and allow us to peer right into your beautiful black woman soul. This one is no exception. I enjoyed it so much. Thank you.