Remember Us

By: Jacqueline Woodson

Narrated by: Jacqueline Woodson

Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson brings listeners a powerful story that delves deeply into life’s burning questions about time and memory and what we take with us into the future.

It seems like Sage’s whole world is on fire the summer before she starts seventh grade. As house after house burns down, her Bushwick neighborhood gets referred to as “The Matchbox” in the local newspaper. And while Sage prefers to spend her time shooting hoops with the guys, she’s also still trying to figure out her place inside the circle of girls she’s known since childhood. A group that each day, feels further and further away from her. But it’s also the summer of Freddy, a new kid who truly gets Sage. Together, they reckon with the pain of missing the things that get left behind as time moves on, savor what’s good in the present, and buoy each other up in the face of destruction. And when the future comes, it is Sage’s memories of the past that show her the way forward. Remember Us speaks to the power of both letting go . . . and holding on.

©2023 Jacqueline Woodson (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Exceptional. . . . Written in lyrical prose, Remember Us is a poetic time capsule from the 12-year-old Sage, an African American girl living in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn during the 1970s. . . . What struck me about this novel was not only its commemoration of those horrific Bushwick fires . . . but also how Woodson conjures such a captivating, elegiac story from their ashes. . . . Will help tweens process their grief after trauma.” —The New York Times Book Review

* “An African American tween’s world is turned upside down by mysterious fires in her neighborhood and by self-doubt as she comes of age. . . . Drawing on her own experiences growing up in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood during the ’70s and ’80s, Woodson has crafted a beautifully lyrical narrative of change, healing, and growth. Her ability to evoke time and place is masterful; every word feels perfectly chosen. Sage is an irresistible character with a rich interior life, and her relationships with her mother and her friend Freddy are exceptionally well drawn. An exquisitely wrought story of self and community.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Another remarkable ode to Brooklyn and memory from the incomparable National Book Award winner. . . . Set during the 1970s, this nostalgia-tinged novel takes place when Bushwick was known as ‘The Matchbox’ because of the fires that plagued its streets. . . . The often wistful text is lyrical, but the nostalgia never overwhelms the narrative. Woodson’s economy of language expertly presents the microcosm of Sage’s community of friends and neighborhood kids and the macrocosm of the external world that threatens to destroy it. Sage’s journey to finding herself while trying to navigate these two worlds will resonate with readers young and old. The power of community and friendship permeates every word in this middle grade novel for all readers. A truly masterly work.” —School Library Journal, starred review

Poignant story about friendship, family and self knowledge.

Jacqueline Woodson narrates her own story based on her life growing up in Brooklyn. I hung on every word!

Powerful story of community through a child's view

As someone who grew up in NYC in the 70s and 80s, and whose family also moved me from my community to a brick house in Queens, I soaked in Jacqueline Woodsons telling of the experience through the view of this "Sage".