I've never read anything by Woodson, but she's been on my to-read list. I'm going to steal Roxane Gay's Goodreads review of this because it sums up what I thought "This gorgeous novel is a poem. It is a love letter to black girlhood." I will, obviously, never know what it was like growing up a black girl in Brooklyn in the '70s, but I was happy Woodson let me step into the moment with her.
August and her brother are new to Brooklyn. Forbidden by their father to go outside, they have to watch the kids in the streets from their window. Eventually, their dad relented and let them gradually be one of those kids, dancing to street DJs and playing in the fire hydrant water. Their mother is gone. We don't find out much right away, we just know that August keeps promising her brother that their mother was going to return tomorrow... and tomorrow...and tomorrow.
August ends up finding deep friendships with Gigi, Angela, and Sylvia. They grow up in a time that should be fun, but is often marred by men taking advantage of the teenage girls. Who is around to protect them? No one, and each girl gets marked in some way.
My heart broke for the girls, they had their enormous dreams of fame and fortune, but only a few made it out. When August finally faces where her mother really is and grows up, it's hard. Adults put such weight on children's shoulders and expect them to carry it around every day. But I suppose they still do, in this day and age.
Woodson usually writes YA but this is one of her adult novels. My gut says "Read everything this lady writes" regardless of age group.
“Maybe this is how it happened first for everyone —adults promising us their own failed future.”
Wonderful TED talk by Woodson on slow reading and keeping your story alive
Woodson on Another Brooklyn
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