Welcome to Litsy!

Beautifully written, bittersweet story of growing up and those friendships that matter so much then.

A fellow reader recommended this author to me as I was looking to expand myself to new to me writers. OMG, this novel! First, the writing is beautiful. And although thr story is sad at times there was something so very endearing about the characters and their story. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 and I will be picking up more titles by this author!

#Alphabetgame #letterA @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Thanks for the tag @Cathythoughts

I recommend the tagged book, Woodson writes so lyrically. This is a haunting and beautiful book about memory.

Want to share yours, @batsy @LeahBergen ?

“This is memory.”
This little book was incredible! Woodson writes prose like poetry - lyrical and beautiful. I‘d absolutely read another book about these characters. This counts for #blackownedpublisherorimprint for #booked2022. The imprint is Amistad (Harper Collins), if anyone is looking for books for this prompt! @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft

Two ebook deals I thought were worth crowing about this morning if anyone's looking to add some excellent books to their digital collection! #LGBTQ #Ebook

A short, but impactful novel, Woodson‘s use of language and lilting prose creates a vivid picture of black girlhood in 1970s Brooklyn. This felt like reading a memoir in poetry form, touching on themes of memory, trauma, and the unique bonds of childhood friendship. I forced myself to slow down and savor Woodson‘s talent. She captures something in her characters that feels real. Can‘t wait to read more. 4⭐️#wintergames2021 #averymerrybingo

Woodson writes beautifully, and while I enjoyed Red at the Bone a bit more, this was a lovely read as well!

🌆

#curiouscovers #water so many good books!
Tagging Jacqueline Woodson because she is one of my top favorite authors.
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

WOW! Beautiful writing about growing up amidst Elijah Muhammad's teachings, drugs, and hidden dangers. All while missing your mother.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

I borrowed this from the library and loved it so much I had to go order my own copy. I've only read 3 of her other books (and two short stories) but I think she is one of my favorite authors. She's an incredible writer.
Another Brooklyn felt so real to me. I loved the way she explored female friendships, and wrote about growing up. It was just so real.

Notwithstanding the jaunty smiling audiobook, this book made me feel a little sad and wistful.
#authoramonth

#bookspin review
What a beautiful, lyrically written little book. Heartbreaking, too. And oh-so resilient. So glad #AuthorAMonth put Woodson at the forefront of my radar. @TheAromaofBooks

This book gets dark & intense. The storyline is kind of fragmented which makes it a little difficult to follow. #AuthorAMonth

The story is fragmented, dark and disturbing. But it is told in a way where you enjoy reading it. It‘s about 4 girls their friendship, emotions, and how they face realities of adulthood. Besides the story there are many beautiful quotes. Honestly I read this for the writing style more than the story.3.5🌟

#bookspinbingo #authoramonth

Quick read for April‘s #Authoramonth 😀📖

@Soubhiville

#AuthorAMonth2021 @Soubhiville

After all the books I've read by this author, this is not my favorite, but it's still so beautifully written that you won't be disappointed reading it.

Woodson tells this story in flashbacks and memories, revealing a summer of friendship, growing up, and learning that life isn't always easy.

A chance encounter with a childhood friend makes a young woman reflect on her past. It‘s a coming-of-age story of 4 black girls in 70s Brooklyn, & while it explores the complexities of friendships among the girls, it also follows the protagonist dealing with loss & grief. Written in vignettes with flashbacks, it feels hallucinatory; there are some beautiful sentences that catch my breath; & so much to ponder in what leaves unsaid.⬇️
#AuthorAMonth

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...
#bookspinbingo
#authoramonth2021

This is so good and so quick. I'm really enjoying this author. She's a great storyteller.

#AuthorAMonth with @Soubhiville

#BookSpinBingo square 19
@TheAromaofBooks

I didn‘t connect with this as viscerally as Red at the Bone, however Woodson‘s prose and her descriptions of gritty 1970s Brooklyn are beautiful. She‘s certainly a talented author. #aam #authoramonth

Robin Miles deftly narrates the #audiobook. She‘s becoming a favorite narrator!!

Beautifully written story about four teenage girls growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970's. #AuthorAMonth #JacquelineWoodson
@Soubhiville

This was just an ok read for me. While the writing is beautiful and poetic in its way, I found that the writing didn‘t work for me and I found my mind wandering at times during the story. #AuthorAMonth #BookspinBingo

New coffee flavor and starting a new book this morning. #coffeeandabook
#AuthorAMonth #JacquelineWoodson

The entire book is filled with beautiful lines which I read again and again. This one is my fav😍

Anybody else is reading this for #authoramonth ? Any other fav quote from this book?

#bookquote

Beautiful coming of age story about four girls navigating Brooklyn, their dreams, sadness and happiness. Touching and sad, but without melodrama ... and is one of those fragmented novels, where the story is hidden between lines. That writing style is here perfectly executed. #AuthorAMonth
My May #bookspin

Hey #AuthorAMonth peeps! This one is available on Hoopla! My first Woodson and I listened to it last night. Beautiful writing, and a sad story. I may try for another of her books if I can hunker down and focus this month!

Thanks to @MaGoose for the books and bookmarks.

And thank you, @Chelleo for hosting the #BHMS #BlitsySwap 😊

Friendship books for Galentine's Day!

https://bookriot.com/female-friendship-books/

3 more books to go this year to make my Goodreads challenge. Starting this one today.

It's hard to describe Woodson's style. 'Dreamy' comes to mind, but it's not quite right because it's more like the way memory is than dreams. Haunting? Lyrical? But it's also very warm writing. You feel very close to the characters and the scenes have the right sort of sensory detail, maybe not like you're there, but like you're the one remembering this past. 👇

December book club book.

Sunday Fun day playing with letters.

Letter A for Amazing. From Amsterdam to Americanah. From Atonement to Anxious People. There are so many good books I have kept over the years that start with an A what are your favorites?

#favoritesLetterA

#JacquelineWoodson #augustauthors

This book is beautifully written. It has a smooth and #mellifluous flow, almost lyrical.
#beautifulwords

Phew, things got real in this! I went in not knowing a lot, and that was a good idea. On the surface this is a book about friendship, and having the whole world at your feet. But once it gets a little deeper, it gets darker, sadder and more emotional. Also, the writing was great!

Another Brooklyn is unique take on a coming of age story, and one I won't soon forget. Our narrator fades in and out between memories, chapters of her life folding back and forth in a sort of summer haze, and while the timeline blurs, the intense emotions and sharp observations do not. Woodson's magnetic prose pushes the bruises of past hurts, reminds you of harsh truths and realities, and aches with that purgatory between childhood and adulthood.

1. Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson & In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (loving both)

2. I‘m a sucker for covers featuring space 😍. My most recent space themed book was probably Goldilocks by Laura Lam (super cool cover!)

3. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - If you haven‘t read this, you absolutely need to 😘

@magyklyXdelish @sharread @Soubhiville

Jacqueline Woodson explores a number of complex themes through August's memory. We see grief, loss of a parent, growing up economically disadvantaged, city dangers for young black girls, sexual predators and abuse, and white flight, to name a few. I liked how the past and present were overlapped to give us a better idea of what was actually happening. #lgbtqauthor #blm

Sparse and poetic - Woodson sets a scene, creates intense emotion and layers memories in a time shifting story. I cried through so much of this - it's about mourning, about loss, about the pass never really staying in the past - all told with a beautiful lightness of language.

Bunky is also sheltering for the mad heavy rain - nestled with the cucumbers whilst I read ❤️

Sudden downpours today mean #newbook needs to be read inside the greenhouse!

With finishing up the tagged book last night, I‘ve made it through 4 (3 read, 1 bail) off my #BookSpin list for June! Sadly I did bail on this month‘s number, but I did finish my #DoubleSpin pick with Truth & Beauty! Looking forward to move a lot of these to July for #BookSpinBingo so I can make more of a dent in books I already own.

Another Sunday night. 🍾📚

1. The Prey of the Gods; Talking Back, Talking Black; Vampires Never Die; A Song Below Water; and Between the World and Me

2. Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

3. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

#weekendreads

This book is beautifully written, almost lyrical. August returns to Brooklyn because her father is dying, which causes her to reflect on her adolescence in the 70s, and everything she and her 3 best friends have gone through. It‘s a short book but it really has stayed with me!
#blackvoices

Can't believe it took me this long to read a book by Jacqueline Woodson but I'm definitely hooked now. A beautiful and hauntingly lyrical story of adolescence, girlhood friendships, and grief told in flashbacks. Truly a masterpiece of fiction.

TW: death, mentions of sexual assault, suicide

I‘ve been very good these past few months and haven‘t bought ALL THE BOOKS so I‘m excited to challenge myself to actually read more books that I already own to whittle the ever growing TBR pile down. And this is my first #BookSpin! 👋🏻 #juneTBR