Another Brooklyn Themes

Jacqueline Woodson’s novel Another Brooklyn studies how people cope with loss. The narrator, August, focuses on her lifelong attempt to come to terms with her mother’s death, which she refuses to acknowledge throughout her childhood and adolescence. Instead of accepting that her mother committed suicide, she convinces herself that she’s still alive and will one day come to live with the family in Brooklyn. As August remains steadfast in this belief, though, she…

In Another Brooklyn, Jacqueline Woodson examines the importance of interpersonal connection, paying special attention to the way friendship helps August navigate the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Because August’s mother is dead and her father is preoccupied by his religion, she sorely lacks parental guidance. For this reason, August turns to Sylvia, Angela, and Gigi: forming a close bond with them helps not only take her mind off her grief, but…

Although Another Brooklyn doesn’t explicitly spotlight the direct impact of racism on August’s life, the novel plays out against a backdrop of prejudice and tense race relations. At first glance, August’s life seems somewhat unaffected by the racism and bigotry of the 1970s despite the fact that she’s black—possibly because the novel primarily focuses on her relationships with other black people. However, many of the interactions she has in her predominantly African American community…