Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson Amanda Toledo Woodson, Jacqueline Remember Us. Paulsen/Penguin, 2023 [192p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780399545467 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780399545481 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-8 Homes are catching fire in the summer heat of Bushwick, and twelve-year-old Sage is seeking to preserve her love of basketball and her friendships as she sees more of her Brooklyn community go up in flames. Basketball isn't just a game for Sage but a steady anchor, running through her friendship with Freddy, her memories of her dead father, her love for her neighborhood. But her passion and skills faulter after a terrifying encounter with a menacing teenage boy who corners Sage alone, demanding to know what kind of girl she thinks she is playing ball like that. Meanwhile, the fires continue to rage and any sense of safety simply turns to ash. Sports references (Sage isn't waiting for some "ladies team" to be invented so she can play ball) and details like Sage's mother using a typewriter place the novel in its historical moment, but the emotions and challenges feel ever current. Written with the reflective voice of a slightly older Sage, the slice-of-life narrative steers readers through weighty emotions and contemplations on friendship, grounding the connections between notions of identity, family, and home with tactile imagery. The vividness of Sage's world gives an urgency to the story, calling up the immediacy of youth, while the reflective tone softens some of the more painful memories, assuring to children that these things will pass, and that fires will not burn forever. [End Page 79] Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois