Remember Us

hands shielding the last of the sun from our eyes, almost gone.

We said Well, nothing lasts for always, right?

We said One day even the whole earth will disappear.

We were just some kids making believe we understood.

But we didn t. Not yet.

We didn t understand the fires. Or life. Or the world.

But we knew that neighborhood was our world.

And we knew . . . our world was burning.

3

That was the year of Freddy too.

4

Freddy moved into the corner building on Palmetto Street right where it was sliced through by a small block called Ridgewood Place. The brick houses on Ridgewood Place felt like they came from another time. Each house was just as perfect as the one beside it. The cars parked out in front of the houses were undented and shining. We didn t understand how the people who lived on Ridgewood Place got such nice houses and fancy cars. But we understood why their brick houses remained standing long after the wooden houses of Palmetto Street had burned to the ground. So we slitted our eyes as we walked past the houses on Ridgewood Place, jealous because the kids who lived inside that brick didn t have to worry about how quickly flames flew. And we slitted our eyes because we knew they didn t have to sleep with their robes and shoes at the foot of their beds. We knew if those kids woke up in the middle of the night, it was only to go to the bathroom or climb into their parents bed during a thunderstorm.

5

Hey, girl!

The first time I ever talked to Freddy was the day he called to me from his window. I had been dribbling my basketball through my legs as I walked up the block but stopped to see who was yelling. It was summer, and the one tree on

first-person upper middle-grade novel taps into a wide array of emotional truths and preteen sensibilities. Passages on loss and memory feature palpable sadness, but there is also a tender exploration of the enduring power of friendship and love, the discovery of inner strength and resilience, and the need to balance an appreciation for what once was and what may be. Woodson again delivers an appealing protagonist whose voice will resonate with readers in a nuanced coming-of-age story worth remembering.   Horn Book, starred review

* Woodson draws on her experiences growing up in Bushwick in the 1970s and 80s to craft a nostalgic-feeling ode to the unexpected. Short chapters offer swift glimpses into momentous happenings in Sage s life, while organic dialogue and mesmerizing prose lay bare a narrative that encourages learning to move with the ebbs and flows of life. Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
* The deeply moving novel from National Book Award winner Woodson is both elegant and accessible, and the novel-in-verse approach works wonderfully here, with occasional chapters consisting of only a few dramatic lines. Bushwick and its inhabitants are fully fleshed out with incredible detail and immense tenderness, and Sage immediately feels like a dear friend. A poignant portrayal of a historic neighborhood and an outstanding ode to the grief and gift of growing older. Woodson is one of the most esteemed figures in children's publishing, and her historical fiction especially can't be missed. Booklist, starred review

The emotions and challenges feel ever current. . . . 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. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

* Packs an understated but powerful punch. . . . Sage s deep sense of nostalgia intertwines with a palpable fear of those fires, which act as a metaphor for Sage s recognition that her body and her world are changing: The present is constantly turning into the once was. . . . Remember Us has the feel of a new classic, ageless in its universal themes while wonder­fully rendering a spe­cific time and place. The pure magic of this novel is that Woodson somehow makes read­ers feel as though they are experiencing these moments of growing up along with Sage. Woodson flawlessly intersperses explosive moments and games of basketball among quiet, reflective scenes while responding to Sage s weighty fears with reassurance about the permanence of loving memories. BookPage, starred review

* National Book Award-winner Jacqueline Woodson uses personal experience to honor her childhood in Remember Us, a poignant work of middle-grade historical fiction about how a little-known event shapes one girl's transition to young woman. . . . Woodson expertly frames Sage's feelings about this awkward life transition through text that is gentle yet lands with force and aching accuracy. . . . Sage's lyrical, accessible first-person narration features a history lesson hidden within the dynamic experience of Woodson's rounded characters. Fans of Woodson should appreciate this novel, which builds and expands upon some of the autobiographical aspects of Brown Girl Dreaming. Shelf Awareness, starred review