REMEMBER US

An African American tween’s world is turned upside down by mysterious fires in her neighborhood and by self-doubt as she comes of age.

Sage’s mother wants them to move to a safer area, but Sage is reluctant to leave their community, where her father, a fireman killed in the line of duty, grew up. Her mother was always one of the first to help families when fires struck, and Sage finds herself drawn to the little kids who play in the residue left behind. Rough-and-tumble, basketball-loving Sage grapples with feeling different from the makeup-wearing girls who used to be her friends. The words of a menacing teen who harasses her on the basketball court haunt her (“What kind of girl are you?” “I should punch you in the face just to show you you ain’t a dude…”), and her hurt turns to an anger that nearly has a catastrophic outcome. After one of the neighborhood children is killed in yet another fire, Sage finds herself reflecting on her own loss. Drawing on her own experiences growing up in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood during the ’70s and ’80s, Woodson has crafted a beautifully lyrical narrative of change, healing, and growth. Her ability to evoke time and place is masterful; every word feels perfectly chosen. Sage is an irresistible character with a rich interior life, and her relationships with her mother and her friend Freddy are exceptionally well drawn.

An exquisitely wrought story of self and community.