Listening to the audio version of this book read by the author was probably the smartest reading decision I have ever made.

Jacqueline Woodson weaves an amazing narrative. The ways she uses her power over words to tell us about her childhood thoughts and the world that surrounded her is really captivating.

The storytelling was succinct and brilliant. She manages to capture the things about childhood that we as adults look back on both as nostalgic and yet sometimes difficult to fully come to terms with. Her point of view was really powerful and that power pulls you through her stories as everything ebbs and flows.

I would like to echo the recommendation of so many other readers and say that you should seriously consider listening to this book. It is only around 4 hours long and the author does an amazing job in her reading.