Jacqueline Woodson's novel is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story. She tells her tale in short chapters, each representing a photograph that triggers the narrator to relate what was happening at that point in time: her older, effeminate brother Troy leaving home to fight in Vietnam; falling in love for the very first time with a neighbor girl; the birth of her younger brother who is half white, half black. With each successive photo, she begins to reveal the slow disintegration of her family and how, instead of allowing those pitfalls to stand in her way, she stubbornly presses on, questioning the way the world works and discovering her own identity as a brave young teenager. ( )

kinda depressing but amazing writing