Welcome to Litsy!

Stories of interracial romance are not new but Woodson expertly weaves in other topics like family & siblings relationships, class, LGBTQ, mental disorders, etc. in a subtle way. Beautiful language that evoke much emotions. Don‘t read the reviews, just dive into the story.

#AuthorAMonth

A modern day Romeo & Juliet retelling, this time the star-crossed lovers are a Jewish girl & a black boy, and with issues like police brutality & anti-semitism front and center in the current news, it feels like it was written yesterday instead of 20+yrs ago. Although I will admit, both of those tensions were a given, but both have complicated families (divorce, infidelity, workaholics, mental illness) & I found those issues just as compelling.

Ooooph this is a tearjerker. Fabulous YA romance that‘s a bit more like a novella than a novel. #AuthorAMonth

#AuthorAMonth2021 @Soubhiville

Another beautifully told story by Woodson. Other reviews say this felt like a modern Romeo and Juliet and I definitely agree with that.

With every book I read by this author, I am more impressed with her ability to say so much and evoke so many emotions with so few words.

Such a beautiful and heartbreaking of two teens with different backgrounds meeting and falling in love. While this book came out more than 20 years ago, the conversations the book sparks are just as relevant today as they were 20 years ago. #AuthorAMonth

A lyrical story of star-crossed love: Jeremiah and Ellie meets the first week of school. In one frozen moment their eyes lock, and after that they know they fit together--even though she's Jewish and he's black. This was a beautiful layered story which Woodson does so well ❤️😥🧡
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
#authoramonth21 @Soubhiville
#mourns #maycharacters @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Typical photo of bedtime at my house 💜.

This is a sweet middle grade first love story, but it‘s also sad as it‘s Jacqueline Woodson‘s Romeo and Juliet retelling. Maih and Ellie are 15, and they have a beautiful blossoming love. Set in NYC, and with a great sense of place for such a small book.

#AuthorAMonth

Got about an hour of early morning reading in for #SuperSeptember.
This 20th anniversary edition is as beautiful as its cover and everything I‘ve come to expect from Jacqueline Woodson. Young love. My 💔is breaking. I‘m definitely going to read the sequel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#AugustAuthors @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620
#JacquelineWoodson

I was immediately drawn to Ellie and Miah and pulled into the pages as their story unfolded. And then... totally not prepared for that to be the last page. It may be a short volume, but so much is contained within the pages. Beautiful, perceptive writing by Jacqueline Woodson!

So I listened to this in 2018 for a book club i am apart of.

Today I found out that Jacqueline Woodson is on Tour for her latest book she is coming to Denver!!!!

So excited!

This is a poignant emotional story that will sit nicely on our school‘s grade 8 summer reading list. The romance is gracefully carved out of poetic descriptions. The ache in the heart brought on by the tragedy weighs heavy because we know the story all too well. In just a few short pages, Woodson makes us care about these characters with epic proportions.

You know how sometimes the question goes around about the one book you'd want everyone to read?

This is it. If You Come Softly is my choice.

Full review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2715848304.

#blackathon #contemporaryathon #projectreread

Finishing up book 1 of John Green‘s book club #lifeslibrary

Well that was a heartbreaking audiobook.

#24in48

I was wholly unprepared for that ending and oh my heart Jeremiah 💔 Jacqueline Woodson's writing is as always, beautiful.

Somehow I've managed to develop a cold in the middle of the night and can't seem to go back to sleep. So I've busted out this quick read.

Also, I really like Libby's audiobook interface.

Beautifully written!
Tenderly tragic.
Twenty years ago, and today.

I already know this book is going to break my heart.

Just finished the first novel (If You Come Softly) and can't wait to dive into the next. The tenderness with which Jacqueline Woodson tells this beautiful story of tentative young love is so authentic. Thoughtfully addresses some racial issues that are still very relevant. First pick in John Green's Life's Library book club and I'm excited to explore the discussion platform they set up to dissect the book with other readers.

This was a powerful little punch of a book, so beautifully written and thought provoking. And be prepared, Woodson delivers a sucker punch at the end that is gut wrenching but over so fast that you are sitting there in tears like whaaaat?! Loved it.

This young adult novel tells the story of two teenage who fall in love. Miah is black and Ellie is Jewish and white. Their differences melt away as they spend afternoons together in Central Park. The book is a quick read but full of heart. It was a beautiful story.

Littens already know my general disdain for romance threads in stories, let alone the self absorbed all encompassing hormonal tornado of teen romance. But, the power of Woodson‘s writing is a magnet and once again I am enthralled with the beauty of her talent. Despite the subject matter, I enjoyed the poetic prose, frank treatment of race, and the unexpected, but very current for being 20 years old, ending.

Author of Brown Girl Dreaming wrote this Amazon sale book. Y‘all. This woman packs a punch with her words.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 I really like this one. I‘ve only read brown girl dreaming and this book. I‘m excited to read more from her in the future❤️

TLDR: young love in between a black man and a white girl in a NY private school

Good:
Beautifully written
Strong characters
Surprising elements
Confronts stereotypes
Considers race in complicated ways
Makes you cry

Bad
Makes you cry

Woodson‘s new book is as good as her others with characters that feel like you know and situations and push your understanding of the world. But read it with Kleenex. #ya #yalit #romance

Miah (Jeremiah), black, and Ellie, white, are from well to do families. It is unfortunate that their first heartbreaks in life come from their own family members. It is rare to meet that one person who can know our soul. It is devastating to know it can all done away with by the color of one‘s skin. This book has devastated me. Just beautiful. It was originally published in 1998 and it‘s sad that it is still relevant now.

20 years after originally being published, If You Come Softly has become timeless. Sarcastically speaking, we, as Americans, we are so inclusive of everyone and all relationships. Truthfully, we, as Americans, have a long way to go and that is obvious when #BlackLivesMatter is mentioned in every newscast. We should be celebrating humanity rather than separating ourselves from others in all the ways that don't really matter.

Woodson tells this love story perfectly, in such a subtle good way. Jeremiah and Ellie meet by chance at school and really it‘s live right away. Told in alternating chapters we hear both sides of this mixed race story.

#riotgrams #purple #bookstagram @bookriot

I‘ve only read a few of Woodson‘s books thus far, but have loved them all. This was no exception. It broke my heart and filled it up all at once. Yeah, I loved it hard.

This sweet YA novel from three time Newberry Honor Author Jacqueline Woodson is #setinwinter
#DecktheShelves @JoeStalksBeck @Tiffy_Reads

Four books that are #setinwinter
Has anyone read The Ice Child? It's been on my shelves for a few years but I've never actually considered it part of my TBR pile.
#JingleShelves
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @bookloo

If you come softly
as the wind within the trees
you may hear what I hear
see what sorrow sees.

A short and sweet tale about first love, grief, and how our differences matter much less than our commonalities. #onelove #blacklivesmatter #septemberreads

#firstlineofcurrentread #anditsaugust
@RealLifeReading

Beautiful, captivating, compelling. I'd gladly read this author again!

This was such an amazing book! This was my first Woodson novel and I had no expectations whatsoever. It turned out to be really thought provoking and heart wrenching! Highly recommend it if you haven't read this one. I haven't seen race discussed to this depth in many books and I feel like it should be!

Sigh! The innocence of first love..

I'm in the mood for some intense young adult first love kinda book..

This book changed everything. I never went back to being just a regular girl. I was now a reader and never went back to being a non-reader.