I feel like this book deals with some really interesting and important topics, but I just couldn't fall in love with the main character and plot. Still, I think the writer is incredibly talented!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book was so well written!! I had a great time reading it. I was invested from page one & it never lost its momentum. I was so heavily invested in Brooklyn & all her decisions. This is definitely a book I will be buying once its released & recommending to others. The only con: the killer was obvious to me.

I did receive an ARC courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review (:

This book was amazing. I loved every second of it and it was a page turner.
Brooklyn felt slighted with her parents response to her telling them something happened to her and she decides from now on it best to be selfish and do whatever makes her happy. She leaves her family to start fresh and ultimately turns all her new friends into enemies and with nowhere else to go she goes back to the place she was running away from.
Im so sad that this is the final book by Tracy Brown (RIP) , the ending left me wanting more and I was hopefully of reappearances from characters early on in the book. I love how the first page is the unaliving and you are essentially working backwards to see how Brooklyn got there. I will definitely recommend this book to everyone.

Firstly RIP TRACY BROWN … such a phenomenal writer gone too soon. 🕊️

One thing Ms. Tracy knows how to do is pull every emotion out of me. The way she writes has you so deep in your feelings fr.
Brooklyn had me stressed since the beginning of the book. From the first chapter she was doomed if we’re being honest. One event caused her to be on a path of destruction!! She was such a frustrating character but a lesson can definitely be learned.

Urban & mystery together is tooooo good. I went back & forth on giving this book 4 or 5 stars because the ending has you left with too many questions & That alone would automatically cause me to rate 4.5 but this book was still THAT GOOD even though guessing the killer was pretty easy to me.

I will be thinking about Brooklyn for a while just like I still think about the characters from Hold you Down 😭

THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR THE ARC !!

Brooklyn Melody James, is a 17 year old girl who wants out of the picture perfect life her family portrays. While her father is a Pastor and her mother the First Lady, Brooklyn feels as though her household lives a double life; one that she no longer wants to be apart of. Brooklyn is a girl who plays the game thinking she’s 10 steps ahead, only to be 10 steps behind. This is a story of how selfishness can not only affect those around you, but it can also be your very own downfall.

Brooklyn is the type of person that throws the first punch and then hides her hands and refuses to take accountability for anything, because obviously nothing is ever her fault. At one point I felt sorry for Brooklyn, because of some of the things that happened to her, but eventually all of that faded- and fast. In the beginning my heart went out to Brooklyn because her momma was the definition of trash, like who doesn’t believe their child (if you know then you know), but chile the more I read, the more Brooklyn was the spitting image of that lady. I mean look at the way she did everybody she crossed paths with, even her own flesh and blood. Even then, Brooklyn continued to only see how she was done wrong, not how she contributed to any wrongdoing. Just when you want to give the girl some grace, she turns right back around and throws those same punches, and burns more bridges. Brooklyn is the walking epitome of “you reap what you sow” and honey all babygirl did was sow discord, confusion, betrayal, and hurt. Whenever you thought she was going to get her act together, boom she starts back at square one.

Now I won’t lie to y’all, while this book was a page turner for sure, the ending felt a bit rushed, and left me wanting more. I was eager to see if Zo was gonna pop back up and get his lick back, and I wanted- no, needed more on Hope. Buckle up y’all, because Brooklyn will have you on one heck of a ride!

May your work continue to live on @tracybrownwrites 🕊️
Thank you @netgalley for this ARC

Brooklyn is seeking independence from her religious family. She ends up involved in the drug game and on a constant chase for money. This is my second Tracy Brown read and I am truly devastated that we won’t be getting any new work due to her untimely death. Brooklyn is definitely a fast paced read that truly keeps you on the edge of your seat. When you want to really champion for Brooklyn she does something that makes you want to slap her. Unfortunately there were a number of loose ends that the story never tied up. Also, the book ends really abruptly..

If you are a fan of The Coldest Winter Ever or A Moth to a Flame, buckle up because Brooklyn takes you for a ride.

I’ve been reading Tracy Brown since I was a teenager, sneaking her books into school to pass along to my friends. Her passing is such a loss but Im so grateful we’re able to read one last book by her ❤️

Brooklyn is your typical teenager who thinks she knows it all. She’s willing to do whatever to get what she needs. And boy did she stress me out!! I couldn’t put the book down because every page had me anxious to see what the end result was going to be.

I wanted better for Brooklyn just like I did with Winter & Raven but you know how the story goes …

Brooklyn kept me captivated to the very end. Five out of five stars. Navigating life of a morally grey character was very interesting. There was never a dull moment. Every page had me holding my breath. This book is a must read. I will recommend this book to everyone I know. I am soooo thankful I got the chance to read this novel.

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn
This was truly a good read! In some ways, this book should serve as a cautionary tale for those that want to be a part of “the game.” This book dealt with childhood trauma. That maybe could have been explained a little more. The book also talked about growing up to fast. In some ways, Brooklyn was trying hard to be grown, but at the same time, she was kinda forced to be grown. The book also dealt with parenting. Should you be a strict parent or not? Basically, strict parenting doesn’t allow for mistakes, so facing consequences, or not, impacts your life. There were so many lessons in this book. Overall, this was an excellent read that I highly recommend.

Tracy Brown (RIEP) is known for giving us gritty, raw stories. From White Lines, Black, and Criminal Minded (my favorite books from her, by the way!), readers are taken on a bumpy ride. Brooklyn is no different.

Brooklyn is a church girl with a cookie-cutter family life. From her viewpoint, her family is fake, and their well-orchestrated church services show just how much her family and the church are fraudulent. She resents her family and their perfect image.

After the family's shell of perfection is cracked, Brooklyn runs. Left in her wake is death and deception: the consequences of being young and dumb, and not learning from her mistakes.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I did roll my eyes several times because of the mistakes and consequences I saw coming. The storyline isn't new, however. I did know what was going to happen, it was the WHO that I questioned. But, I wasn't far off from my assessment.

Tracy Brown readers should check this out and represent for our girl. She gave us many. many books, and this one is surely a lesson for young ladies out here who think they know it all. This book also demonstrates how the sins of the father/mother will visit the child.

This book was so captivating. We follow young Brooklyn as she leaves her strict and religious family in Statin Island after a series of devastating incidents. With no family, Brooklyn ventures to NYC to build a new life. There, she gets in with all the hustlers. Her ambition gets the best of her and she finds herself alone once again. I couldn't put this book down. Even though Brooklyn might be a difficult character to like, I still wanted to follow her story. Thank you, NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book but to me, it was so sad overall the way her life turned out. Her choices and reactions to life events were heartbreaking. Thanks for the ARC NetGalley!

I am grateful to get a chance to read this, I appreciated how Brooklyn felt like a real person an not like the usual ones portrayed in other books where I just don't really feel any feelings for them (one of these feelings I felt for Brooklyn was frustration towards her, but still happy I felt SOMETHING). This was emotional for me which isn't surprising I've read gore and I've read romance an they both got tears out of me the same way😂.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced ready copy of this book. This is my first Tracy Brown read, and now I know where to look for hard hitting contemporary stories featuring black female characters. The story grabbed my attention from the start, and continued to do so. The FMC Brooklyn definitely stood out. She makes many questionable decisions, but she pays the consequence for them as well. The book also highlights church culture and how damaging that can be when there are secrets and dishonest practices involved. Overall I enjoyed the read, and I will be checking out other titles from this author.

This is a coming-of-age book centered around Brooklyn Melody James. It’s a tale of a young girl who feels unseen and unloved by her mother. Even though she had all she ever wanted, she was a typical teenager rebelling against her family dynamics. Taking place in New York in the late 90s, you follow the life of young Brooklyn as she battles through childhood molestation, unwanted teen pregnancy, drugs, and betrayal.

The pacing of the story can seem a little rushed, but that's sometimes is expected based on character limits. Overall it was a solid read.

I don't know what to say about this book I definitely enjoyed it I like the characters I felt like I was reading abt a movie that I just I saw, it was an easy read like I said the characters were great. Brooklyn main character needed to break free from the holds of a hypercritical religious family by getting caught up some mess but while breaking free she destroyed lifes in the process. I definitely recommend it i gave it 3.5 stars

Brooklyn was a fast-paced read following one woman's life through her early death and how her actions impacted the people around her. While I really enjoyed reading this, the pacing felt a little off most of the time, with the bulk of Brooklyn's upbringing happening in the first half and then the second half took off like a rocket between her young adult life to her death. We didn't get much of a glimpse of why Brooklyn behaved the way she did aside from her constant anger at rejection, and it lacked a lot of the emotional weight that I was hoping for. That being said, it's a compelling story, though I wish that the secondary characters were built out a little more so that the reveal of the murderer really hit home.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Brooklyn. the middle child, was against conformity. From her point of view, there was a game being played and she wasn't interested in it. She was born in Brooklyn but raised in Staten Island. Her parents, deep in the church, had expectations of who their children should be and Brooklyn didn't care. Secrets, lies and narcissism make for a very interesting plot. A series of bad decisions and selfish motives have consequences and she will pay. This is really good storytelling. I was completely engaged. I needed to know who and why! I recommend this book highly. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity.

I really enjoyed this book. Loved the cover as well. I must say the writing is amazing. The storyline was good. I did feel as if the ending was kind of rushed in a way. Brooklyn was the type of character that you had wondering the 5W’s and be thinking to yourself like come on girl really? I wanted to enter the book and give Brooklyn some choice of words. Great read overall. This was my first read by this author and may she Rest In Peace.

I have not read a book by Tracy Brown that I did not love and this no exception. Every time I read a book by her it’s something and creative at the end. This a great harmony between urban fiction and mystery thriller in way that I would never have seen coming.

Since the beginning it is known that Brooklyn, the main character of this story, was reaping what she showed in her life. Brooklyn is very unlikeable and selfish. When you learn about her childhood and upbringing you start to feel bad for and think she is misunderstood but the she continues to make the same mistakes betraying the people that love her. She can’t see that she became the very thing she detested and ran from as a child, if not worse.

If you have not read any books by Tracy Brown, which you should, this for sure would get you reading more of her work.

Rest in peace Ms. Tracy Brown and thank you NetGalley for the eARC.