Are you sure?
This action might not be possible to undo. Are you sure you want to continue?
Chasing Brooklyn
Summary
When Lucca died, no one took it harder than his best friend, Gabe. It's exactly one year later, and Gabe has just died of a drug overdose. Tragedy striking yet again.
Brooklyn, Lucca's girlfriend, has learned to wear a mask of strength and indifference after losing the boy she loved. But inside, her emotions are in turmoil. Now her dreams are being haunted by a ghost, gray and sinister. She knows it's Gabe chasing after her, but she doesn't know why. She's desperate to find a way to stop the nightmares, but she feels like she has no one to turn to.
Nico, Lucca's brother, has learned to cope by shutting everyone out. So when he learns of Gabe's death, he's not too fazed by it. But soon he begins hearing voices in his sleep, seeing notes on his window, and getting general signs requesting him to do one thing: Save Brooklyn. Convinced it's Lucca, Nico reaches out to help Brooklyn as best he can.
Together they discover a mutual desire to live again, as they also discover a growing desire for each other.
Read on the Scribd mobile app
Download the free Scribd mobile app to read anytime, anywhere.
Reviews
I have read a few reviews of this book, and even before that I had it in my TBR pile. I actually haven't read any of Lisa's books; but I had heard that she writes in what I believe is called prose. This book isn't like your normal YA books. At first when I saw how many pages were in it, I was a little daunted. I know I read a lot of 400 page books, but after finishing a 325 page read I was wanting something light.
So after flipping through the book, I was glad to see that it wasn't pages upon pages filled with tiny little test!
Chasing Brooklyn is the story of two teens that are struck by tragedy twice. Once when Lucca, Brooklyn's love and Nico's brother dies on New Year's. One year later Gabe, the driver of the car and a friend to both Brooklyn and Nico; dies of a drug overdose. The story alternates what would be considered journal entries of Brooklyn's and Nico's thoughts. With both being "haunted" by the ghosts of Lucca and Gabe, the story has a great start.
It starts of with Gabe haunting Brooklyn in her dreams and then slowly escalates, I was confused as to why exactly Gabe was haunting Brooklyn and what he meant by the things he would say to Brooklyn, but by the end of the story I began to understand.
Nico is haunted by Lucca; his brother. Lucca comes to Nico with the plea "Help her", talking about Brooklyn. I thought maybe at first that Brooklyn's dream hauntings from Gabe may injure her in some way; but soon realized that maybe Lucca just wanted Nico to help Brooklyn learn to live again.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book and I now have Lisa's other books on my TBR list!
So after flipping through the book, I was glad to see that it wasn't pages upon pages filled with tiny little test!
Chasing Brooklyn is the story of two teens that are struck by tragedy twice. Once when Lucca, Brooklyn's love and Nico's brother dies on New Year's. One year later Gabe, the driver of the car and a friend to both Brooklyn and Nico; dies of a drug overdose. The story alternates what would be considered journal entries of Brooklyn's and Nico's thoughts. With both being "haunted" by the ghosts of Lucca and Gabe, the story has a great start.
It starts of with Gabe haunting Brooklyn in her dreams and then slowly escalates, I was confused as to why exactly Gabe was haunting Brooklyn and what he meant by the things he would say to Brooklyn, but by the end of the story I began to understand.
Nico is haunted by Lucca; his brother. Lucca comes to Nico with the plea "Help her", talking about Brooklyn. I thought maybe at first that Brooklyn's dream hauntings from Gabe may injure her in some way; but soon realized that maybe Lucca just wanted Nico to help Brooklyn learn to live again.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book and I now have Lisa's other books on my TBR list!
A novel in verse treatment of the tragic deaths of three students at Brooklyn's school; one of the deaths -Lucca, killed in a car accident, was Brooklyn's (protagonist) boyfriend. The other narrative voice, Nico, is Lucca's older brother. Realistic treatment of the depression & grief teens go through, with some really spooky nightmares/dreams thrown in. Fast read; upbeat ending.
The verse in this novel are so much empty and meaningless as the ghosts they talk about. It is a story about alive and dead ghosts who are hesitating to choose life or dead.
and those two stars are for this guy Nico; for How he is the only one alive ..
and those two stars are for this guy Nico; for How he is the only one alive ..
I didn't know what to expect, this being my first book in verse but it was really beautiful. I sat down to start it and ended up reading the entire thing. I thought the depth of emotion conveyed in the sparse text was amazing (I think I need to read more verse...)
This book was amazing! Chasing Brooklyn is a book written in free verse, by one of my all time favorite authors! Lisa Schroeder is such a powerful writer, she know just what to say to pull on those heartstrings. This is Lisa’s third YA book written in verse, and can I just say that they keep getting better and better!Books written in multiple perspectives are a toss up. Most of the time I really like books written this way, but sometimes I really hate it. I guess it all depends on the execution by the author. In this book I loved it. The chapters alternate back and forth between Brooklyn and Nico throughout the whole book, diving into the heart and soul of two different characters, experiencing the same heartbreak, both of whom you will fall in love with as you read this book. As you can imagine this book was very emotional. Brooklyn has lost her boyfriend Lucca, who was also Nico’s brother. Then they both loose a friend, Gabe, who was Lucca’s best friend. But through all this loss and heartbreak they find each other. So it was an emotional journey to say the least. One that brought me to tears more than just once, but I loved every minute of it.
I really like Schroeder's novels and my students crave them as well. The verse style of writing is great for reluctant or struggling readers, and Schroeder even throws in a rhyme or two for good measure. (I love rhymes so I smiled when I read them.) We find Brooklyn still struggling a year after Lucca's death. Then in alternating voices, we have Nico Lucca's brother's perspective and how he is coping a year later. Schroeder weaves a wonderful tale of survival, hope, and moving on. :)
This YA novel will undoubtedly appeal to teens who like a sad story of redemption, or who believe in ghosts, or the guiding hand of the recently departed to influence those left behind. Written in free verse from the alternating viewpoints of Nico and Brooklyn, the story tells the tale of how both teens are haunted by Lucca (Nico's brother) and Gabe, teens who have died recently. Brooklyn is haunted by Gabe, while Lucca berates his living brother to take care of his former girlfriend, Brooklyn. The two living teens are afraid to admit to the other that they're being haunted, and are both enduring their own private tortures over their losses. The two find common ground in their grief and try to move on, feeling their way despite, or in some cases with the encouragement, of the ghosts. For someone who hasn't read countless books about the undead, just dead, or grieving left-behinds, this could appeal. But for adults or teens who have read scores of similar books, there is little new ground here that hasn't already been covered in recent years.
This was my first encounter with a novel in verse.It opened my eyesto my own possibilities.Beautiful words describinggriefand how it's differentfor everyone.Beautiful words describingthe journeyto overcome thatgrief.Beautiful words describinga path to healingand unexpectedlove.And now, the book complete,I have my own storiesfloatingflitteringformingthat must be writtenI may just trymy own novelinverse.
I don't really like books in verse but this one flows along smoothly. The story is told in two voices that keep the story moving. It would be good for people dealing with loss.
Okay, I haven't yet read I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME. But we know by now that I love a great verse novel. Lisa Schroeder is one of the best at writing novels in verse. Brooklyn's boyfriend Luca has died and she's doing her best to cope. When another of their friends dies he hurls her back into the depths of despair. She's wondering how of if she will ever manage to claw her way completely out of it. Nico is Luca's brother and he's coping with the loss of Nico in his own ways. Gabe's death makes him angry and is another hurtle for him to clear. Luca begins, through ghostly visits, making it clear that Nico needs to reach out to Brooklyn so that they both can heal. They both had to come to realize that it's okay to go on living your life. They also struggled with their feelings and trying to determine if establishing a relationship with one another was a betrayal to Luca. Will they remain friends or will that ultimately be too much for them? This book was the best verse novel I've read yet. The story was deeply emotional and the verse was lovely. Nico was such a great guy and Brooklyn was as lovely as the flowers she draws. This book was poignant and spoke to the healing powers of love. I'm giving this one 5 kisses!
I don't usually read books written in poetic verse, but I'd heard good things about this book so I gave it a try. I really enjoyed it. It's told in alternating chapters from Nico and Brooklyn's point of view. Brooklyn's behing haunted by the ghost of a dead friend, while Nico's brother is haunting him, warning him to help Brooklyn. There's mystery, suspense and romance. All good things, especially when together.
Ok, I should point out that poetry is just not me. Mostly, I just don't get it. I got this book because it sounded good and had been on my wishlist for a while. I was not at all happy when I found out that this one was written in verse. Really. There are only so many words and so many lines per page. The girl who sent it to me told me it was really good, and it had a great rating on here on GR, so I decided to give it a go. I am glad I did!I love that this was a really quick read. I read it in only a few hours. Yes, 412 pages. But like I said, since it in verse, there are only so many words per page. I don't know how other people read these, but I just read it like a broken up sentence. I had a hard time getting used to not pausing at the end of the line, but I made it! I really liked this book! Yes, it was predictable and didn't have much going on, but I liked that. It was really sweet, sad, and lovely, actually. I don't really know what the characters were like, but I knew exactly how they were feeling. I knew their emotions. I mean, I really felt their emotions.Brooklyn and Nico are dealing with the loss of a boyfriend and brother. On top of that, the best friend of Lucca (the one who just passed away) dies by drug overdose (his name is Gabe). Also, there was another kid in their school who died earlier that year. They have a lot to deal with in a short period of time. Apparently, Lucca was a great guy whom everyone loved. Gabe was a great friend who went downhill after Lucca's death. (Even though I loved how to the point the book was, I almost wish that we were given more details at certain points in the story).Both Brooker the Looker *grin* and Nico were likable. Brooklyn's emotions were believable. At first I didn't like how she would flip flop her emotions, but then I realized that it was ok for her to do that. Really, if my friend told me she was haunted by a ghost I would discreetly have her committed. At times Nico had me getting that Happy/sad/grin/weep look that girls get. Like when you see a new kitten and a new puppy playing right in front of a newborn baby, right in front of a guy giving a gal flowers that he drove three hours away to pick himself. Yes, that sweet. So, do I recommend this book as a light, easy read? Yes! Read it! Despite my last paragraph, it's not a sappy story. It's endearing. Read it!! On a side note - it looks like the other events might be topics in her previous two novels. I didn't realize they were connected, I'll have to check the out.
This is the second verse novel I've read by Lisa Schoeder- the first being "I heart you, You haunt me". I enjoyed both. "Chasing Brooklyn" is a fast read - I finished it in a few hours in one sitting.The story is about getting over death. This book deals with three deaths of three different boys at different times from the same high school. The ripple effect of the death on the entire school, on the girl friends left behind, on the siblings left behind and the families. It also deals with depression and getting out of the dark place death sometimes leaves people. Brooklyn, Nico, their parents and others are all struggling with these young teens deaths and no one has a perfect handle on it.When Brooklyn begins to feel one of the boys is haunting her, she spirals downward into fear and panic on top of her depression. Nico is convinced his dead brother is haunting him because Brooklyn needs help. Nico isn't sure he's the guy to help his dead brother's girlfriend but he can't say no when he sees Brooklyn isn't doing well at all.These two are just what the other needed. They bring life back into each other's lives and both begin to climb out of the hole of depression they were in. Unexpectedly, they also find love. Nico struggles with feeling he might be betraying his brother and Brooklyn feels she is betraying the love she had for Lucca. Both of them have to admit that Lucca is gone and they are alive and in love with each other.Good verse novel that made me cry more than once, but I ended up with a happy sigh and a smile on my face for the characters.
The first time I saw Chasing Brooklyn at my bookstore I scanned through its pages saw that it was written in verse with its very short chapters and its few sentences per page and put it right back where I found it. At the time all I could think was why waste money on something that when actually put together amounts to maybe 150 full pages of writing not to mention what matter of character definition can you get out of a story written so sparsely. All I can say now is... (and I'm not ashamed to say it) boy was I wrong.This is the first book I've read that is written in verse and I can't even begin to tell you how fascinating and beautiful and just enthralling I found this story to be. Lisa Schroeder definitely has a way with words! She may not use many of them but the one's she does use, she makes you feel them in your heart and you can't help but want to savor them. I've never read anything like this before so please bear with me while I gush over how awesome this book is.For starters, this is a fast-paced novel that can be read in a few hours tops. But I personally would not recommend that. This is a story to be savored, enjoyed, even to dwell upon for a little just to fully capture all the emotions and feelings that the main characters go through. What I most enjoyed about it is that it is told through alternating points-of-view between Brooklyn and Nico giving the reader a very in depth look into at all sides of the story. You can't help but go on this journey with them and feel their sorrow, loss, self-discovery and ultimately their healing. There were many things that I loved about this novel and those include, not just the characters, but the hauntings (which I found really creepy) and the training for the race.I am still awed by how much emotion and depth Ms. Schroeder conveyed in just a few short sentences. I actually liked it so much that I went out and bought everything else she's ever written, yes, sorry, the OCD kicked in.All in all, Chasing Brooklyn is haunting, riveting and one that I think everyone should read. And to those of you who don't read books written in this style, don't knock it 'till you try it, you won't be disappointed.
“Haunting, beautiful and pretty much close to perfection...................................Chasing Brooklyn is by far one of the best YA books I’ve read. Schroeder’s words were so haunting to me it left me with chills. The writing (verse, poetry writing) sentence structure and prose was exquisitely beautiful and brought forth so much emotion I was able to connect to Nico and Brooklyn and seriously immerse myself in their sad world. When I can feel the characters emotions and I’m crying with them……that is a sign of a talented writer!! I read this in one sitting, and I was very weepy but happy when I finished.
There is something about this book that resonates in my brain. It is absolutely beautiful. The wording, the writing, all of it. This was the first book I ever read in a versed format, and I can guarantee that it will not be the last. Haunting, inspiring, and emotional are all words that aptly describe this truly unique novel. A year has passed since Brooklyn lost her boyfriend, Lucca, in a tragic accident. But it isn't until the death of a mutual friend named Gabe that brings both girlfriend and older brother together. Each looking for an escape, they both find unsuspecting comfort in each others company. Nico is the eldest son of the family, the one who wasn't quite as "perfect" as his younger brother, Lucca. Never seeming to do anything right, he uses running as a method to cope with the empty space in his heart that was once filled by the love from his brother. How things have changed since his death. Especially once Nico starts receiving cryptic messages telling him to help Brooklyn. But how, why?Meanwhile, Brooklyn is being haunted. In her dreams she is being chased by a relentless shadow that tells her "Love is the answer. Not fear." But how could she possibly not fear the stranger chasing her in the night? And why has he come?As much as I want to delve into the real essence of the story, I feel that it would be an injustice to spoil anything about this book. Really, it's just that good. The emotion is authentic and real, that you can't help but get lost in the words. Lisa Schroeder did a fantastic job with the format - each word seeming important and placed there for a purpose.Overall consensus: Chasing Brooklyn is a tender book about remembrance and moving forward. Dealing with love and loss in such a beautifully written way, it will have you contemplating it for days after you finish. One of my favorite reads this year!
Chasing Brooklyn is a verse novel. You would think with a verse novel, you're not going to get much as far as plot and character development goes. That is not the case here.It is truly amazing how such little words can carry such an emotional impact. Shroeder's writing style is unique and beautiful. It moves fast pace and keeps you completely sucked in until you devoured every last word. I couldn't put this book down and read it all in one sitting. The characters, Nico and Brooklyn, are wonderful. You feel their pain throughout the story, and when you start to see their growth in the end, you grow with them. The story is told in both Nico's and Brooklyn's point of view, so you get insight in what they are both going through.This is a ghost story, but more importantly it's a story of grief and healing. Watching Nico and Brooklyn come together was compelling and sad and beautiful all at once. These are characters you just don't want to let go when you finish reading.Shroeder's other book, I Heart You, You Haunt Me, compliments this book (it has a character from the first book and it happens in the same school) but it is not necessary to read it first (Although you should be because it is also fantastic).All I wanted from this book was for it to be just as good as I Heart You, You Haunt Me. It went beyond that and became one of my favorites which I will go back and read again. If you haven't read Chasing Brooklyn yet, do so now!
This book should seriously come with a label: WARNING!!!! This book is addictive; once you start reading it, the story will consume your every thought until you finish it. And then linger there ad infinitum…Immediately upon starting this story, I was hooked. A little over an hour later I was halfway through the book, and I had to force myself to put it down to actually, you know, get work done. When I finally returned to my reading a few hours later, I vowed I wouldn’t put it down again until I finished it. This book is seriously that engrossing.The book starts exactly a year after Lucca died. Brooklyn has basically been an empty shell since it happened. She writes letters to Lucca, she goes to his favorite comic book store every week, she’s given up her art. When Gabe dies and starts haunting her dreams, Brooklyn’s already broken life quickly shatters even more. Nico feels like he doesn’t measure up. Lucca was the favorite son, and Nico is living in his shadow, made enormous by his death. Nico doesn’t know why Lucca’s haunting him, telling him to help Brooklyn, but he knows that he has to try.As I read this, I liked Brooklyn, but honestly I felt that she was so consumed with sadness over Lucca’s death that it wasn’t until almost halfway into the book that I really began to see who she was aside from that. There was such a melancholic atmosphere about her that everything she says about herself seems like she’s just listing facts about her life. Although I was invested in her character, it wasn’t as deep as I wanted it to be. Nico, on the other hand, was so multifaceted from the beginning that I felt more connected to him than Brooklyn. They were very similar in the sense that neither of them had really opened themselves up after Lucca’s death, both retreating from other people to be alone in their pain, but Nico’s pain seemed deeper because it was tangled with anger and avoidance and feelings of inferiority.When Brooklyn and Nico connect and decide to work together toward a common goal, the story really starts to unfold. Their connection is strong and complicated, and the story plays perfectly against the backdrop of their grief. Their interactions with each other are believable, and nothing seems rushed or forced. As they interact more and more it becomes obvious why Gabe is haunting Brooklyn’s dreams, but she doesn’t understand what he’s trying to tell her. Given the fact that a very dead, very gray person runs after her in her dreams, I can certainly see why she’d be freaked out, but I also wanted to shake her and scream at her to stop and think about what was going on! Like the ghosts inside it, this book is haunting, and the story of these two people learning to move beyond their heartache is sweetly enchanting.
This is the first book I have read by Schroeder. I had heard so many great things about her books but I was still a little hesitant. How can I connect with the characters in a verse novel? How will their story develop in such a sort book? All of my hesitations were completely unjustified. I realized that after just a few pages.I connected with the characters very well. I felt their pain. Their fear and their joy. Lisa Schroeder definitely has a way with words. She may not use many of them but they are written so beautifully that you can't help feeling every one. The story alternated between Brooklyn and Nico and their struggles with their own personal ghosts.At times this book was a little creepy. The ghost aspect is something I love. Seeing as I'm a strong believer in ghosts myself. This book is definitely not to be missed. I will be reading Schroeder's other books as soon as possible