Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite

Written in verse, "Chasing Brooklyn" leaves the reader thinking s/he has read this story many times before. And yet, the story is charming and well done.

Brooklyn and Nico have both lost Lucca, who is Nico's brother and Brooklyn's boyfriend. They lose Gabe, the young man driving the car that killed Lucca. The survivors are visited by the deceased who leave messages that bring feelings of hope and fear to Brooklyn and Nico. Strangely, Gabe leaves a message that there are always choices in life and this appears as a contradiction to the choice he apparently made to take his own life.

The interplay between Brooklyn and Nico is charming but, at times, frustrating for the reader. Time and time again, the two toy with disclosure and the promise of healing and they fail the task of connecting. They both realize that help is available to them and yet they fail to take advantage of that help.

To compound the problem, Brooklyn's mother and twin brothers have left the family home and the reader feels a lack of resolution with that issue as well. All in all, "Chasing Brooklyn" is a book which might stimulate thought in the young adult reader.