Last Night in Brooklyn: A Novel

by Xochitl Gonzalez (Author)

Set in spring 2007, Last Night in Brooklyn follows twenty-six-year-old Alicia Canales Forten, who feels stifled by the expectations shaping her future—living at home, committed to a long-distance relationship, and planning a conventional life. After a spontaneous night in Fort Greene, she becomes drawn to a dynamic circle of artists and creatives, seduced by their freedom and sense of possibility. At the center of this world is the charismatic and unpredictable fashion designer La Garza, whose lifestyle both fascinates and unsettles Alicia.

As Alicia grows closer to this scene—especially after her wealthy, ambitious cousin enters the picture—she finds herself pulled between stability and risk, tradition and reinvention. Set against the charged atmosphere of a historic presidential election and the looming financial collapse, the novel explores the tensions between aspiration and reality, revealing the personal and cultural costs of chasing the American Dream.

Hardcover, 256 pages