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bethannie18's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't enjoy this book thought it isn't awfully written. Just found the plotline was lacking in a crescendo or any meaning
knbee's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this one. Solid story arc, intriguing primary characters, vivid (and complicated) settings, straightforward writing. My one complaint is that some of the secondary characters, particularly the gentrifying hipsters, skewed stereotypical. And given that a major theme of the book is coming to terms with the gentrification of a beloved neighborhood, more complexity in this area would have made for a stronger story.
bookofcinz's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this book. I wanted to let everyone know how amazing this book was. I wanted to sing praises about this book but it just fell flat. I felt the book was slow, the character development was limited and I generally just lost interest 30% in.
Hasley Street is told from the perspective of Penelope, a failed artist who is currently living in Bed-stuy and seeing all the gentrification taking place. She is trying to find her footing in a world that seems to be changing all around her, added to that is taking care of her father, not to mentioned her ruined relationship with her Mom Mirella. We meet Mirella, Penelope's mother who resides in Dominica, she muses about her time in Brooklyn, her marriage and her relationship with her daughter.
Overall, this book fell flat. I did not like or felt anything for the main character Penelope. I felt she was sulky, angry, and a little immature especially for someone that is thirty. I understand that she is going through a lot, she is misunderstood but I felt I just do not know her. Her character development was limited and I think that was a major flaw of the book.
This was an ok debut novel, I might read something else by Naima Coster in the future but this book did not do it for me.
Hasley Street is told from the perspective of Penelope, a failed artist who is currently living in Bed-stuy and seeing all the gentrification taking place. She is trying to find her footing in a world that seems to be changing all around her, added to that is taking care of her father, not to mentioned her ruined relationship with her Mom Mirella. We meet Mirella, Penelope's mother who resides in Dominica, she muses about her time in Brooklyn, her marriage and her relationship with her daughter.
Overall, this book fell flat. I did not like or felt anything for the main character Penelope. I felt she was sulky, angry, and a little immature especially for someone that is thirty. I understand that she is going through a lot, she is misunderstood but I felt I just do not know her. Her character development was limited and I think that was a major flaw of the book.
This was an ok debut novel, I might read something else by Naima Coster in the future but this book did not do it for me.
karnaconverse's review against another edition
4.0
A story that highlights how neighborhood revitalization affects the individual families and businesses who have built their entire lives in that neighborhood
When Penelope left her Brooklyn home for college, her father's record store was the neighborhood hangout and her parents' marriage was intact. When she returns a few years later, her mother has left the marriage and returned to her native Dominican Republic; her father's business has closed, and he's in poor health. Penelope returns to a Bed-Stuy neighborhood that has dramatically changed, one that, according to her father, is now more about the "stuff" its inhabitants can buy than about the people who live there. Penelope returns to care for her father but is also grappling with a life she feels is passing her by. She's worked as a bartender since dropping out of college yet pines for a way to express herself as an artist. Her coming-of-age search for self is wrapped tightly within a family saga of mother-daughter relationships and a societal narrative of gentrification.
Coster's debut novel is engrossing and an enlightening addition to conversations that pit revitalization against gentrification. I especially appreciate the fact that she is a native Brooklynite.
When Penelope left her Brooklyn home for college, her father's record store was the neighborhood hangout and her parents' marriage was intact. When she returns a few years later, her mother has left the marriage and returned to her native Dominican Republic; her father's business has closed, and he's in poor health. Penelope returns to a Bed-Stuy neighborhood that has dramatically changed, one that, according to her father, is now more about the "stuff" its inhabitants can buy than about the people who live there. Penelope returns to care for her father but is also grappling with a life she feels is passing her by. She's worked as a bartender since dropping out of college yet pines for a way to express herself as an artist. Her coming-of-age search for self is wrapped tightly within a family saga of mother-daughter relationships and a societal narrative of gentrification.
Coster's debut novel is engrossing and an enlightening addition to conversations that pit revitalization against gentrification. I especially appreciate the fact that she is a native Brooklynite.
victoria_plural's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars.
I wanted to love this book. I appreciate that important topics were approached - gentrification, mother-daughter trauma, living one foot in each life as you transition to your next - but nothing felt fleshed out. The characters were far too selfish to grow in any capacity, and none of them were particularly likable in any way. The only growth we even see is within the last 15 or so pages. It just left me wanting more, and not in a good way.
I wanted to love this book. I appreciate that important topics were approached - gentrification, mother-daughter trauma, living one foot in each life as you transition to your next - but nothing felt fleshed out. The characters were far too selfish to grow in any capacity, and none of them were particularly likable in any way. The only growth we even see is within the last 15 or so pages. It just left me wanting more, and not in a good way.
theawardshow's review against another edition
2.0
I kept waiting for the gentrification theme to play out and it never really happened, instead we were left with a toxic and almost cruel relationship between mother and daughter. There was very little character development, which was frustrating and contributed to the slow place of the book. I don’t need to like characters, but I couldn’t find anything to hold onto with either character, nothing redeeming. The author missed an opportunity to tell a multi-generational story about gentrification, loss and love.
karenreads1000s's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this story. The parts in the DR were my favorite. Relationships are difficult. People are so complex.
glendareads39's review against another edition
5.0
This novel spoke to me, Penelope Grand goes through a deep, emotional journey of returning home and mending fractures in relationships with her mother in the Dominican Republic and her father in Brooklyn. The lesson in this novel is to love your family as much you can here and now. Loss defines us in different ways in life. Naima Coster wrote a real, deeply profound and beautiful written novel.