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menachris87's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kristinasshelves's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
I adored American Street by Ibi Zoboi, so I was excited to see my library had this title available on audio. Ebony is a 12 year old girl visiting her father in Harlem, after living a privileged life in Alabama with her mother and granddad for years. Ebony is very much a sci-fi nerd, which made me adore her and her constant Star Trek references. Ebony struggles to find her place in her new surroundings and quickly finds she no longer has anything in common with the children she once knew a lifetime ago. I enjoyed navigating 1980s Harlem through the eyes of a naive preteen and Zoboi's writing is well done, as I've come to expect. However, there was something about this book that irked me. Ebony comes across as pretentious and very judgement of everyone she encounters, referring to the local youth as "nefarious minions" constantly. This seems to be an attitude adopted from her mother, but that is only briefly touched upon. Ebony is a bright, passionate girl but she reads very immature for her age, overusing the phrase "imagination location" about every minute (to be fair, this may have bothered me more with the audiobook). Ebony reacts to her surroundings by continually making up space exploration scenarios, in which she is part of a spacecraft crew, which seems like something a younger child would do as a coping mechanism. Ebony's peers seem to be more grounded and act age appropriate. I enjoy middle grade books and wish this was as much of a hit for me as the author's other works have been.
I adored American Street by Ibi Zoboi, so I was excited to see my library had this title available on audio. Ebony is a 12 year old girl visiting her father in Harlem, after living a privileged life in Alabama with her mother and granddad for years. Ebony is very much a sci-fi nerd, which made me adore her and her constant Star Trek references. Ebony struggles to find her place in her new surroundings and quickly finds she no longer has anything in common with the children she once knew a lifetime ago. I enjoyed navigating 1980s Harlem through the eyes of a naive preteen and Zoboi's writing is well done, as I've come to expect. However, there was something about this book that irked me. Ebony comes across as pretentious and very judgement of everyone she encounters, referring to the local youth as "nefarious minions" constantly. This seems to be an attitude adopted from her mother, but that is only briefly touched upon. Ebony is a bright, passionate girl but she reads very immature for her age, overusing the phrase "imagination location" about every minute (to be fair, this may have bothered me more with the audiobook). Ebony reacts to her surroundings by continually making up space exploration scenarios, in which she is part of a spacecraft crew, which seems like something a younger child would do as a coping mechanism. Ebony's peers seem to be more grounded and act age appropriate. I enjoy middle grade books and wish this was as much of a hit for me as the author's other works have been.
mrjess_bhs's review against another edition
3.0
I think this rating comes down to me just not enjoying the story and main character. Zoboi is a brilliant writer, and she navigates some great issues and family/social dynamics in this, but they don’t feel fully explored. The main character’s childishness ranges from adorable to dangerous. Her choice and deception afterwards led to a severed family relationship and likely criminal record for her father, but the gravity of that is glossed over.
millieu's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
suzannedix's review against another edition
1.0
I just can't continue with this one. Despite being read by the author, if I hear "nefarious minions," "No Joke City" or "Planet Uhara" one more time I might scream. The repetition grows more and more tedious especially with a very slow moving story with a hard to like main character. I made it to pg. 57 and I am going to set this one aside (thank you Nancy Pearl for giving all us Type-A readers an "out!).
I honestly don't know what grade to recommend this for. The writing is advanced for grade 5 but grade 7 wouldn't enjoy a story about a really immature 5th grader.
I honestly don't know what grade to recommend this for. The writing is advanced for grade 5 but grade 7 wouldn't enjoy a story about a really immature 5th grader.
book_nut's review against another edition
3.0
I spent the entire book absolutely furious with the adults.
yapha's review against another edition
3.0
My main problem with this book is that Ebony-Grace is not a likable character and most of her problems are caused by her own actions. Fans of Star Trek may enjoy it. For grades 4 & up.
ARC provided by publisher
ARC provided by publisher
5elementknitr's review against another edition
1.0
This was suggested by a friend, but even that friend said she was mistaken. She'd read the first couple chapters, and thought we'd like it.
The writing is SO repetitive. It's set in the 1980's, so autism wasn't really a diagnosis that was looked into, but the obsessive focus of the main character in this book seems to point toward the spectrum (I conjecture with my admittedly limited knowledge on the subject).
Here's the thing...
If EG's obsessions and unwillingess to talk about ANYTHING else is getting on her mom's nerves, her dad's nerves, her best friend's nerves, and even her grandfather's nerves (the man who started her on that path), how is it NOT going to fray every last nerve of a complete stranger/the reader.
The areas of the book where she wasn't constantly repeating herself were few and far between, but the writing in those precious respites was really lovely. And the reader (who is also the author) was really good.
The part about the grandfather's issues was really unclear, and for quite awhile it seemed he was in trouble with the law? And a horrifying moment when EG's dad asks if she and gpa were keeping secrets together, I thought, "If he's molesting her, I'm going to throw this book across the room" which would've been especially bad considering I was listening to it on my phone. He's not, and he's also not in trouble with the law.
The other thing I didn't like about this book was the whole "middle-school, mean girls" aspect, but that may just be me projecting, remembering my own time in 1985 as the weird kid.
The writing is SO repetitive. It's set in the 1980's, so autism wasn't really a diagnosis that was looked into, but the obsessive focus of the main character in this book seems to point toward the spectrum (I conjecture with my admittedly limited knowledge on the subject).
Here's the thing...
If EG's obsessions and unwillingess to talk about ANYTHING else is getting on her mom's nerves, her dad's nerves, her best friend's nerves, and even her grandfather's nerves (the man who started her on that path), how is it NOT going to fray every last nerve of a complete stranger/the reader.
The areas of the book where she wasn't constantly repeating herself were few and far between, but the writing in those precious respites was really lovely. And the reader (who is also the author) was really good.
The part about the grandfather's issues was really unclear, and for quite awhile it seemed he was in trouble with the law? And a horrifying moment when EG's dad asks if she and gpa were keeping secrets together, I thought, "If he's molesting her, I'm going to throw this book across the room" which would've been especially bad considering I was listening to it on my phone. He's not, and he's also not in trouble with the law.
The other thing I didn't like about this book was the whole "middle-school, mean girls" aspect, but that may just be me projecting, remembering my own time in 1985 as the weird kid.