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sab_rose's review against another edition
5.0
What a treat! I love it when authors narrate their own books <3
This book definitely touches on more mature themes but it is not out of the scope of what a child would think and possibly experience.
Awesome mixture of Sci-Fi and Coming of Age.
Would recommend to older middle grade readers.
This book definitely touches on more mature themes but it is not out of the scope of what a child would think and possibly experience.
Awesome mixture of Sci-Fi and Coming of Age.
Would recommend to older middle grade readers.
emperor_e's review against another edition
3.0
The point of view in this book was just frustrating and kind of hard for me to get through. I finished the book but felt like were a lot of books I could have read then instead that I would of probably enjoyed more. I can relate to loving Star Wars and all but this book just wasn’t for me.
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Zoboi moves to Harlem to live with her father, when her grandfather, who she lived with in Huntsville, is sick in the summer. Her grandfather was one of the first black engineers at NASA and she dreams about going into space and being like him. Being at Harlem is a new culture she has to navigate and find her new place.
“You don’t need to be up in the clouds. There’s a difference between knowin’ and livin’.” Ch 13
“She can’t be one of us. She don’t have no flavor. She’s just a plain old ice cream sandwich - chocolate on the outside, vanilla on the inside. But chocolate and vanilla are flavors… and who wants to be a flavor anyway?” Ch 16
“I don’t wait for anyone to move me into the next adventure. One that doesn’t come out of granddaddy’s stories or even my own imagination. Adventure now is every day. Everything. It’s waking up, eating, talking about nothing, watching nothing and going back to sleep.” Ch 38
“You don’t need to be up in the clouds. There’s a difference between knowin’ and livin’.” Ch 13
“She can’t be one of us. She don’t have no flavor. She’s just a plain old ice cream sandwich - chocolate on the outside, vanilla on the inside. But chocolate and vanilla are flavors… and who wants to be a flavor anyway?” Ch 16
“I don’t wait for anyone to move me into the next adventure. One that doesn’t come out of granddaddy’s stories or even my own imagination. Adventure now is every day. Everything. It’s waking up, eating, talking about nothing, watching nothing and going back to sleep.” Ch 38
cnstamper's review against another edition
3.0
In this charming Middle Grade debut, 12-year-old Ebony Grace spends a summer with her father in New York City. The hustle and bustle of the city is different from her southern home, but it is a challenge that this Starfleet officer is ready to take up. Full of nerdy references, this oddball, but charming narrator takes readers through the changes in her life and how she learns to understand her imagination within the greater context of life.
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 against another edition
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