Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

21 reviews

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This story about a Haitian immigrant losing her mother to a detention center and going to stay with her cousins is really heartbreaking. She’s forced with facing a lot of the realities of America for people who are Black and thrown into it at a formative time. I thought it was very true to reality and very sad. It was hard to read and know that while fictional, this very well could be someone’s true story. It’s definitely calling to do better and hard look at community. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Murder

cstockey's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Physical abuse, and Gun violence

this_is_lee's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a heavy read but an important one. I'm glad I read this now rather than when I got it years back. The story that Zoboi tells is one that carries such cultural importance, I have a picture of Culture that is more clear after reading this book. Everything pulled me in and I didn't want to leave any crumbs.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Police brutality, Gore, Racism, Cursing, and Gun violence

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

achiunicorn's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault

nytephoenyx's review

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Whelp. That was an ending I didn’t anticipate.

For my first book by Ibi Zoboi, American Street hit hard! In a good way, but also in a sad way. I quickly fell in love with Fabiola “Fabulous” Toussaint. From the way her dialogue is written, to her vibrant internal monologue, to her flow of emotions and determination and love and fear… Fabiola is a beautiful multi-faceted character and the perfect one to be telling this story.

From the first pages of the book, the world challenges Fabiola. Upon entering the United States, her mother is detained in immigration. Detroit is not quite the place she imagined. Despite an excellent education in Haiti, she has to navigate a new school with a slightly different way of doing things and she has to navigate the rules of the West Side. Meanwhile, everyone seems determined to keep as much information from her as possible – they want her to live a good life and stay out of the bad parts of their world. But Fabiola will do anything to get her mother back.

For me, the characters in this story are its greatest strength, and since American Street is an excellent book, that’s saying a lot. Each one is deeply developed, with their own story that slowly unravels around Fabiola. They each have their own motives and their own secrets. The plot takes you through a few unexpected twists, but those twists are all that much stronger because of the way the characters shine.

Reader be warned, there is also a lot of difficult content in American Street. Most prominent, to me, is the toxic relationship between two characters (that includes physical abuse) and murder by police. There’s a lot of joyful moments in American Street, but there are also quite a few bad moments. Be prepared for both.

I enjoyed reading this book and it will definitely be one I add to my “to buy” list, because I could read it again. The world is vibrant, real, and alive. There’s important social themes addressed in American Street, and characters that stick with you. It may not be a book with a happy ending, but it is a book with an impactful one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content

bookswhitme's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, and Violence

dee_dreams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Physical abuse

Moderate: Police brutality and Drug abuse

bretagnereads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Police brutality

karter's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The characters felt real and the situations they found themselves in fit with the story and didn't feel over the top or contrived. Was really well written in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

owlmybookandplanneradventures's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a deeply moving own voices debut book about the struggles of an immigrant to identify as American & Haitian. The twist & turns, magical realism, and the range of emotions I felt enhanced the story & my experience. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, and Violence