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elisalasater's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, Deportation, and Domestic abuse
michellewords's review against another edition
emotional
tense
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? No
3.75
What can I say about this book? It's different than anything I have ever read before.
Let's start with the audiobook. Robin Miles is the narrator and she is INCREDIBLE. I'm glad I "read" this one with the audiobook because Miles gives another layer to this story that I don't think I could experience by just "reading" it. The subtle accents she gives the Haitian characters and the slang-filled voice she gives the teens in Detroit gave depth to the book I didn't expect.
American Street is mostly a story about a teen named Fabiola and her integration into suburban Detroit following her immigration from Haiti. On the way to Detroit, her mother is kept behind due to some trouble with her Visa and Fabiola, alone, is left to figure out the nuances of her new life. Those nuances include: navigating a relationship with her loud cousins, adopting to American culture/education, new/unexpected love, and a nearby drug trade system.
In desperation to get her mother back, Fabiola makes a dangerous deal that makes her new life in America very complicated.
Throughout this story about Fabiola we get little POV snippets from the people around her and their life experiences. While I felt like it flushed out side characters-I'm not sure how I felt about those sections. Sometimes it felt unnecessary and we didn't really go back to why it was important to share. On the other hand, they helped with character development. I don't know what my final call is on that.
What I really enjoyed about this book is the way it reads like a teen movie. It would make a REALLY great movie. The characters and the story put into a film would be amazing. Who can we call to get that to happen.
My biggest detractor is pretty minor. I'm pretty sure this is a YA book, but the content was edgier than I expected. While I don't mind the story with it's language (a lot), sexual content (off-screen & minor), drug use (minor), and violence (minor). At times, it felt like probably a little too much for younger teens. I don't think I could recommend this to anyone younger than 16/17.
Bottom line-American Street was pretty good. Very 'young adult' at times with angst/drama, but also had a lot of emotional depth. It was a fun read and I enjoyed the characters. Would recommend to most people. It's worth the time and the effort.
Let's start with the audiobook. Robin Miles is the narrator and she is INCREDIBLE. I'm glad I "read" this one with the audiobook because Miles gives another layer to this story that I don't think I could experience by just "reading" it. The subtle accents she gives the Haitian characters and the slang-filled voice she gives the teens in Detroit gave depth to the book I didn't expect.
American Street is mostly a story about a teen named Fabiola and her integration into suburban Detroit following her immigration from Haiti. On the way to Detroit, her mother is kept behind due to some trouble with her Visa and Fabiola, alone, is left to figure out the nuances of her new life. Those nuances include: navigating a relationship with her loud cousins, adopting to American culture/education, new/unexpected love, and a nearby drug trade system.
In desperation to get her mother back, Fabiola makes a dangerous deal that makes her new life in America very complicated.
Throughout this story about Fabiola we get little POV snippets from the people around her and their life experiences. While I felt like it flushed out side characters-I'm not sure how I felt about those sections. Sometimes it felt unnecessary and we didn't really go back to why it was important to share. On the other hand, they helped with character development. I don't know what my final call is on that.
What I really enjoyed about this book is the way it reads like a teen movie. It would make a REALLY great movie. The characters and the story put into a film would be amazing. Who can we call to get that to happen.
My biggest detractor is pretty minor. I'm pretty sure this is a YA book, but the content was edgier than I expected. While I don't mind the story with it's language (a lot), sexual content (off-screen & minor), drug use (minor), and violence (minor). At times, it felt like probably a little too much for younger teens. I don't think I could recommend this to anyone younger than 16/17.
Bottom line-American Street was pretty good. Very 'young adult' at times with angst/drama, but also had a lot of emotional depth. It was a fun read and I enjoyed the characters. Would recommend to most people. It's worth the time and the effort.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Minor: Violence and Sexual content
A lot of language throughouti_hate_grrr's review against another edition
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Death
gigireadswithkiki's review
dark
emotional
sad
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? No
4.0
This book really challenged me to examine my internalized biases against characters who are unlikeable to me. Fabiola made some absolutely buckwild errors in judgement when faced with difficult challenges, but Ibi Zoboi does a fantastic job of reminding readers of her situation as both a child isolated from their parental figure and a new immigrant to the U.S. American Street felt like a raw and emotional examination of not only the racism and police brutality faced by Black Americans but also how that can layer with immigrant xenophobia. Though this story focused on Fabiola's experiences, my favorite part of the book was definitely the small moments at the end of chapters, where we'd get a slice of another character's thoughts/perspectives; these sections felt so poetically lush with emotion, and many of the lines felt so heartfelt and impactful.
My only criticism is that the pacing of the story felt a little disjointed. The ending comes in quickly and violently, without leaving readers much space to sit with the events before concluding the story. I wish the conclusion had been shifted a bit earlier into the book so that the ending could've had room to breathe and settle with all the characters but otherwise, I really enjoyed this read though please please please check content warnings before reading!!!
My only criticism is that the pacing of the story felt a little disjointed. The ending comes in quickly and violently, without leaving readers much space to sit with the events before concluding the story. I wish the conclusion had been shifted a bit earlier into the book so that the ending could've had room to breathe and settle with all the characters but otherwise, I really enjoyed this read though please please please check content warnings before reading!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Police brutality
Moderate: Xenophobia
brookey8888's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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
This was very good! I didn’t really know what it was about when I picked it up. I listened to the audio book and it was really well done. I liked learning more about Haitian culture. I really liked Fabiola as a main character. I think this is also an important read about immigration, family and a few other things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Deportation, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Violence, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Racism
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Murder
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.
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
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
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, and Violence
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