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A review by dewey7962
American Street by Ibi Zoboi
3.0
Fabiola came to the United States with her mother from Haiti, planning to move to Detroit and live with her aunt and cousins. When they arrive in the United States, however, Fabiola's mother is detained by immigration, and Fabiola is forced to continue on to Detroit alone. Once there, she pushes tirelessly to find a way to free her mother, even as she adjusts to life in the United States, making friends and even getting a boyfriend. Sadly, however comfortable she may start to feel, Detroit is different from Haiti in ways she couldn't expect, and there are things about her new life she couldn't possibly understand. When Fabiola gets in over her head in her quest to get her mother to Detroit, will she be able to find her footing and make things right? Or will her new life be forever altered?
I've been putting off writing this review for a long time because while there were things I really enjoyed about the book, it also had some pretty big flaws, and I wasn't sure what to say about it. The one big issue I struggled with was that it tried to do a lot and consequently lacked character and plot development and seemed to lose the thread of different storylines partway through, then pick back up later in ways that didn't quite connect to me. Possibly the biggest example of this, for me anyway, was Fab's relationship with her boyfriend...there just wasn't enough buildup to the relationship for any of the interactions between the two of them to hold any impact, and a lot of the tension in their relationship made no sense to me and seemed over-the-top as a result. I wish some of the branches in the plot had been pared down, because despite doing way too much, it was a good read, and the world needs more titles like this one. Ultimately, while this wasn't my favorite book, I did enjoy it, and I recommend picking it up if you're looking for something new to read. If you're an audiobook fan, the narrator did a fantastic job--it's definitely worth a listen.
I've been putting off writing this review for a long time because while there were things I really enjoyed about the book, it also had some pretty big flaws, and I wasn't sure what to say about it. The one big issue I struggled with was that it tried to do a lot and consequently lacked character and plot development and seemed to lose the thread of different storylines partway through, then pick back up later in ways that didn't quite connect to me. Possibly the biggest example of this, for me anyway, was Fab's relationship with her boyfriend...there just wasn't enough buildup to the relationship for any of the interactions between the two of them to hold any impact, and a lot of the tension in their relationship made no sense to me and seemed over-the-top as a result. I wish some of the branches in the plot had been pared down, because despite doing way too much, it was a good read, and the world needs more titles like this one. Ultimately, while this wasn't my favorite book, I did enjoy it, and I recommend picking it up if you're looking for something new to read. If you're an audiobook fan, the narrator did a fantastic job--it's definitely worth a listen.