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A review by heyleigh05
American Street by Ibi Zoboi
5.0
In my feelings: ode to American Street
I just fell in love with this novel! I felt like I clicked with this novel from the beginning. It wasn’t slow for me to get into, I was immediately engaged. Fabiola is such a compelling MC and narrator and I was so intrigued by what she would do next and by what the other characters would do. There are just so many things about this story that I loved. I loved that although Fabiola has newly immigrated to the US from Haiti she still remains firmly connected to her roots. She’s still spiritually connected to Haiti and her ancestors. The story contains magical realism that is described through Fabiola’s spiritual connection to the gods. Her lwas, spiritual songs, and stories play a prominent role in the story and we see how they guide Fabiola in the decisions she makes. I like that she remained steadfast in her spiritual devotion and her love for Haiti because of that added dimension to her American experience. The American story is one of assimilation so I loved that Fabiola rejected that and remained true to her origins.
I also loved almost all of the characters in the book (Dray is extremely problematic, to say the least). All of the characters in this story are so dynamic and they have so much dimension and complexity. Even Dray, who’s a clear antagonist, is written with depth and dimension. Fabiola’s relationships with the characters are complicated and nuanced and you just want to keep learning more about them. I liked that the author portrayed the complex relationship Fabiola has with her family. She loved them and they love her but they frequently have this conflict or friction that they have to work through. But despite the conflict within their family, they still ride or die for each other. I also loved Kasim’s character (sigh
I just fell in love with this novel! I felt like I clicked with this novel from the beginning. It wasn’t slow for me to get into, I was immediately engaged. Fabiola is such a compelling MC and narrator and I was so intrigued by what she would do next and by what the other characters would do. There are just so many things about this story that I loved. I loved that although Fabiola has newly immigrated to the US from Haiti she still remains firmly connected to her roots. She’s still spiritually connected to Haiti and her ancestors. The story contains magical realism that is described through Fabiola’s spiritual connection to the gods. Her lwas, spiritual songs, and stories play a prominent role in the story and we see how they guide Fabiola in the decisions she makes. I like that she remained steadfast in her spiritual devotion and her love for Haiti because of that added dimension to her American experience. The American story is one of assimilation so I loved that Fabiola rejected that and remained true to her origins.
I also loved almost all of the characters in the book (Dray is extremely problematic, to say the least). All of the characters in this story are so dynamic and they have so much dimension and complexity. Even Dray, who’s a clear antagonist, is written with depth and dimension. Fabiola’s relationships with the characters are complicated and nuanced and you just want to keep learning more about them. I liked that the author portrayed the complex relationship Fabiola has with her family. She loved them and they love her but they frequently have this conflict or friction that they have to work through. But despite the conflict within their family, they still ride or die for each other. I also loved Kasim’s character (sigh