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stelliwithabookie 's review for:
American Street
by Ibi Zoboi
this book made me sad.
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well look here i am doing a book review almost TWO WEEKS after I finished reading this book. will I remember anything? probs not. let's get into the thoughts.
first impressions. i really enjoyed the writing style and just the overall pacing of this book. i was on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time. we begin with Fabiola's mom not being able to enter America from Port Au Prince, Haiti, and she has to enter this new country WITHOUT her mother. idk about you but that part was heartbreaking bc i couldn't imagine being in a new place without my mom. i really liked the difference between Fabiola's background and her cousins because I think it's important to notice the differences among black people. this book was so enjoyable bc there are SOME small details and themes that made this book great which really hit home for me.
fabiola more like FABULOUS!
donna and dray. alright this entire (ish) book, Fabiola starts working with the police to bring down dray and we get a raw, relatable insight into the life in a gang. dray was someone who worked for the wrong people and got donna these expensive things. he was smart but also abusive. he was a mess tbh and their relationship really disgusted me.
papa legba. let's talk about him really quick. he was this person that Fabiola was OBSESSED with. she believed him to be a religious figure, and his presence made him almost seem real, and i'm still confused if he is or not. anyways, i appreciate the songs he sang because they were usually clues depicting a scene or a metaphor. he's been watching over them for years, and it's nice he came back to help.
i liked the mini chapters we got from the other characters. it allowed us to see inside their head and really understand why they did the things they did. especially drayton's. his talks about how he was never "free" because he was always working for something (worked for his mom so became involved in illegal activites) and was always under someone's else control (Q) were something worth noting. he talks about how it's a war out here which is reference to gangs but also the systematic racism. and at the end, he admitted that he killed Pri/ Donna's father on accident when he was supposed to kill a cop, and I remember thinking that he killed an innocent man, to join a gang, that's...
family dynamic. i loved her cousins story lines, and chantal's made me sad since she never went to those "top schools" that she was meant to go to but instead stayed close to home. it makes me sad when people aren't able to reach full potential but that was just the author depicting not everything is as clear-cut as we would like.
her boo. fabiola getting in a relationship was new for me because it really displayed how youthful and innocent she was. she didn't really understand love, and it was Kasim. I really liked him, and I
mean really really liked him. such a sweetheart, after their first kiss, he literally said "damn." can we talk about the cute dates they went on (especially the one where they went to Middle Eastern Restaurant, she really made him look dumb asking if "he read?"), and how much he talked about her and how he liked her when she was more "natural." that subtle line about having natural hair really meant the world.
the ending. so fabiola working with the police wasn't going to end well because at the party she was going to set up dray, but kasim ended up getting shot instead, and fabiola was A MESS. then, dray comes and almost kills her, but he dies instead bc of Papa Legba. this book taught me that books can't always have happy endings.
favorite quotes
"But then I realize that everyone is climbing their own mountain here in America. They are tall and mighty and they live in the hearts and everyday lives of the people."
"Chantal is Brains.
Donna is Beauty
Pri is Brawn
I am Brave. No one has to tell me this. I know it for myself."
title of the book is a reference to where fabiola's family lives and saying that the street represents a future, better than the place she came from.
thanks for reading xx
-------------------------------
well look here i am doing a book review almost TWO WEEKS after I finished reading this book. will I remember anything? probs not. let's get into the thoughts.
first impressions. i really enjoyed the writing style and just the overall pacing of this book. i was on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time. we begin with Fabiola's mom not being able to enter America from Port Au Prince, Haiti, and she has to enter this new country WITHOUT her mother. idk about you but that part was heartbreaking bc i couldn't imagine being in a new place without my mom. i really liked the difference between Fabiola's background and her cousins because I think it's important to notice the differences among black people. this book was so enjoyable bc there are SOME small details and themes that made this book great which really hit home for me.
fabiola more like FABULOUS!
donna and dray. alright this entire (ish) book, Fabiola starts working with the police to bring down dray and we get a raw, relatable insight into the life in a gang. dray was someone who worked for the wrong people and got donna these expensive things. he was smart but also abusive. he was a mess tbh and their relationship really disgusted me.
papa legba. let's talk about him really quick. he was this person that Fabiola was OBSESSED with. she believed him to be a religious figure, and his presence made him almost seem real, and i'm still confused if he is or not. anyways, i appreciate the songs he sang because they were usually clues depicting a scene or a metaphor. he's been watching over them for years, and it's nice he came back to help.
i liked the mini chapters we got from the other characters. it allowed us to see inside their head and really understand why they did the things they did. especially drayton's. his talks about how he was never "free" because he was always working for something (worked for his mom so became involved in illegal activites) and was always under someone's else control (Q) were something worth noting. he talks about how it's a war out here which is reference to gangs but also the systematic racism. and at the end, he admitted that he killed Pri/ Donna's father on accident when he was supposed to kill a cop, and I remember thinking that he killed an innocent man, to join a gang, that's...
family dynamic. i loved her cousins story lines, and chantal's made me sad since she never went to those "top schools" that she was meant to go to but instead stayed close to home. it makes me sad when people aren't able to reach full potential but that was just the author depicting not everything is as clear-cut as we would like.
her boo. fabiola getting in a relationship was new for me because it really displayed how youthful and innocent she was. she didn't really understand love, and it was Kasim. I really liked him, and I
mean really really liked him. such a sweetheart, after their first kiss, he literally said "damn." can we talk about the cute dates they went on (especially the one where they went to Middle Eastern Restaurant, she really made him look dumb asking if "he read?"), and how much he talked about her and how he liked her when she was more "natural." that subtle line about having natural hair really meant the world.
the ending. so fabiola working with the police wasn't going to end well because at the party she was going to set up dray, but kasim ended up getting shot instead, and fabiola was A MESS. then, dray comes and almost kills her, but he dies instead bc of Papa Legba. this book taught me that books can't always have happy endings.
favorite quotes
"But then I realize that everyone is climbing their own mountain here in America. They are tall and mighty and they live in the hearts and everyday lives of the people."
"Chantal is Brains.
Donna is Beauty
Pri is Brawn
I am Brave. No one has to tell me this. I know it for myself."
title of the book is a reference to where fabiola's family lives and saying that the street represents a future, better than the place she came from.
thanks for reading xx