wandering_reads 's review for:

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

4.0

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Fabiola watches her mother disappear into the bowels of the airport. She can't cross into America with her. Instead, Fabiola must navigate American life with her aunt and cousins on her own, making sense of a new world and new life in Detroit whilst remaining true to her mother and her Haitian roots. She races into her first love, deals with the issues brought up by struggling through the poverty line in the US, and also the racial tensions between the people in her new neighborhood and the police. She must decide whom to trust, remaining true to her family and her heart, along with sorting out her path in this new and different land. Fabiola's voice is clear, determined and yet, still tinged with the confusion and turmoil of being a young woman growing into her own. A beautiful story with magical realism and elements of Fabiola's Haitian heritage woven throughout.