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mhsquier 's review for:
American Street
by Ibi Zoboi
Fabiola Toussaint arrives in the United States with her mother, from their hometown of Port-au-Prince. Her mother is detained by immigration authorities, but Fabiola is sent on her own to family in Detroit. Waiting with four suitcases holding all their belongings, she is picked up by her cousins: Chantal, Donna, and Princess. They are known in their west Detroit neighborhood as the 3 B's: Brains, Beauty, and Brawn, respectively. She is quickly introduced to all that Detroit and America has to offer: education, money, friendship, family, and romance. But she's also introduced to the other side of life in Detroit: drugs, crime, and violence.
Fabiola is approached by a police detective who offers her what ends up being a Faustian bargain - if Fabiola can give information on some bad drugs being sold in a nearby neighborhood, her mom can be released from the immigration detention center. Fabiola ends up giving more than she can ever imagine.
Zoboi does an excellent job developing characters that the reader will become invested in, and a story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. She calls attention to the plight of families torn apart by immigration policies, as well as families torn apart by the illegal drug trade. In Fabiola, Zoboi juxtaposes the competing impulses of assimilating to American ways versus adhering to her Haitian way.
The audiobook was wonderfully narrated, and brought the characters and the story to life. Definitely recommend!!
Fabiola is approached by a police detective who offers her what ends up being a Faustian bargain - if Fabiola can give information on some bad drugs being sold in a nearby neighborhood, her mom can be released from the immigration detention center. Fabiola ends up giving more than she can ever imagine.
Zoboi does an excellent job developing characters that the reader will become invested in, and a story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. She calls attention to the plight of families torn apart by immigration policies, as well as families torn apart by the illegal drug trade. In Fabiola, Zoboi juxtaposes the competing impulses of assimilating to American ways versus adhering to her Haitian way.
The audiobook was wonderfully narrated, and brought the characters and the story to life. Definitely recommend!!