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aliciaclarereads 's review for:
American Street
by Ibi Zoboi
read for PopSugar 2019 Advanced Challenge: an "own voices" novel
The last hour of this audiobook was an absolute WILD ride. I'm still processing this book, and I think it's a story that's going to stick with me for awhile. This is definitely a 4.5 stars, and I'm still debating about rounding up or rounding down.
This book is complicated. I honestly had no idea what is was about going into the book; all I knew is how much I loved Zoboi's writing in [b:Pride|35068632|Pride|Ibi Zoboi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1518630179s/35068632.jpg|56364079]. The reader is dropped in right as Fabiola's mother is being taken away by immigration officials, which given how much immigration detention centers are in the news provides an instant tragedy. We're left with Fabiola attempting to adjust to American life and her American cousins all on her own. Fabiola digs deep into her Haitian Voodoo spirituality to help understand this new world, which was fantastic. YA characters are rarely written to have a religion or spiritual beliefs, so Fabiola's reliance on the loa to guide her was such a wonderful inclusion.
An aspect I liked most is how complicated and dynamic Fabiola is written. She's trying her hardest, but she makes some really big mistakes in this book and the consequences are not little. She has to navigate not only a completely different culture, but making friends, falling in love, and trying to bring her mother back to her. This new world in Detroit is rough and harsh as Fabiola witnesses drug dealing and abusive relationships, and tries to reconcile it all. The side characters are equally dynamic, all with unique voices, not just because of the narrator, but also in how they approach the world. I LOVED the interludes where we were given another character's perspective when it got to Dre (which I think I'm spelling wrong since I only heard it pronounced?) I audibly gasped. Oh the reveals at the end are just so good!!
Okay I have to talk aboutKasim's death!! I was so deeply angry at Fabiola when it happened, but the truth is he shouldn't have been killed by the police. It seemed like a comeuppance for her meddling and holier-than-thou attitude towards her cousins, but really it's just a tragic avoidable death. And that stupid detective completely took advantage of a young girl who desperately wanted her mom. And Dre's revelation that HE KILLED HER UNCLE. Oh wow I didn't see that coming. I just think the book ends on a really great note of no one really being innocent and everyone overcoming the trauma from the party. Yeah I had a lot to get off my chest about the twist and turns of this book.
The only downfall I felt was I never fully got a feel for the timeline, so everything felt really fast for me. However, I think that could be due to listening to the audiobook instead of the reading the book. Don't get me wrong, Robin Miles is an AMAZING narrator and delivers a great performance (I listened to 2 books in a row by her and her performances differed so much, wow she's fantastic!). I occasionally lost track of how time passed, and was shocked when at one point it's revealed Fabiola had been in America for 3 months. So occasionally I felt a little lost in the story, but that also feels really reflective of Fabiola's journey. This is just to say I may end up upping my rating.
The last hour of this audiobook was an absolute WILD ride. I'm still processing this book, and I think it's a story that's going to stick with me for awhile. This is definitely a 4.5 stars, and I'm still debating about rounding up or rounding down.
This book is complicated. I honestly had no idea what is was about going into the book; all I knew is how much I loved Zoboi's writing in [b:Pride|35068632|Pride|Ibi Zoboi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1518630179s/35068632.jpg|56364079]. The reader is dropped in right as Fabiola's mother is being taken away by immigration officials, which given how much immigration detention centers are in the news provides an instant tragedy. We're left with Fabiola attempting to adjust to American life and her American cousins all on her own. Fabiola digs deep into her Haitian Voodoo spirituality to help understand this new world, which was fantastic. YA characters are rarely written to have a religion or spiritual beliefs, so Fabiola's reliance on the loa to guide her was such a wonderful inclusion.
An aspect I liked most is how complicated and dynamic Fabiola is written. She's trying her hardest, but she makes some really big mistakes in this book and the consequences are not little. She has to navigate not only a completely different culture, but making friends, falling in love, and trying to bring her mother back to her. This new world in Detroit is rough and harsh as Fabiola witnesses drug dealing and abusive relationships, and tries to reconcile it all. The side characters are equally dynamic, all with unique voices, not just because of the narrator, but also in how they approach the world. I LOVED the interludes where we were given another character's perspective when it got to Dre (which I think I'm spelling wrong since I only heard it pronounced?) I audibly gasped. Oh the reveals at the end are just so good!!
Okay I have to talk about
The only downfall I felt was I never fully got a feel for the timeline, so everything felt really fast for me. However, I think that could be due to listening to the audiobook instead of the reading the book. Don't get me wrong, Robin Miles is an AMAZING narrator and delivers a great performance (I listened to 2 books in a row by her and her performances differed so much, wow she's fantastic!). I occasionally lost track of how time passed, and was shocked when at one point it's revealed Fabiola had been in America for 3 months. So occasionally I felt a little lost in the story, but that also feels really reflective of Fabiola's journey. This is just to say I may end up upping my rating.