Title: American Street
Author: Ibi Zoboi
First published February 14, 2017
336 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9780062473042 (ISBN10: 0062473042)
Rating: 4
Overview
The sun in Port-au-Prince, Haiti is not the same as the sun on American Street. Fabiola Toussaint was hoping for a good life in America, but her mother was detained by U.S. immigration.
Now, Fabiola must navigate her way through Detroit’s west side, a new school, and her boisterous cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess. As she finds her footing in this new world, she also finds a surprising romance.
But when a dangerous proposition presents itself, Fabiola realizes that freedom comes with a cost. She is at a crossroads, and the American dream may come at a price she’s not willing to pay.
About the Author
American Street, the debut novel by Ibi Zoboi, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Zoboi is a prolific writer, with New York Times Bestselling books like Pride, My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich, and Punching the Air, which she co-wrote with Yusef Salaam, a member of the Exonerated Five.
Additionally, Zoboi is the editor of Black Enough, an anthology featuring stories about being young and Black in America. She spent her formative years in New York City, but was born in Haiti.
Nowadays, she resides in New Jersey with her spouse and their three kids.
Editoral Review
American Street by Ibi Zoboi is a stunning novel that explores themes of family, immigration, and the American dream. Zoboi is a Haitian-American author who has garnered critical acclaim for her previous works, including the National Book Award finalist, Black Girl Unlimited.
Her latest novel, American Street, has been described as a powerful and lyrical portrayal of what it means to be an immigrant in contemporary America. Set in Detroit, American Street follows the story of a teenage girl named Fabiola Toussaint, who emigrates with her mother from Haiti.
When Fabiola’s mother is detained by immigration officials upon their arrival in America, she is left to navigate the harsh realities of urban life on her own. She moves in with her aunt and cousins, who live in a violent and impoverished neighborhood in Detroit.
As she struggles to adapt to a new country and culture, she begins to question the sacrifices that she has made for the sake of the American dream. Zoboi’s writing is exquisite, evocative, and deeply emotional.
She weaves together multiple perspectives and threads of narrative to create a rich and complex portrait of life in Detroit. The characters are vivid and multidimensional, each with their own hopes, dreams, fears, and flaws.
Fabiola, in particular, is a remarkably well-drawn protagonist, a sharp and sensitive observer of the world around her. Throughout the novel, Zoboi explores issues of race, class, and gender, shining a light on the structural inequalities and social injustices that make life difficult for immigrants and people of color in America.
She also delves into the complexities of family relationships, highlighting the ways in which love and loyalty can be both a source of strength and a burden. American Street is not without its flaws, however.
At times, the plot can feel sprawling and disjointed, with too many subplots and secondary characters vying for attention. Additionally, some readers may find the ending to be unsatisfying, with a few loose threads left hanging.
Despite these minor flaws, American Street is a remarkable and important novel that deserves to be read widely. It is a poignant and heartfelt meditation on the immigrant experience, offering a glimpse into the challenges and opportunities that come with pursuing the American dream.
With powerful prose, deep insight, and a clear-eyed vision of the world, Zoboi has created a work of literature that is both timely and timeless. For readers who enjoy literary fiction, coming-of-age stories, or works that explore themes of identity and displacement, American Street is an excellent choice.
This novel will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to find their place in a new and unfamiliar world. Overall, I give American Street a rating of 8/10, based on its beautiful writing, insightful characterization, and thoughtful exploration of complex issues.
