American street

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American street

Title :

American street / Ibi Zoboi.

Title:

American street

Author:

Zoboi, Ibi Aanu

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

324 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780062473042

Production / Publication Information:

New York, NY : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2017]

Summary:

When Fabiola's mother is detained upon their arrival to the United States, Fabiola must navigate her loud American cousins, the grittiness of Detroit's west side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.

Language:

English

Geographic Term:

Detroit (Mich.) -- Fiction.

Subject Term:

Immigrants -- Fiction.

Haitians -- United States -- Fiction.

Mothers and daughters -- Fiction.

Cousins -- Fiction.

Schools -- Fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	TEEN FICTION ZOBOI	31330008236493	Searching... Unknown
Summer Reading (Andover)	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	TEEN SUMMER READING	31330008786463	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA ZOBOI	32116003417959	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	TEEN ZOBOI	32117001880073	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	Y/FIC/ZOBOI	31480010948971	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	YA/FIC/ZOBOI	31482002793811	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dunstable Free Public Library	YA ZOB	32118000957565	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Essex - T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library	Y ZOB	32119000350991	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	YA FIC ZOBOI	32120001151297	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	Y ZOB	30470001298883	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	YA/ZOBOI I	31479006326119	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lawrence Public Library	FIC ZOB YA	31549004721964	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lawrence Public Library	FIC ZOB YA	31549004646435	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	YA F ZOBOI	39965002165784	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library	YA FIC ZOB	32124001768159	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library	YA ZOB	31548003060382	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newburyport Public Library	YA ZOBOI	32128003510634	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	TEEN ZOBOI	31478003470854	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	YA FIC ZOBOI	31550002218243	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rowley Public Library	YA FIC ZOB	32130000871381	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	TEEN FICTION ZOBOI	32132002907494	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Topsfield Town Library	YA ZOBOI	32133002278639	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... West Newbury - G.A.R. Memorial Library	YA ZOB	32135001360375	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	YA F ZOBOI	31990004739442	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Wilmington Memorial Library	TEEN ZOBOI	32136003217977	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A National Book Award Finalist with five starred reviews and multiple awards!

A New York Times Notable Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book Of All Time* Publishers Weekly Flying Start * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * ALA Booklist Editors' Choice of 2017 (Top of the List winner) * School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * BookPage Best YA Book of the Year

An evocative and powerful coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jason Reynolds

In this stunning debut novel, Pushcart-nominated author Ibi Zoboi draws on her own experience as a young Haitian immigrant, infusing this lyrical exploration of America with magical realism and vodou culture.

On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie--a good life.

But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit's west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own.

Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?

Reviews (6)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-After her mother is detained by immigration officials, Fabiola Toussaint has to finish her move from Port-au-Prince to Detroit alone. The tough-as-nails cousins and exhausted aunt who greet her in Michigan bear little resemblance to the warm family she had dreamed of when she was in Haiti. Left with a mother-size hole in her life, Fabiola begins the unsteady process of assimilation, holding on to her family's spiritual traditions while navigating the disconnectedness and violence of her new home. A sweet romance and her cousins' fierce and complex support ease the teen into a halfway space between worlds, but her eyes remain on the prize of reuniting with her mother. When Fabiola is approached by the police to inform on her cousin's volatile boyfriend in exchange for information about her mother, she must work around the gaps in her understanding to make some explosive decisions. In this bright, sharp debut, Zoboi weaves grittiness, sensitivity, and complexity into every character, but Fabiola's longing, determination, and strength shine especially brightly. VERDICT A breathtaking story about contemporary America that will serve as a mirror to some and a window for others, and it will stay with anyone who reads it. A must-purchase for YA collections.-Beth McIntyre, Madison Public Library, WI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Zoboi's powerful debut, set in current-day Detroit (but based on the author's experience as a Haitian immigrant in 1980s Bushwick, Brooklyn), unflinchingly tackles contemporary issues of immigration, assimilation, violence, and drug dealing. Although born in America, teenage Fabiola has grown up with her mother in Port au Prince, dreaming of a better life with her aunt and cousins in Detroit. Upon arriving in New York City, Fabiola's mother, lacking proper documents, is sent to a detention center while Fabiola must go on alone to Detroit. Shocked by the rough urban environment, her pugnacious cousins, her aunt's lethargy, and her cousin Donna's physically abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend, Dray, Fabiola turns to her Haitian spirits (lwas)-as well as a mysterious street man-for guidance, while embarking on a tentative romance with Dray's friend Kasim. When she strikes a deal with a police detective to set up Dray for arrest in exchange for her mother's release, it results in a dangerous situation with devastating results. Mixing gritty street life with the tenderness of first love, Haitian Vodou, and family bonds, the book is at once chilling, evocative, and reaffirming. Ages 14-up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

After landing in New York from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained. Fabiola continues alone to her aunt and cousins in Detroit, where she receives a crash course in cultural differences and learns her family is involved in the drug trade. Throughout the story, Fabiola turns to her Vodou faith to reunite with her mother. Zoboi's YA debut is equal parts gritty and transcendent. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Fabiola Toussaint is a black immigrant girl whose life is flipped upside down when she moves to Detroit, Michigan, from her homeland of Haiti and her mother is detained by the INS, leaving her to go on alone. Though Fabiola was born in the U.S., she has lived in Haiti since she was an infant, and that has now left her unprepared for life in America. In Detroit, she lives with her aunt Marjorie and her three thoroughly Americanized cousins, Chantal, Primadonna, and Princess. It's not easy holding on to her heritage and identity in Detroit; Matant Jo fines Fabiola for speaking Creole (though even still "a bit of Haiti is peppered in her English words"), and the gritty streets of Detroit are very different from those of Port-au-Prince. Fabiola has her faith to help keep her grounded, which grows ever more important as she navigates her new school, American society, and a surprising romancebut especially when she is faced with a dangerous proposition that brings home to her the fact that freedom comes with a price. Fabiola's perceptive, sensitive narration gives readers a keen, well-executed look into how the American dream can be a nightmare for so many. Filling her pages with magic, humanity, tragedy, and hope, Zoboi builds up, takes apart, and then rebuilds an unforgettable story. This book will take root in readers' hearts. (Fiction. 14 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Zoboi's stunning debut intertwines mysticism and love with grit and violence to tell the story of Fabiola Toussaint, a Haitian teen adjusting to her new life in Detroit. Fabiola's dream of a better life with her aunt and cousins in America snags when her mother is detained at the U.S. border. Forced to continue alone, she must also confront the reality that her new neighborhood is every bit as dangerous as the one she left behind in Port-au-Prince. Drugs, gangs, and violence pervade the status quo, but thanks to her cousins' tough reputations, Fabiola can find her footing. Zoboi, who emigrated to the U.S. from Haiti, brings a nuanced portrayal of that culture to the narrative. Evocative prose, where Fabiola calls on voodoo spirits, informs and enriches her character, while standing in counterpoint to her hard-as-nails cousins. Zoboi pulls no punches when describing the dangerous realities of the girls' lives, but tender moments are carefully tucked into the plot as well. This story is many things. It is a struggle for survival. It is the uncovering of one's bravest self. And, most significant, it is the coming together of a family. One or two scenarios strain credibility, but the characters' complexities ultimately smooth over any bumps. Fierce and beautiful.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist

New York Review of Books Review

Zoboi's accomplished first novel, flavored with Haitian folklore and voodoo, is set on the corner of American Street and Joy Road in Detroit. The book is full of crossings and intersections, double-crosses and crossed fingers - reflecting the betwixt-and-between life of its narrator, Fabiola. She and her Manman are from Port-au-Prince. They've set off to live "on this side of the good life" in America. But Fabiola's mother is detained by immigration authorities, and Fab is on her own with her Matant Jo and cousins Chantal, Donna and Pri. "In the dark, I practice whispering 'Dee-troit' and trying to get my mouth to wrap around the word just right," Fabiola says. In her strange new life, full of vacant spaces - "gaping holes on the block, like missing teeth" - she sees Iwas, spirits, everywhere. The old man sitting on a plastic bucket is Papa Legba, the trickster; Donna's abusive boyfriend, "with his sunglasses even as night spreads across the sky," is Baron Samedi, keeper of death. Occasionally we get the perspectives of secondary characters, even of the house on the corner itself. Zoboi's mash-up of cities and genres is self-assured, elegant and utterly captivating. MARJORIE INGALL, a columnist for Tablet, is the author of "Mamaleh Knows Best: What Jewish Mothers Do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children."