Self-assured, elegant and utterly captivating.” — New York Times
★ “Mixing gritty street life with the tenderness of first love, Haitian Vodou, and family bonds, the book is at once chilling, evocative, and reaffirming.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “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.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Zoboi urges us to examine the American dream to see if there is room within it to hold the ones we love — Ebony Magazine
★ “Zoboi’s stunning debut intertwines mysticism and love with grit and violence…Fierce and beautiful.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Will reach young readers regardless of their background.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
★ “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.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“A poignant meditation on one girl’s struggle to find her way in a new world.” — Nicola Yoon, bestselling author of EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING.
“Brimming with culture, magic, warmth, and unabashed rawness, “American Street” is ultimately a blistering tale of humanity. This is “Manchild in the Promised Land,” for a new generation, and a remarkable debut from Zoboi, who without question is an inevitable force in storytelling.” — Jason Reynolds, award-winning co-author of ALL AMERICAN BOYS
“Zoboi’s nascent storytelling gifts ensnare from page one. To this spellbinding voice of the next generation, I bow.” — Rita Williams-Garcia, New York Times bestselling author and three-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award
“Following in the footsteps of Edwidge Danticat, Zoboi’s young adult debut is equal parts gritty and transcendent.” — The Horn Book
“A refreshing take on a common literary preoccupation, the American dream...fascinating and beautiful.” — Vox
Brimming with culture, magic, warmth, and unabashed rawness, “American Street” is ultimately a blistering tale of humanity. This is “Manchild in the Promised Land,” for a new generation, and a remarkable debut from Zoboi, who without question is an inevitable force in storytelling.
★ 2016-11-02
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 romance—but 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)
