FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile
The vocal dream team of Bahni Turpin and Ron Butler delivers a poignant, funny, and ambitious YA anthology in which the brightest stars in YA fiction showcase a variety of black American teen experiences. Turpin confidently takes on the female-driven stories, while Butler settles in with the male points of view. Settings include camping trips, disastrous parties, and family reunions, and each story features a moment of triumph and self-realization. Listeners will find themselves dropped into the lives of teens who are rendered lifelike by the wealth of talent the narrators bring to the production. Together, Turpin and Butler are more than enough for this must-listen collection. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 10/22/2018
This collection of 17 original stories is written by contemporary black authors who explore “teens examining, rebelling against, embracing, or simply existing within their own idea of blackness.” The tales offer a wide array of perspectives and thoughtful reflections on black teenagers’ experiences, with pervading themes that include black identity (Varian Johnson’s “Black Enough”), sexual awakening (Justina Ireland’s “Kissing Sarah Smart”), and teenage worries. The stories, all worth savoring, share a celebratory outlook on black teenagers fully and courageously embracing life. Ages 13–up. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
★ “A poignant collection of stunning short stories by Black, rock star authors” — Booklist (starred review)
★ “A breath of fresh air…nuanced and necessary.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “Each entry is deftly woven and full of such complex humanity that teens will identify with and see some of their own struggles in these characters... This collection presents the beauty of black humanity in all its many forms.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “The stories, all worth savoring, share a celebratory outlook on black teenagers fully and courageously embracing life.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Ibi Zoboi, author of National Book Award finalist American Street and Jane Austen update Pride, dazzles again with this stunning, marvelously diverse collection of 17 stories of the teen experience by black authors [writing] ‘about teens examining, rebelling against, embracing, or simply existing within their own idea of blackness.’” — Buffalo News
★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “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)
★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “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)
★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Zoboi’s stunning debut intertwines mysticism and love with grit and violence…Fierce and beautiful.” — Booklist (starred review)
★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “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)
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Zoboi urges us to examine the American dream to see if there is room within it to hold the ones we love.” — Ebony Magazine
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Will reach young readers regardless of their background.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “A poignant meditation on one girl’s struggle to find her way in a new world.” — Nicola Yoon, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun is Also a Star and Everything, Everything
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “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
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “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
Buffalo News
Ibi Zoboi, author of National Book Award finalist American Street and Jane Austen update Pride, dazzles again with this stunning, marvelously diverse collection of 17 stories of the teen experience by black authors [writing] ‘about teens examining, rebelling against, embracing, or simply existing within their own idea of blackness.’
Ebony Magazine
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Zoboi urges us to examine the American dream to see if there is room within it to hold the ones we love.
Booklist (starred review)
★ “A poignant collection of stunning short stories by Black, rock star authors
Jason Reynolds
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “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.
Rita Williams-Garcia
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Zoboi’s nascent storytelling gifts ensnare from page one. To this spellbinding voice of the next generation, I bow.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Will reach young readers regardless of their background.
Nicola Yoon
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “A poignant meditation on one girl’s struggle to find her way in a new world.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Will reach young readers regardless of their background.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Will reach young readers regardless of their background.
School Library Journal
★ 11/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—A compilation of short stories that offers unique perspectives on what it means to be young and black in America today. Each entry is deftly woven and full of such complex humanity that teens will identify with and see some of their own struggles in these characters. In Leah Henderson's "Warning: Color May Fade," a prep school girl examines the cost of being and remaining invisible in a world carefully crafted to exclude her. Two girls take the peer pressure of naked selfies and turn it on its head in "Girl, Stop Playing" by Liara Tamani. A group of young black boys dream up food creations heavily influenced by the flavors of other cultures in "The Ingredients" by Jason Reynolds. This collection presents the beauty of black humanity in all its many forms. The teens in these tales are dealing with mental health issues, complicated family dynamics, sexuality and gender constraints, and being part of a marginalized group. The entries offer a rich tableau of the black teen diaspora in an accessible way. VERDICT A great volume for all libraries serving young adults.—Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OH
FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile
The vocal dream team of Bahni Turpin and Ron Butler delivers a poignant, funny, and ambitious YA anthology in which the brightest stars in YA fiction showcase a variety of black American teen experiences. Turpin confidently takes on the female-driven stories, while Butler settles in with the male points of view. Settings include camping trips, disastrous parties, and family reunions, and each story features a moment of triumph and self-realization. Listeners will find themselves dropped into the lives of teens who are rendered lifelike by the wealth of talent the narrators bring to the production. Together, Turpin and Butler are more than enough for this must-listen collection. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2018-10-15
A diverse and compelling fiction anthology that taps 17 established, rising star, and new #ownvoices talents.
Editor Zoboi (Pride, 2018, etc.) lays out the collection's purpose: exploring black interconnectedness, traditions, and identity in terms of how they apply to black teens. Given that scope, that most stories are contemporary realistic fiction makes sense (Rita Williams-Garcia's humorous "Whoa!" which dips into the waters of speculative fiction, is a notable exception). Conversely, the characters are incredibly varied, as are the narrative styles. Standouts include the elegant simplicity of Jason Reynolds' "The Ingredients," about a group of boys walking home from the swimming pool; Leah Henderson's "Warning: Color May Fade," about an artist afraid to express herself; the immediacy of Tracey Baptiste's "Gravity," about a #MeToo moment of self-actualization birthed from violation; Renee Watson's reflection on family in "Half a Moon"; and the collection's namesake, Varian Johnson's "Black Enough," which highlights the paradigm shift that is getting woke. In these stories, black kids are nerds and geeks, gay and lesbian, first gen and immigrants, outdoorsy and artists, conflicted and confused, grieving and succeeding, thriving and surviving—in short, they're fully human. No collection could represent the entire spectrum of blackness, however, the presence of trans, Afro-Latinx, and physically disabled characters is missed: a clarion call for more authentic black-centric collections.
A breath of fresh air and a sigh of long overdue relief. Nuanced and necessary. (contributor biographies) (Anthology. 12-18)
