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Ibi Zoboi is the New York Times bestselling author of American Street, a National Book Award Finalist; Nigeria Jones, a Coretta Scott King Book Award winner; Pride; My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich; Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel; and the Walter Dean Myers Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize–winning Punching the Air, co-written with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam. More about this author >
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On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie—the good life. But after leaving 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 must learn that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?
A loving, lyrical, and poignant epic about immigrating to the United States, American Street chronicles Fabiola Toussaint’s struggle to navigate her new life in Detroit. On the one hand, it is a page-turning story of survival and tenacity up against the pressures of crime and uncertainty, and on the other, it is a fresh, nuanced paean to the rich, magical reality undergirding every intersection of our country. American Street reminds us that all of America lives and breathes with the spirits and cultures of the people who’ve emigrated here from around the world.
