Book Review: American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Title: American Street
Author: Ibi Zoboi
Publication Date: February 14, 2017
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 336
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The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun.

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?

A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend and I got to hear Ibi Zoboi talk at Epic Reads Day.  I had heard of her book, but I had not yet picked it up.  When I got a copy in my goodie bag I knew I just had to read it!

There was a lot going on in this book.  I did like American Street, but a lot of stuff that happened made me question what was going on.  It was a really good debut, but it was just that - a debut.  One of the things I really liked-and she talked about it in her panel-was the little tidbit of supernatural that she added to this story.  While it wasn't a huge part it was just enough to add a little salt and pepper to the story line.

There are some things in this book I didn't like. For starters, I didn't really care for the love interest.  At first he seems to come off as a player.  I have had a few guys even use similar dialog to what he says and it kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  As the storyline goes on he does seem to get better though, and I can see that he truly does care for the main character.

Another aspect of this book that I don't like is how the relationships are handled.  One one end you have what seems like the normalization of an abusive relationship, and then you have girls being downright nasty to each other.  Everything is fighting.  They even so much as look at another character and they get into a fight.  I'm not really sure how I feel about this, but I know for sure that I hated the abusive relationship because I've been in similar shoes and It was not fun.

And also while on the topic of girls, these girls have some outrageous expectations of each other.  The main character, Fabiola, is expected to have her hair done and thick makeup just to even be able to roll with her cousin and her boyfriend.  I do like that Fabiola's boyfriend doesn't expect her to be like that and prefers her as natural as possible.  I just didn't care for the fact that the girls were expected to look a certain way to even hang out with other people.

That being said, I still did really like American Street, but it wasn't really one of my favorites.  I definitely will give Ibi another chance as I get that this was just her debut novel.  I definitely don’t want to deter anyone from reading this book.  Just because it wasn't for me does not mean that it isn't for you.

Audiobook Review: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd

Title: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
Author: Megan Shepherd
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 220
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There are winged horses that live in the mirrors of Briar Hill hospital. In the mirrors that line its grand hallways, which once belonged to a princess. In those that reflect the elegant rooms, now filled with sick children. It is her secret.

One morning, when Emmaline climbs over the wall of the hospital’s abandoned gardens, she discovers something incredible: a white horse with broken wings has left the mirror-world and entered her own.

Tucked into the garden’s once-gleaming sundial, Emmaline finds a letter from the Horse Lord. He is hiding the wounded white horse, named Foxfire, from a dark and sinister force—a Black Horse who hunts by colorless moonlight. If Emmaline is to keep the Black Horse from finding her new friend, she must collect colorful objects with which to blind him. But where can Emmaline find color when her world is filled with gray?

Emmaline lives in Briar Hill Hospital, a building that once housed a princess and now houses sick children. Emmaline has a secret - there are winged horses that live in the mirrors at Briar Hill, and only Emmaline can see them. While sneaking around the grounds one day, Emmaline stumbles across a beautiful white winged horse with an injured wing. She then receives a letter from the Horse Lord, explaining that the injured horse, Foxfire, is hiding from the mysterious Black Horse. The Horse Lord urges Emmaline to help save Foxfire by gathering as much color as she can to deter the Black Horse. Emmaline then goes on a hunt through the bleak halls of Briar Hill to find color and save Foxfire.

I had never heard of The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, but when I was looking for a quick and easy audiobook, I figured I would give it a try. I am so glad I did. This book was so lovely. It was enchanting, yet heartbreaking, and beautifully written. I have never read any books by Megan Shepherd before, but now I definitely want to give some of her young adult books a try.

Emmaline is our narrator throughout this story, but she is quite an unreliable one. We never really know if the mysterious horses that she sees in the mirrors actually exist, or if what she sees is a coping mechanism to help her deal with her illness. Regardless, going on this adventure with Emmaline is so much fun. Her belief in the horses is so strong and her desire to save Foxfire so real that the reader gets sucked into her quest and roots for her to succeed.

One of my favorite things about this book was the beautiful way that dark themes were handled in something aimed at a younger audience. The children that occupy Briar Hill Hospital are all sick - mostly with tuberculosis - and will most likely all die at a young age. Not only are these children facing their illnesses, but they are also living during the height of World War II. They have all been separated from their families. Some have already lost family members to the war, and some may die before the war is over. These children have to learn how to face their own mortality, while also mourning their family members and trying to understand the scope of what is happening in the world around them. These are all things that no child should ever have to deal with at such a young age. Megan Shepherd does a fantastic job of explaining these themes in ways that young readers can understand and cope with.

While the audiobook was lovely, I appear to have once again missed out on beautiful illustrations in the physical book. I wish I had been able to see the illustrations as I was listening to this story. I think it would have added a layer of whimsy to the story and really enhanced the reading experience. I definitely recommend The Secret Horses of Briar Hill for readers both young and old. I will most certainly be checking out some of Megan Shepherd's other works in the future.

Audiobook Review: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Title: Bone Gap
Author: Laura Ruby
Narrator: Dan Bittner
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
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Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?

Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.

As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.

Finn and Sean O'Sullivan have been going through the motions and managing to eke out a life in Bone Gap since their mother deserted them for her new boyfriend - until a mysterious girl named Roza appears in their barn. Roza changes their lives, giving them a new purpose and filling their days with excitement. Bone Gap begins shortly after Roza has vanished from their lives as rapidly as she appeared in them. Sean and the townspeople of Bone Gap believe that Roza left just like their mother, seeing a better opportunity and chasing after it. But Finn knows that Roza was kidnapped. He saw her being abducted, but he can't seem to remember the face of the man who took her.

Bone Gap seriously blew me away. I actually picked up this audiobook thinking that I might not enjoy the book, so I planned listen to it quickly so I could cross another book off my TBR. Well, shame on me. This book was wonderful. Bone Gap follows the perspective of multiple characters throughout the town in the present and in past reminiscences. This was the perfect way for this story to be told. It would have been unfair to the weird and quirky cast of characters to tell the story from only one point of view. The writing was beautiful as well. It wasn't necessarily flowery writing, but it was beautiful. Laura Ruby certainly knows how to put words together to paint an amazing picture. (I am obviously not as eloquent as she is.)

I adored every single character in Bone Gap. Finn was so sweet and good-natured. I really enjoyed the chapters told from his perspective. The other characters made fun of Finn, saying he was weird and spacey, but his worldview was so unique and sincere. I loved his relationship with Petey and her determination to be happy with herself despite what others thought. The cast was so dynamic and all of the characters felt so real...even the creepy ones.

My one critique about Bone Gap is that I didn't realize there was magical realism in the story until the very end. I was following along with the mystery and waiting for everything to be solved. And then it got....weird. That being said, this was probably one of the first times that I have actually enjoyed reading magical realism. I am normally left wanting answers, but I felt pretty satisfied with the ending of Bone Gap, even despite the strange unanswered questions. I just wish I had known that there was magical realism earlier on in the book. I feel like it could have been incorporated better throughout the novel so it wasn't so staggering to encounter at the end.

I think Bone Gap could be a great read for people with a variety of different tastes. It has a contemporary feel, but there is also a mystery in need of solving, with a magical realism twist. There is also a character discovering a disability and learning to live with it. I know that disability should not be a spoiler, but this character discovering their disability is a MAJOR plot point that spoils the entire mystery of the book. (I'm happy to tell you privately what disability is included if you want to know, but I will keep it out of this review.) Ultimately, I think a wide range of readers could enjoy Bone Gap and should give it a try. I enjoyed it so much, and I will definitely be checking out Laura Ruby's other books in the future.