Author: Min Jin Lee
Plot: After immigrating from Haiti, Fabiola Toussaint is left alone in Detroit when her mother is detained by U.S. immigration. As she adjusts to life with her American cousins and a new school, she’s faced with a risky decision that could reunite her family—but at a cost. American Street is a powerful story about identity, resilience, and the true price of the American dream.
I was one of many to have left Haiti following the earthquake of 2010. At fourteen, going on fifteen, life as I knew it changed in an instant. Much like Fabiola, I was forced to face America in a new light. I was no longer the tourist I had so often been alongside my parents, but an immigrant in the eyes of everyone else.
Admittedly, I was skeptical of American Street when I first learned of its existence, but Zoboi vividly paints the young heroine as she navigates through the life she is offered while grieving her mother and her home. Her experiences quickly unfold dramatically, and we witness her lose pieces of her identity to fit into a new culture. Nonetheless, Fabiola remains strong-willed and deeply spiritual, as many of her decisions are guided by the Lwas (Haitian spirits) she serves.
Vodou has been taboo for as long as I can remember, growing up in Haiti. Although I understood at a very young age that many households practiced it in our circles, I knew better than to mention it—its practice being largely misunderstood as black magic. The depiction of the religion was both welcoming and disconcerting to me. On one hand, I was delighted to read about it in a positive light. On the other hand, I found it a bit unrealistic how often Fabiola compared most instances in her life to the different Haitian spirits. Haitian people often balance Vodou with Christianity, drawing comparisons between the spirits and their Christian counterparts. The two are forever entwined and entangled within one another.
Ibi Zoboi’s American Street is a gripping story that intersperses the lives of Fabiola and her newfound family. Through her writing, she fictionalizes raw experiences of Haitian immigration.