Ibi ZoboiRecensioni

This book feels about 10 years too late for what it's trying to say about gentrification, especially in Bushwick.

This was required reading for my son and after talking to him about it I decided to read it for myself. I am a sucker for a good Pride and Prejudice rendition, so I had high hopes. Sadly, it was a major let down and I honestly wouldn’t have finished had my son not needed my help with his report.

Zuri’s attitude grated on my nerves to the point that I caught myself groaning with annoyance on more than one occasion. She comes across as extremely crass and judgmental, which bothered me a lot while I was reading. There is even a part where she actually admits to herself that she’s being judgmental! You think?? The only thing that redeemed Zuri for me was her poetry. The girl could write, and I enjoyed these moments that were sprinkled throughout the story, most likely because her snarky sour sass attitude was better articulated and wasn’t full of malice and shade.

The last quarter of the book was the best and truly what redeemed this novel for me. Once Zuri got over herself and started growing that’s when I started hearing her voice. Before this, her voice was so screeching that I couldn’t take this young girl seriously. Take the prejudice and judgmental statements out of it and I think I’d like it a lot better. The author seems like she could be a decent writer, but with how it’s obvious she has an agenda I would be scared to take a chance on another one of her stories.

This is a tale that has been told so many times throughout the years, and truth be told there is better out there. This was a painful journey to nowhere and this is time I can never get back. The only true positive is that my son got a passing grade on his report.

I think this story could be told to primary students, but it would be read by intermediate to middle school students. This is the story of Octavia Butler and how she got into being a writer as well as the historical events that she experienced growing up.

From Kirkus: "Zoboi’s poetic retrospective breathes life into Black history narratives and reverently celebrates Black lives."

From Kirkus: "A strong declaration for supporting, loving, and empowering all Black women everywhere."

Gr 8 Up—Amal is a Black teen incarcerated for assaulting a white teen. With spare but forceful words, this novel in
verse examines the dehumanization of young people caught in the school-to-prison pipeline. Through Amal's
experience, readers see how young people are left at the mercy of racist, broken educational and criminal justice
systems that stifle talents and silence voices.

Gr 5 Up—Zoboi's multimedia text gives new meaning to the concept of biography, infusing Butler's legacy of
dreaming and discipline with the vibrancy it deserves through poetry, newspaper clippings, sketches, handwritten
notes, and more. A stellar title worthy of its visionary subject.

3.5

2.5

Ebony-Grace Norfleet Freeman has to temporarily stay with her father in Harlem, while her mother back in Alabama is caring for her Granddaddy. She doesn't adjust well, wanting to go back home, keeping in her head and carrying on the imaginings her and her Granddaddy would have of Captain Fleet and E-Grace Starfleet, which the kids in the neighborhood aren't having. It's 1984, and they're much more into break dancing and hip hop, things Ebony-Grace can't wrap her head around.

Despite also being a giant nerd with an imagination, I had a tough time with Ebony-Grace's story. Supposedly twelve, she reads much younger as she imagines her father as "King Sirius Julius" in No Joke City, keeping her prisoner and not allowing her to rescue her grandfather (from what, we really never find out). I wondered if she were on the spectrum, but that's never really explored. And while I could see it for the church scene, the emphasis on her wearing "boy clothes" because she preferred t-shirts to dresses seemed a little odd for 1984. Ebony's "growth" at the end is really sudden and mainly seems to be about shutting off her imagination to live in the real world in a heavy-handed way after the adults (and a bunch of the kids that Ebony doesn't want to play with) spend much of the book telling her to stop messing around. It was a weird sort of duality both celebrating nerdy sci-fi culture and tamping down on it at the same time.½

Octavia Estelle Butler dreamed of the stars, and Ibi Zoboi uses prose and poetry to give us what she terms a "biographical constellation" of a Black woman writing science fiction when it was very much still a white boy's club.

Though written for children, the biography offers much for adults familiar with Butler's work may appreciate, from the titles of the sections ("Parable of the Sower," "Parable of the Talents") to lines in the poems referencing Butler's work. Zoboi does a nice job of introducing the time frame in which Butler grew up as well as giving biographical details. The poetry was less successful for me, but I just let the words wash over me and went with it. I get from the author's note that she was doing something very intentional with that aspect of the biographical "constellation," and I admit as a very picky poetry reader, it was generally lost on me, though others may appreciate her craft. The final section was interesting, in which Zoboi talks about meeting Butler herself and what affect she had on Zoboi's own writing. Mostly, though, I was left wanting to read a full-length adult biography to answer all the questions I still have.

Based on the author's own immigration story to New York in the 1980s.

"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?"

From: Publishers Weekly

"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."

It was a very powerful written piece. I understand his frustrations of being passionate about art but only white artist are being showcased in class. Although, I could never compare my situation to his. The "therapist" character ugh, I think I mentally blocked out her name was so frustrating. There's no way she couldn't tell her patient was slipping into depression and yet she refused to let him go to poetry/art classes until he went to the general ed ones because those were a privilege? Literally what. It is also so cool that Yusef is a prison reform activist. It gives more meaning to the book.

Hot Damn. That's all I can say for now, I just finished this after struggling to read literally any text whatsoever and I'm really glad my brain finally allowed me to finish this book because it's great.

I loved how Fabiola was written, I love how her cousins were written, I especially love how Pri was written. I just cannot express how many feelings this book gave me. The way Fabiola merged her religion with all her new experiences and how it all felt both like a religiously flavoured interpretation as well as a real solid thing that was happening at the same time.

I'll probably add a more in depth review later

SO GOOD!!!

This biography, made up of poems, quotes, and brief biographical entries, gave me a sense of who Octavia Butler was and how she came to be the esteemed science fiction writer she was. I am not sure though who I could interest in reading this book, considering the youth I serve. It would have to be a very particular young person, a bit outside the mainstream of life as was Octavia.

2.5 stars

i feel like i wasn’t able to buy into darius and zuri being together even tho once they are it’s kinda cute. there’s also unresolved stuff like their fight at carrie’s party that just disappears and im like ?? wasn’t that kind of important that he acts like a whole different person around his white friends?? idk there were points i found zuri mildly annoying but overall it kept me entertained enough.

Wow! What a book Ibi Zoboi has written! Nigeria Jones is not merely a coming-of-age story, nor even a Black girl navigating a white world story, but the daughter of a noted Black revolutionary separatist leader discovering who she is in the world. Nigeria Jones has been homeschooled her entire life and is the leader of the Youth Group of her father's Movement. She knows everything there is to know about significant Black people in United States history, and she was raised learning about white oppression and racism. Her father is against all societal institutions, including schools and hospitals. Nigeria knows a great deal about many other things. She scores exceptionally high on any academic achievement tests. Her mother wants her to attend a highly regarded private school for which she attained a near-perfect score on the entrance exam. But her mother disappeared a year ago, leaving Nigeria to raise her baby brother. Nigeria also helps run her large home, which her father calls the Village House because they take in any Black person that needs help. The Movement is her life.
When Nigeria is accepted into the private Quaker school, her world is expanded in ways she never imagined. Attending the school is against her father's wishes, and going there exacerbates a family fight between her father and his sister's family. Nigeria must make many decisions about how she wants her life to progress from this point and fight for who she wants to be.
The author's style is very realistic. The story seems plausible and designed to make the reader, whether Black or white, think. The book is nearly 400 pages, and in the volume of content, it felt that long. However, the book was easy to read and did not feel lengthy. I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray for the ARC of this thought-provoking book.

3.5 stars. I actually expected this to be more about the experience of trying to get the mom released and Haitian culture than about the daughter's experiences living with her cousins.

Gorgeous book. You will most likely find this in the children’s section, but the poetry is really for readers of every age.

Amal Shahid is an aspiring artist and poet. Umi, his mother, is a fierce woman who is Amal’s strength during his trials. He is wrongfully convicted and expresses his experiences with the inequities of the judicial system. Anal documents the discrepancy between himself and his white counterpart.

Punching the Air is the story of a benevolent boy who fights for the truth through a system designed to suppress it. Because of Yusef Salaam’s similar experience with the judicial system; these poems are blunt, innovative, and powerful. Ethan and Ibi do an excellent job articulating the severity of the situation and depth of emotions. Punching the Air is a captivating young adult read that is reflective of current times.

This is a modern-day, Brooklyn-based, Afrolatinx YA retelling of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. I really liked this book. I loved picking up on all the twists on the original story (Benitez = Bennet, Charlize = Charlotte, Colin = Mr. Collins). It's actually a pretty close retelling, despite the modern Brooklyn setting. Zuri, who is Dominican and Haitian American, has such a strong, confident voice. She has dreams and goals and writes slam poetry. It was soul-affirming to have a(n Afro)latine protagonist and family star in this book; they all loved each other and were there for each other no matter what. I also loved the Madrina character, who as far as I can tell takes the role of the Bennets' aunt character. She's a warm and loving Boricua Santeria priestess who counsels Zuri on her problems. I didn't think Darius had the same character arc as Mr. Darcy, as his and Zuri's interactions weren't the same as Mr. Darcy's and Lizzie's. He just chilled out some and fixed his face. The first person present tense this book is written in will also put some readers off, but it does keep us firmly in Zuri's viewpoint as she is the narrator. Anyway, I really liked this book and you should read it.

Read the full review, including trigger warnings, at https://fileundermichellaneous.blogspot.com/2022/02/book-review-pride-pride-prej...

Crikey, that was an incredibly well written and important verse novel.

The way the imagery of the stones, bricks, dust and butterflies is so cleverly woven into the story to symbolise Amal's shifting emotional state was just amazing and so poignant.

I thoroughly recommend reading the text copy of the book as the word placement on the page is part of the story telling. A must read for the significance and importance of the topic and also to enjoy the experience of reading an incredibly well crafted verse novel.

I remember that feeling
of being in a dream
or a nightmare
as if this life isn't mine
as if I've stepped into the flesh and bones
of someone else pretending to be me
and I'm waiting for an opening
in the universe to pull me out of
this dream state
this smoky haze
this ghost of a body
that is not me

Love love love this book!!

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was perfection. Brought the emotion to life throughout the story.

Pride and Prejudice has always been a comfort read/watch for me. This spin on it was fantastic. Took all the themes I loved about the original and gave them a modern spin. The added poetry was one of my favorite parts. While a few scenes brought tears to my eyes, many made me laugh out loud.

I also love the commentary on gentrification, hit home as we watch it happen all over Austin. Zuri's growth throughout the book was raw/honest, and I couldn't help but be sucked into the emotional rollercoaster she was on.

You'll love this book if you love enemies to lovers, retellings and social commentary in your fiction.

Notes: Own Voice