“Ibi Zoboi’s National Book Award Finalist, My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich delivers in so many ways.” — Chelsea Villareal, member of Latinx in Publishing.
Set in Harlem during the summer of 1984, Ebony-Grace Norfleet is a young, aspiring space captain. Raised in Huntsville, Alabama with her mother and grandfather, Jeremiah Norfleet, one of the first black engineers to work at NASA, Ebony is thrown for a loop when she’s told she’ll be spending her summer in Harlem with her father.
Although she’s spent time in Harlem before, this time it’s different. Her best friend Bianca Perez isn’t feeling her aeronautical discoveries, imaginary and created with the support of her grandfather’s love for Star Trek and Star Wars. As Ebony-Grace struggles to maintain friendships in the streets of Harlem, where Double-Dutch, hip hop, and break dancing rule the day, she’s frustrated by the lack of her friends’ “Imagination Location.”
As the story plays out, the reader finds a connection to Ebony, in relating to and identifying with home and what it means to truly find yourself outside of your comfort zone, but engaged in a truly exciting scene of discovery. One can only fantasize about coming of age in Harlem during the mid-80s where passion was contagious and the arts were unlike anything seen before it.
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich explores the notion of identity with intersectionality as its foundation, consistently highlighting and questioning the importance of individuality, while also presenting the importance of community. And most importantly, through this readers’ opinion, it champions inclusivity. While our southern, sci-fi nerd protagonist feels at odds with her free-rhyming, posing “No Joke City” friends, she finds acceptance and belonging. Perhaps not the belonging she initially drafted in her mission to outer-space, Ebony-Grace belongs in a new, uncharted journey of what it means to feel the beginning of coming of age.
An exquisite and beautifully written novel, Ibi Zoboi tackles a broken but beautiful Harlem and all that comes with it; the never-fading Apollo Theater, the hustle and bustle of 125th street and the never stop stopping of a beloved universe inside of New York City.
Chelsea Villareal is a Mexican American Children’s Media Strategist from Portland, Oregon – Hey Cascadians! She holds a BUPA in Political Science & Media Studies from Portland State University, attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute and is currently enrolled in her Masters at Columbia University. She works on the Brand Marketing team at Penguin Young Readers and holds down the role of Program Manager at We Need Diverse Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and two crazy, lazy feline beasts.
