Halsey Street

By: Naima Coster

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

A modern-day story of family, loss, and renewal, Halsey Street captures the deeply human need to belong—not only to a place but to one another.

Penelope Grand has scrapped her failed career as an artist in Pittsburgh and moved back to Brooklyn to keep an eye on her ailing father. She's accepted that her future won't be what she'd dreamed, but now, as gentrification has completely reshaped her old neighborhood, even her past is unrecognizable. Old haunts have been razed, and wealthy white strangers have replaced every familiar face in Bed-Stuy. Even her mother, Mirella, has abandoned the family to reclaim her roots in the Dominican Republic. That took courage. It's also unforgivable.

When Penelope moves into the attic apartment of the affluent Harpers, she thinks she's found a semblance of family—and maybe even love. But her world is upended again when she receives a postcard from Mirella asking for reconciliation. As old wounds are reopened, and secrets revealed, a journey across an ocean of sacrifice and self-discovery begins.

An engrossing debut, Halsey Street shifts between the perspectives of these two captivating, troubled women. Mirella has one last chance to win back the heart of the daughter she'd lost long before leaving New York, and for Penelope, it's time to break free of the hold of the past and start navigating her own life.

©2018 Naima Coster (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Narrator Bahni Turpin's performance is gorgeous. Her voice has a texture that suits the nuances of the novel's plot: easy enough to absorb but with a depth and grittiness that make it interesting and real.... Well-written and beautifully read, Halsey Street is worth a stroll." (AudioFile)

Hard to like...

Bahni Turpin was amazing as always. Her narration made this a worthwhile purchase. the story, however, seemed unfinished. Penelope was hard to like...hard to feel sympathy for a girl like her. On the other hand, she has a difficult upbringing which seemed destined because her parents had never been "parented" themselves. I'd recommend because it's an interesting an complex story. Just wish there was more of a redemption for Penelope in the end.

Loved it!

Great story, family, love and history. The narration was great! Hope to find more from this author.

A Struggle

It took me about 7 hours into the story before I became interested in the books characters, and found that I really didn't like the main character at all, even as I understood that she, like her parent's, was a product of their upbringing.

Predictable

This is a story of a bitter daughter of divorced parents who finally realizes its her time to grow up and forgive. There are moments of literary beauty but the story is one you’ve heard before.

struggled to finish

great narration...however the climax was uneventful. written beautifully...felt like I was there. However, the characters were a bit too whinny about their issues for my tastes. Made their problems bigger than what it was.

Just ok.

The story seemed to just skim the surface of the characters' complicated relationships. Left characters feeling underdeveloped and shallow to me. Could not connect with any of them.

Don't do it

This was a really terrible book. It was the first all-out flop I've ever listen to on Audible. The story was very hard to enjoy and the main character was extremely difficult for me to sympathize empathize or understand. Narrator was great but overall the book is garbage. I kept waiting for it to get good and it just didn't.

Melancólica

Duro de escuchar pero emocionante en varios capítulos, muy humano y muchos temas explorados durante el relato

Unlikeable main character

This was the most unlikeable main character I’ve ever met. Penelope is selfish, emotionally immature, and inflexible in her beliefs. Her mother was equally hard to like even when reading from her POV. I like the narrator but I regret finishing this book. There was no resolution or character growth at all.

Confused

I really didn’t like Penelope, the lead character. I couldn’t find a way to forgive her hatefulness to her mother. I didn’t understand Mirella either, but at least she tried at the end, and Penelope was either so hateful or so hurt she couldn’t get beyond the past. I guess it’s true that hurt people, hurt people.Confusing ending as well.