Fabiola Toussaint might have been born in America, but she’s lived in Port-au-Prince almost all her life. Now, she and her Manman are returning to the States at last. Armed with an invitation from her aunt in Detroit, she’s determined to build une belle vie — a good life, richer in possibilities than the one she left behind in Haiti.

But Immigration detains Manman as soon as they land in JFK, and Fabiola is forced to fly on to Detroit alone, unable even to cry as the vastness of America passes beneath her. Her aunt Marjorie, she knows, lives on the intersection of American Street and Joy Road. What she doesn’t know is how to fit in with her three American cousins— and when she’ll see her mother again.

Shortlisted for the National Book Award, American Streetis an elegant, deeply moving debut that mines Pushcart nominee Ibi Zoboi’s own experiences growing up as a Haitian-American immigrant. With subtle characterization and a vivid sense of place, it’s already emerged as a contemporary classic.