Fresh Girl — Jaira Placide

MARDI DESRAVINE was born, in New York but raised in her grandmother's house in Haiti while her parents worked in America. When a coup d'etat forces Mardi and her sister to flee to Brooklyn to live with parents they hardly know, Mardi becomes a city girl who savors sweet memories of Haiti. Fitting in at school and in the neighborhood takes courage and smarts, attitude that makes her a "fresh girl" at home. But no matter what she does to adapt to her new life, Mardi is haunted by secret memories of the coup, memories that become harder to ignore, especially when her beloved Uncle Perrin suddenly reappears.

In this vivid, touching first novel, memorable characters offer a new glimpse of what "coming to America" asks of immigrants, and show how family love can build a bridge from world to world.