“An exhilarating debut novel” (R.O. Kwon, The New York Times Book Review ) about the daughter of Afghan refugees and her year of self-discovery—a portrait of the artist as a young woman set in a Berlin that can’t escape its history A girl can get in almost anywhere, even if she can’t get out. SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION • LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • A BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: TIME , Electric Lit, The Skinny “A no-bullsh*t, must-read debut.”—Kaveh Akbar “Kaleidoscopic, full of style and soul.”—Raven Leilani “Aber writes with . . . masterful precision.”—Leila Lalami, The Atlantic "Once in a blue moon a debut novel comes along, announcing a voice quite unlike any other, with a layered story and sentences that crackle and pop, begging to be read aloud. Aria Aber’s splendid Good Girl introduces just such a voice . . . Aber, an award-winning poet, strikes gold here, much like Kaveh Akbar did in last year’s acclaimed Martyr! "— Los Angeles Times In Berlin’s artistic underground, where techno and drugs fill warehouses still pockmarked from the wars of the twentieth century, nineteen-year-old Nila at last finds her tribe. Born in Germany to Afghan parents, raised in public housing graffitied with swastikas, drawn to philosophy, photography, and sex, Nila has spent her adolescence disappointing her family while searching for her voice as a young woman and artist. Then in the haze of Berlin’s legendary nightlife, Nila meets Marlowe, an American writer whose fading literary celebrity opens her eyes to a life of personal and artistic freedom. But as Nila finds herself pulled further into Marlowe’s controlling orbit, ugly, barely submerged racial tensions begin to roil Germany—and Nila’s family and community. After a year of running from her future, Nila stops to ask herself the most important question: Who does she want to be? A story of love and family, raves and Kafka, staying up all night and surviving the mistakes of youth, Good Girl is the virtuosic debut novel by a celebrated young poet and, now, a major new voice in fiction. “[An] exhilarating debut novel . . . Aber has published astonishing poems I’ve read dozens of times. It’s thrilling to see her turn major poetic gifts toward the sweep of this Künstlerroman.” —R. O. Kwon, The New York Times Book Review “Open Good Girl to any page and you’ll be immediately arrested by the haunting beauty of her work and the way desire pushes against the seams of despair.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post “[An] impressive debut . . . Aber writes with the masterful precision of an archivist.” —The Atlantic “Stunning . . . truly a poet’s novel, replete with sparkling prose.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “An astonishing and compelling book.” —Harper’s Bazaar “Breathtaking . . . a must-read about the complexities of Afghan sexuality, family, shame, poverty and power.” —The Guardian “Delicious, propulsive reading.” —Vogue “Aber’s ear for the immigrant/first generation experience, especially those who hail from “Othered” countries, is pitch perfect, as is her nuanced and revealing depiction of the struggles that Nila faces.” —Brooklyn Rail “a must-read for those seeking a raw, honest portrayal of the immigrant experience . . . a significant new voice in contemporary literature” —Medium “This book made me feel alive.”— Ayşegül Savaş, The Millions “I love reading a poet’s fiction . . . One gets to have it all in such a case: at the line level, the plot level, and the novel as a whole, it’s a marvel.” —Literary Hub “A striking debut.” —Financial Times “A wild ride of youth, excess and self-discovery.” —Service95 Book Club “A complex, multidimensional story—not only a coming-of-age but a poetic journey.” —Electric Lit “An extraordinary book.” —Interview “A stunning coming-of-age story . . . a remarkable achievement.” —Publishers Weekly , starred review “Juicy and vibrant and moving.” —Jami Attenberg (Craft Talk) “I disappeared into the many overlapping and colliding worlds of this book and emerged with a glistening, vibrating, beautifully exhausted heart. . . . I loved this book.” —Leslie Jamison, author of Splinters “Aber’s ear is so remarkably good you hardly even notice she’s building this great symphony of textures, mosaics within mosaics.” —Kaveh Akbar “Rarely have the wildness and bewilderment of youth been conveyed with such richly textured heat.” —Garth Greenwell, author of Small Rain “Good Girl charts with more precision and poetry than any novel I know the heavy inheritance that children of immigrants carry. . . . I only put this novel down to marvel at its prose.” —Fatima Farheen Mirza, author of A Place for Us “In Good Girl, pleasure is textured, surprising, and treated with utter seriousness.” —Raven Leilani, author of Luster “A novel to be transported and moved by . . . [a] portrait of a young Muslim artist finding her way.” —Sarah Thankam Mathews,