Rose of No Man's Land

When we were in San Francisco, I went to Michelle Tea's reading for Rose of No Man's Land. Now that I've read it, the catering by Hot Dog On A Stick makes a lot more sense.

Rose of No Man's Land is one of those rare books that shows the life of working class lesbians. Tired of reading about people with fabulous lives doing fabulous things while wearing stunning fashions, this was a good change of pace. Fourteen-year-old Trisha is an alcoholic and no adult around her seems to care. The mother is a couchbound hypochondriac and the mother's boyfriend is an unambitious thief. The best thign Trisha can say for him is that he hasn't molested her. Her older sister is wrapped up in a fantasy of becoming a reality TV star and wants to make Trisha over as a girly girl - goals that are misguided and doomed to failure. When Trisha fails spectacularly at being a mall girl, she runs into Rose, who works at a low end foodcourt place a lot like Hot Dog On A Stick. Rose is everything Trisha wants to be - tough, confident, and a genuine loner. Rose and Trisha take off for the seaboard, a short trip that blows Trisha's small world wide open. With quick drama that only teenagers seem to be able to stomach, Trisha crushes on Rose, has her first sexual experience, feels betrayed, and breaks up all in one day. Anyone who has been a teenager can relate. But it makes you glad you're grown up now.