Crashing America - A homeless queer teen escapes San Francisco for the American heartland, longing for a sense of home

Crashing America by Katia Noyes

For 17-year-old queer street-punk Girl, the gutters of San Francisco are home. But when her best friend dies, she escapes the city for the heartland, in search of a place where she can breathe again.

Torn between her restlessness, a longing for home, and a desperate fear of impending death, Girl seeks to link herself with almost anyone who crosses her path: a bored housewife in Salt Lake City casting a net for illicit thrills, a born-again Christian punk rocker and his girlfriend, a teenage waitress living in a small town with a horizon so endless Girl is terrified to leave her motel room.

On a farm in Nebraska with her old friend Randa, Randa’s boyfriend Bill, and Bill’s extended family, Girl finds something that seems close to what she is seeking. But as the corn harvest progresses, what at first looked like salvation becomes something darker, and Girl hits the road in a stolen car headed for Memphis and one last chance for survival.

This book was included in the American Library Association's 2008 Rainbow List. Add your review of "Crashing America" in comments.