New York: Riverhead Books, (1997.) dj. Hardcover first edition - African American author's first novel (preceded by plays and short stories), a coming of age story set in a small town in 1970s Georgia and in Los Angeles. Dust jacket praise from Tina McElroy Ansa who called it "funny, unsettling, enthralling." 210 pp. ISBN: 1-57322-0639.