This story is a 1987 PEN/Discovery Prize Winner selected by Joyce Carol Oates.
The '80s was an era of cute boy bands and singers. Prince, Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears, and The New Edition were just some of the few that made girls swoon. Urban gangs were descending on small-town America. Hattiesburg Mississippi was just such a town. “The Folks” from up north brought their drugs and gang symbols. They also caught the eye of Della and her friend Thelma, a couple of teen girls coming of age. Della falls madly in love with Cheeseburger while he pays her scant attention. What happens when her fantasies take over her heart? Can she face an unpleasant reality?
