NOVEL
For a 16-year-old, living in a Mennonite community is like being grounded for eternity: Dancing, rock music, movies, makeup and cavorting after 9 p.m. are no-nos. Calling it the "most embarrassing sub-sect of people to belong to if you're a teenager," the gently rebellious Nomi Nickel is left behind when her older sister and nonconformist mother flee the fictional town of East Village. Living with her loopy father, Ray, whose nocturnal hobby is reorganizing the town dump, Nomi experiments with rite-of-passage misdeeds (smoking dope, drinking alcohol, playing Led Zeppelin) that will guarantee her a spot in the Mennonite sector of hell. Offering incisive reflections on life, death and Lou Reed, the black-sheep Nomi is clearly wise beyond her years, and her voice is unique. The road to anywhere else may be rough for her, but her angst-ridden journey is unforgettable.
