The Misadventures of Pinky

In 1969, a week before her fifteenth birthday, rebellious and incorrigible Pinky runs away from her northern Virginia home. Meeting up with a band of free spirits, she quickly finds herself in California and a heap of trouble. Not that Pinky hasn't been in trouble before-she's been numbing her pain with pot, alcohol, and self-mutilation for some time.

Born while her parents were still teenagers themselves, Pinky moved from one home to another over the course of her short life, leaving her emotionally distant and guarded. Ask her, and she'll tell you she lost all hope long ago, especially after the events of the previous year.

Hope, however, is a resilient quality, given to sprouting in the strangest of situations. Confined to Belle Air, a state reform school for girls, Pinky tentatively begins forging friendships with fellow inmates and re-examining her life. Her progress is nurtured and guided by a caring English teacher, who encourages the young woman to explore her emotions through writing.

An often disturbing depiction of a young life gone wrong, The Misadventures of Pinky suggests hope is never truly extinguished, no matter what fate throws in your way.