Helena has just started her freshman year at SUNY Albany. She’s not sure if college is for her, and Albany is a far cry from her home in Brooklyn. She spends a lot of time on the campus bus, which drives through downtown Albany and back again.
She meets Henry on a bus ride one day. He seems to be a bit of a drifter like her, and talks a lot about following in Jack Kerouac’s footsteps and heading to California. Henry invites her to move in with him and another friend, and she finds a job waiting tables to make enough money to go out west with Henry.
Waiting tables introduces her to Sonya, a fellow waitress who encourages Helena to flirt with the customers to get better tips. And when Charlie, a wealthy older man, takes an interest in Helena, she convinces her to go out with him so she can benefit financially.
While Charlie would be her ticket to getting enough money to leave with Henry, Helena is torn. She has an on-again, off-again fling with Tommy, her other roommate, but she never seems to know where she stands with him. How can she find the courage to forge her own path without having to rely on someone who wants to take more from her than she’s willing to give?
I found this to be a surprisingly emotional read at times. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Helena was as young as she was, but she had just finished her freshman year of college. She was a really dynamic character despite her immaturity at times and her indecisiveness.
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