This book is a novel.

It's the summer of 1975, and sensible seventeen-year-old Amy Monteiro longs for the freedom of college life in California.  But when her mom's beloved 1958 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe surrenders to a mortally wounded transmission in Colorado, it doesn't take long for Amy to realize that her insufferable, tiara-toting mom, Francie - former queen of the Sleepy Eye Corn Festival - is out of money and in no hurry to let go of her daughter.  In a time of great change, and in this small Colorado town, Amy will find herself caught up in the struggle between the past and present, young and old, geeks and jocks, hippies and the establishment, even life and death.  And during this one unforgettable summer, both mother and daughter will grow up.