Summary

For as much as Lola feels herself changing in ways that now give her confidence to stare down the boys ogling and teasing her, and knows that there is a wild spirit inside her straining to run free, she is still unable to shake the fear, self-doubt and sense of duty that she feels under Mami's grip. As an early step of rebellion, Lola begins hanging around with Karen Cepeda, infamous around Paterson for her pale, androgynous goth look. Before long, Lola impulsively decides to have Karen cut her own long, beautiful hair into an intentionally provocative punk style. Mami's temper and reprobation are well-known to Karen, who is shocked at Lola's audaciousness to stoke the tensions already at home. Mami reacts predictably to Lola's change in appearance and their mutual antagonism escalates, and Lola stubbornly refuses to yield to sympathy for her...