Dive headfirst into the seedy underbelly of 1990s Chicago with Sherry Wood's Sugar in the Raw. Josie, fresh off the bus from North Carolina at 18, lands in the grungy, menacing chaos of Boystown, where nights bleed into mornings and rock stars and hustlers play the same stages. She meets Jack, a beautiful teenage runaway with eyes that have seen too much, a knack for survival, and a viciously twisted pimp looming in the shadows. Told through a dizzying, alternating narrative, Josie and Jack's story is a wild dance through a world of lost souls clinging to each other in a maelstrom of lust, lyrics, and liberation. Wood's prose pulses with raw energy, capturing the savage beauty of a youth culture high on the brink of oblivion. Sugar in the Raw seizes an electric moment in time, where feverish dreams crash into stark realities and a feral youth orchestra bangs out a raw symphony of desire and defiance. For those who crave stories that explode with a romance that burns through the darkness, this novel promises a relentless journey into the vivid nights of a bygone world. Brace yourself for an unforgettable plunge into the depths of human passion and resilience.