Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick 353 pages

Amber refuses to feel like she has hit rock bottom despite her rather stark living conditions. She lives in the school bus that her mother drives part-time. She has a dog, Billy Big Boy that she adores, and an odd assortment of friends, the Franks Freaks Force Federation and her students, the KDFC (Korean Divas for Christ). She visits a nursing home where she engages in an insult contest with Old Man Linder. She trades haikus with a reclusive Vietnam vet. Honestly, I don't remember meeting another character quite like Amber. When the ultimate tragedy strikes, her friends help pick her off the ground with a "let's get the gang together and put on a show!!!!" finale. Sorta unforgettable.