Homeschooled, affluent, and sheltered, 17-year-old Hazel takes a summer job clearing ivy from the forest in Portland, Oregon, the only plan is to earn some extra cash to put toward concert tickets. Hazel soon finds that working side by side with at-risk teens leaves no room for comforting illusions of equality and understanding that was her reality up till now. This uncomfortable and compelling memoir is an important story of a teen's awakening to the racial insularity of the upper class, the power of white privilege, and the hidden history of segregation in Portland.