At first glance, Leslie (Les) Lewis looks like any other seventeen-year-old high school senior in Kentucky, but she’s not—she’s different. Part of the difference stems from her holiness upbringing and the twenty-plus venomous snakes living in her basement; however, her religion and the snakes are not what differentiate her the most. That would be her secret sin. Four years ago, something happened to Les that changed her from being an outgoing, carefree, dress-wearing, thirteen-year-old to being the guarded, mature, jeans-wearing tomboy she is today. Tormented day and night by this secret, she lives in fear of her sin being exposed. So far, she’s been successful in keeping everything under wraps until she meets and falls for the new good-looking young gym teacher—Coach Zuzeca (Z). Coach Z is a member of the Lakota Sioux Indian tribe and has his own secrets. When Les and Z get together in this forbidden romance, their cultures, religions, and secrets collide. The outcome is a slithering mess.

Chronicles Asian Americans' fight for equality and political inclusion in the United States during the late twentieth century, exploring how the movement brought about surprising social change in ethnic neighborhoods across the country and how it influenced Asian American art, literature, and culture.

"Snake Hips" follows an Arab-American woman through her adventures in love and belly dancing.