The Coolest Labels: a Miami novel

Miami. 1992.
Johnette Derringer rode out Hurricane Andrew at ground zero in Homestead, Florida.

Her town and high school destroyed, Johnette and hundreds of other scholastic refugees head north to attend Root High in a swanky area of Miami less-affected by the storm.

At Root, Johnette embarks on a documentary film project about student life at what’s become the largest and most diverse public high school in Miami in the wake of the most destructive hurricane to make landfall in US history.

Armed with a Sony Handycam, Johnette embeds herself with the school’s most colorful characters, each with a troubled past rooted in Miami’s tumultuous history.

Through her camera’s lens, Johnette realizes the underlying strife that binds Root’s students and sees the spark that could set the school ablaze with anarchy. The question she keeps asking herself is can the imminent uprising be quelled before it turns deadly?