The El
A Novel
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CHIRBY AWARD IN FICTION • From the co-editor of the bestselling anthology Never Whistle at Night, a semi-autobiographical novel that follows a group of teenage gang members as they trek across Chicago to a momentous meeting, inspired by the cult classic The Warriors
“Cool and real as hell.” —Tommy Orange, bestselling author of There There
An ordinary day in August 1979 dawns hot and humid in Chicago. Teenager Teddy is living with his dad after being kicked out of his mom’s house due to his gang activity. But Teddy has thrived in the Simon City Royals, and today, he'll be helping to lead a posse of the group's younger members south across the city to Roosevelt High School to attend a gathering of gangs forming “the Nation”—a bold new attempt at joining forces across racial lines. This holds particular importance for Teddy, as his branch’s only Indigenous member.
But when the meeting breaks up in gunshots and police sirens, Teddy must guide the Royals back across hostile territory, along secret routes and back alleys, and stop by stop on the thundering tracks of the El. In the face of violence from rival gangs and a secret Judas in the Royals’ ranks, Teddy is armed only with a potent combination of book smarts and street smarts, and by the guiding spirit of Coyote, who has granted him the power to glimpse a future only he may survive to see.
Immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of the author’s beloved city, The El will transport you to that singular sun- and blood-soaked day in Chicago. It is a love letter to another time, to a city, and to a group of friends trying to find their place and make their way in a world that doesn’t want them.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Van Alst's vivid debut chronicles a momentous day in the life of a Chicago gang in 1979. The narrative follows the Simon City Royals' crosstown trek to a meeting where they plan to strike a treaty with rival gangs. Teddy, a Native teen and warlord for the Royals, guides the gang from their usual haunts to the meeting at Roosevelt High School on the El train, advising them to scatter if they see the cops and claim to live at a local address if they're stopped. After getting off the train, they encounter a few members of a rival gang, but the Royals' number advantage makes the fight an easy win for them. They meet up with the Central Park and Wilson crew and hang out with them before the big meeting, reveling in both the similarities and differences of their gangs from opposite ends of Chicago. Meanwhile, one of Teddy's fellow gang members secretly angles to wrest control from him. The author conjures a gritty and colorful view of late-1970s Chicago with realistic dialogue and well-rounded characters. Readers looking for slow-burn action will devour this.
