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Author
Summary
"At fifteen, Victor Rios found himself a human target--flat on his ass amid a hail of shotgun fire, desperate for money and a place on the street. Faced with the choice of escalating a drug turf war or eking out a living elsewhere, he turned to a teacher, who mentored him and helped him find a job at an auto shop. That job would alter the course of his whole life--putting him on the road to college and eventually a PhD. Now, Rios is a rising star,...
Author
Summary
"The city of Salinas, California, is the birthplace of John Steinbeck and the setting for his epic masterpiece, East of Eden, but it is also the home of Nuestra Familia, one of the most violent gangs in the United States. Born in the prisons of California in the late 1960s, Nuestra Familia expanded to control drug trafficking and extortion operations throughout the northern half of the state, and left a trail of bodies in its wake. Award-winning journalist...
Author
Summary
The eldest son of El Salvadorian immigrants, Casey Diaz was brought to Los Angeles at the age of two. An abusive family life soon propels Casey out of his tiny apartment and into the world of street gangs. After a tough initiation, the Rockwood Street Locos welcome eleven-year-old Casey as their newest recruit. During the next few years, Casey sets out to prove he is willing to do anything to be number one. But years of chasing rival gang members...
8) Dodgers
Author
Summary
Beverly (On the Lam: Narratives of Flight in J. Edgar Hoover's America) makes his fiction debut with a dazzling crime novel that's equal parts coming-of-age tale à la Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and travelogue à la Kerouac. East, a 15-year old gang member from South L.A., sets out for Wisconsin with three other teenage boys at the behest of his uncle, on a mission to kill a key witness in an upcoming trial. Along for the ride is East's brother,...