• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2022 May #2
  Sociologist Venkatesh (Floating City, 2013) has spent decades studying communities in Chicago's South Side and writing about the topic. Successfully capturing his years of ethnographic research in relatable prose, this gripping work of narrative nonfiction reads like a novel. The story centers on two Chicago teens: Frankie, who is tasked with running his imprisoned cousin's drug ring, and Marshall, who is tired of being picked on by Frankie. To prove his worth to his cousin and his new underlings, Frankie decides he and his crew are going to beat down Marshall and his friends. Meanwhile, to put an end to the onslaught of harassment, Marshall plots his own attack on Frankie. The two groups of teens work to arm themselves and evade law enforcement and community suspicion. Are they on a guaranteed collision course, or can the teens and their community work to avoid a life-shattering altercation? Venkatesh keeps the pace moving briskly without skimping on the complexity of his subjects. Readers of crime fiction and social science nonfiction will be gripped by his telling. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.
• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2022 May #2
  Sociologist Venkatesh (Floating City, 2013) has spent decades studying communities in Chicago's South Side and writing about the topic. Successfully capturing his years of ethnographic research in relatable prose, this gripping work of narrative nonfiction reads like a novel. The story centers on two Chicago teens: Frankie, who is tasked with running his imprisoned cousin's drug ring, and Marshall, who is tired of being picked on by Frankie. To prove his worth to his cousin and his new underlings, Frankie decides he and his crew are going to beat down Marshall and his friends. Meanwhile, to put an end to the onslaught of harassment, Marshall plots his own attack on Frankie. The two groups of teens work to arm themselves and evade law enforcement and community suspicion. Are they on a guaranteed collision course, or can the teens and their community work to avoid a life-shattering altercation? Venkatesh keeps the pace moving briskly without skimping on the complexity of his subjects. Readers of crime fiction and social science nonfiction will be gripped by his telling. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.

Sudhir Venkatesh is the author of Floating City and Gang Leader for a Day, a New York Times bestseller that received a best book of the year award from The Economist. He has been a Columbia University Professor, a Director of Safety teams at Facebook and Twitter, and a Senior Advisor to the Department of Justice. Venkatesh’s writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The Washington Post. He lives in New York City.