Gouster Girl

Maybe because they are young and innocent, cute black Valerie Davis and nerdy white Jeffrey Stark are late to realize that falling in love on Chicago’s South Side in 1963 is a highly risky affair. Whites are fleeing as blacks move into formerly all-white communities like South Shore. Racial tensions are off the charts.

At first, Valerie and Jeff help each other out of tough racial fixes—he saves her from attack at an all-white amusement park and she saves him from injury in a racial brawl at school. But as their romance becomes more serious, so do the racial dangers.

This is a haunting story that foretells the seemingly intransigent problems of gang violence, police corruption, and failing schools that have overwhelmed much of the city.

"I found Gouster Girl fascinating and a marvelously evocative portrait of Chicago in the 60s. A compelling read."
--Alan Ehrenhalt, author of The Lost City: The Forgotten Virtues of Community in America

"Gouster Girl is a fascinating look at Chicago in the early sixties written from the perspective of a teenager who reflects the changing cultural events of his time. A compelling coming-of-age story, the book draws you in through its fine writing and well-observed details. I highly recommend it to readers who remember those times as well as those who want to know more."
--Carla Fine, author of No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One

"I especially appreciated that Gouster Girl doesn't idealize the characters' motivations, actions, or inner lives. They feel and behave like normal people who are trying to make a way while caught up in a great transformation that makes it hard for them to act decisively and effectively."
--Carlo Rotella, author of The World Is Always Coming to an End: Pulling Together and Apart in a Chicago Neighborhood