Dodgers

East is a sixteen year old, gang-banger, in South LA. He guards a drug house and has all ready become a seasoned street veteran. His uncle has a special job for him. Along, with three other gang members, he is given the task, to travel to Wisconsin and kill a key witness, who also happens to be a judge. They will travel by car, pay in cash and leave no paper trail.
Sounds easy enough, right? Well, no...Tagging along is East's younger brother, who at the tender age of thirteen, is a gunman and burgeoning psychopath and the whole mission, boils with tension and peril.
The real treat, in reading this exceptionally well-written crime novel, is all the unexpected turns it takes and continues to open new doors, until the very last page. What a show more terrific debut. Find a copy, ASAP. show less

This is a great literary crime novel that starts with 15-year-old African American Los Angeles gang member Easton witnessing police shutting down the house (crack house) for which he "works yard." In the melee, a young girl is caught in the crossfire, leaving an indelible scar on Easton's heart. East's uncle, Fin, is the boss of the business; Fin sends East, his younger brother Ty, and two other young gang members on a road trip to Wisconsin to murder a witness who is scheduled to testify in an upcoming trial. This sounds contrived, and perhaps it is, but the road trip develops into an honest coming-of-age story in which East meets and pushes his own limits and begins to find himself in the unlikeliest of places. The pacing of the novel show more is perfect: it's not a persistently thriller-paced novel with the singleminded goal of raising your heart rate. Oh, your heart rate should go up a time or two but interspersed with this edge-of-the-seat narrative is a thoughtful and compelling exploration of loyalty, choice-making, and the brutal art of growing up. I silently cheered at the ending. This required a conscious reminder not to let my internal cynic override the joy but, with that single caveat, this novel is highly recommended. show less

A modern crime classic in the tradition of Richard Price’s Clockers, Dodgers is the story of a youthful soldier in the south Los Angeles drug trade. East, a black 16-year-old, is a yardman for a drug house, which means he runs a team of younger boys who look out for approaching trouble, 24 hours a day. Somehow, trouble slips past them, and when the police converge on the house, sirens shrieking, East narrowly escapes. But before he flees, the curious younger girl who has approached him is caught in the crossfire and dies before his eyes, an innocent whose death he cannot shake.
After the raid, of course, the house is compromised, and the drug lord gives East a new assignment. He and three others are to drive to Wisconsin and kill a man show more about to testify in Los Angeles against one of the gang leaders. In the great American tradition of road trips, East heads east on a fateful journey with an ill-assorted group of companions: Michael Wilson, a self-assured, one-time UCLA student who thinks he’s by far the intellectual superior of the other boys; Walter, an overweight age-peer of East’s with an aptitude for electronic crime and a greater understanding of the big picture; and, unexpectedly, East’s younger brother Ty, a stone killer at age 13 whose internal dynamics East cannot begin to comprehend.
The interactions among the four are full of youthful wit and jockeying for position, even though the outcome of the journey is uncertain and potentially catastrophic. The last piece of advice they receive before leaving LA? “Don’t make no friends.”
The book takes its title from the boys’ purchases at the sports apparel store they visit before their departure. There they purchase shirts and caps emblazoned with the logos of the Los Angeles Dodgers, not because East or the others have ever cared about the team personally, but because “White people love baseball. White people love the Dodgers.”
The trip across America and the notice four young black men arouse among the residents of the middle-America states—and the fear of the notice they may arouse—are significant and compelling features of the plot. The nuanced depiction of East’s mental state makes for a rich and engaging reader experience.
Beverly is a teacher of American literature and writing at Trinity University in Washington, D.C., and the quality of his writing is a great strength of the book. Take this simple description: “There was a gas station. The lights in the cold made the cars gleam like licked suckers.” Any author who can conjure up an image like that deserves to be savored. show less

Dodgers by Bill Beverly is a beautifully written coming-of-age crime novel with grit, character and heart. The story follows the journey of East, an LA gang member, who, along with three other black teenagers, is on a mission to kill a witness in an upcoming trial. East has never been out of his neighbourhood and so this journey is eye-opening for him in many ways.

East, although only fifteen, is a leader. The others declare him “no fun” but they do respect him and mostly listen to him as he tries to keep them on task. The team consists of Ty, East’s psychotic half-brother who, at thirteen, is truly terrifying. Overweight Walter is smart, he knows how to manipulate both paperwork and people to his advantage. Finally, there is show more Michael, a college student who pushes drugs on campus, loves to enjoy life and has been sent on this job to give the group some shred of middle-class respectability. As they travel along, East’s control of the group is continually challenged by arguments, fights and the temptations that are met along the way.

I was absolutely enthralled by this book as the author’s descriptive writing and his ability to make these junior assassins spring to life moved the story along at a good pace. East is a unique character, an interesting blend of young and old, innocent and experienced, that you can’t help but feel an attachment for. Dodgers was an unforgettable road trip and a great read. show less

Why the foolish requirement to wear Dodger caps and shirts on their cross-country trip?

"I don't disagree," sighed Johnny. "What can I say? White people love baseball. White people love the Dodgers."

"What do I care what white people like?"

"Boy", Johnny said, "the world is made of white people. So you just pick out a nice hat."

Here's one with a teenage protagonist that will never be considered YA. 16 year old East is a watcher for an LA drug house, heading a team that looks out for any trouble. When hordes of police descend without warning, he's not blamed, but is expected to redeem himself by joining three other gang members on a cross-country trip with murder as its goal. He's joined by his wild younger brother Ty, overweight Walter show more who has some education and knows tech, and Michael, the oldest but least disciplined.

Despite his age, East is the most mature of all of them, and is expected to keep the team out of trouble and on task. "{T}hey respected him, for though he was young, he had none in him of what they hated most in themselves: their childishness. He had never been a child."

With new identities, they drive from LA to Wisconsin, experiencing a world previously unknown to the younger boys, sometimes puzzling, sometimes dangerous. What East has to do to maintain order is sometimes simple and sometimes complex. Despite the circumstances he is in, he has an innate decency and reluctance to harm, kill or steal unless there is no other choice.

The cover calls this a "crime novel", and that is true. But it is East, wise beyond his years, yet still an inexperienced boy, who pulls the reader through the pages. East, and the believable, ring true dialog, keep the pages zipping along. This is a surprisingly accomplished first novel that deserves the accolades it has been getting, and a romping good read to boot. show less

A thriller with depth, written in a style that is very intimate and innovative, resulting in one of the best reads of this year. This was Beverly’s first piece of fiction (and it seems he hasn’t produced any since!). It yielded him at least 4 literary awards including the prestigious CWA gold dagger. Yet it is no typical crime novel or thriller.

Rather it is a coming-of-age novel cum road movie of four black youngsters from LA performing a targeted assassination of a judge in Wisconsin who is about to testify against an LA drug lord, Fin, boss and stepdad to East (for Easton). East has just been witness to a police raid on a drug house under his guard. He could not help it, but Fin makes clear to East that he has to undertake a new show more job (the assassination) for him, if he wants to stay in business. The motley crew of youngsters assigned for this job, falls under East’s responsibility, though he had no say in its composition: There is the 22 year old Michael Wilson, the oldest hand, a duplicitous snitch who runs a drug network at UCLA for Fin; there is the young and fat Walter, who thinks of nothing but food, is chatty and turns out to be a computer geek cum ID fabricator; and to crown it all, there is East’s younger half brother (same mom, different dad) who acts like a sulking, yet trigger happy street gangster. And sure, almost from the word Go, things start going wrong.

Yet in the end the job gets done, and East wants out. Just when you think East has managed to achieve an opt-out, a ghost from the past gets back to him, and he is all set for the next step in his criminal career. Finger-licking good. show less

Four mismatched gang members are sent from LA to Wisconsin to murder a witness. This novel starts out like the great HBO Series The Wire, then morphs into a claustrophobic road story, before changing into something else entirely by the end. This is great writing from start to finish; the story draws you in from the first page and never lets go. The main character, East, a 15-year old in charge of keeping watch over a crack house (actually it has a larger menu than that) provides the focal point for a visceral tale that will have you strategizing along with the would-be murders, if not actually rooting for them. But what makes the book so good is the characters the author creates. East is the one with somewhat of a conscience--but also show more the most mission-focused. His little brother is a 13-year old assassin, and one of the scariest characters you'll come across. Walter, another traveling companion, is a vastly overweight computer wizard who will also surprise you by the end of the story. Things are not black and white in this story, they are all shades of dark grey, but the author draws some clear distinctions between the characters and their motivations. Without giving away anything, this is also a story of personal growth on the part of East, and his relationships with the others he meets after he leaves California are fascinating. There is so much good stuff here that many authors would tend to overdo it and mess it up, but Beverly knows when to stop. If you like noir and floating around in a morally ambiguous world, this novel is a real treat. I can't wait to see what this author does next show less