Young And Violent

by Vin Packer

Gober Gonzalves is the leader of a teenage gang known as the 'Kings of the Earth.' This week he is planning to rumble over a girl he no longer cares for. Red Eyes de Jarro is a member of the gang, as is Tea Bag Perrez. Red Eyes writes song lyrics and dreams of a better life. Tea Bag shoots heroin and just dreams. They are Gober's lieutenants, ready to follow him anywhere. Flat Head Pontiac is the leader of a rival gang called the Jungles. Flat Head has a dream as well, a dream of glory. He's the one who has forced the rumble on Gober, giving him no choice - you don't punk out when someone makes a pass at your girl, whether you care about her or not. She's yours. Everyone understands that. If only Gober could make Dolores, the girl he really loves, understand as well. If only they could walk away from it - if only it were that easy.

146 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Marijane Meaker (born May 27, 1927) is an American novelist and short story writer in several genres using different pen names. From 1952 to 1969 she wrote twenty mystery and crime novels as Vin Packer, including Spring Fire which is credited with launching the genre of lesbian pulp fiction (although few of Packer's books address homosexuality or feature gay characters). Using her own observations of lesbians in the 1950s and 1960s, she wrote a series of nonfiction books as Ann Aldrich from 1955 to 1972. In 1972 she switched genres and pen names once more to begin writing for young adults, and became quite successful as M.E. Kerr, producing over 20 novels and winning multiple awards, including the American Library Association's lifetime award for young-adult literature (Edwards Award). She was described by The New York Times Book Review as "one of the grand masters of young adult fiction." As Mary James, she has written four books for younger children.

Regardless of genre or pen name, Meaker's books have in common complex characters that have difficult relationships and complicated problems, who rail against conformity. Meaker said of this approach, "I was a bookworm and a poetry lover. When I think of myself and what I would have liked to have found in books those many years ago, I remember being depressed by all the neatly tied-up, happy-ending stories, the abundance of winners, the themes of winning, solving, finding — when around me it didn't seem that easy. So I write with a different feeling when I write for young adults. I guess I write for myself at that age."

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to believe that this was written by the same author as Come
Destroy Me. The writing style is wildly different. This is the real
Westside Story without the singing and dancing. It's the early 1950's
and the Kings of the Earth are squaring off against the Jungles led by
Flathead Pontiac. Word on the Street is that Pontiac is gonna make a
play for Babe, the girlfriend of the King of Kings, Rigoberto Gonsalves.
There is gonna be a rumble after the dance. The story is quite intense
and you really get a feel for how these kids lived. Great stuff.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable novel about teenage gangs in New York City by Marijean Meaker using the pseudonym Vin Packer.