Third and Indiana: A Novel

I recently attended a graduate class and heard this novel being discussed by high school teachers. Though the content and language are not appropriate for me (el ed), I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a consistently engaging read. I also saw many levels in the characters, and loved the foreshadowing and imagery. We live about 45 minutes away from Philadelphia and I was curious to see how much truth to real life the text was. I saw some reviews that claimed the book portrayed violence to an extreme, not surfacing the goodness of the city. Local news broadcasts reveal deaths and muggings daily. So, the reasons for the violence may not be the same as in the book, but I suspect it's not too far from the truth. For me, the goodness and beauty of the city developed through the characters. In reality, I would love to see someone do the bodies on the streets, every big city needs a wake-up call for peace and nonviolence, and sometimes nothing says that better than a visual. This is a book I highly recommend and will read again.

The plot of this book almost doesn't matter. What does matter is the beauty of the language--beautiful writing in it's most sublime form: the reader is immersed in the world of the book. As another reviewer stated, the usage and structure is a little unusual, but once the reader becomes accustomed to the unique style it becomes transparent. We are on the streets of Philadelphia. We are in the minds of the characters. What more could you possibly want in a novel?

This dark novel of the Philadelphia streets was not my first choice for vacation reading, but a fellow teacher whose judgment I respected suggested I read it. The writing is powerful and the street dialogue uncanny, as Lopez takes us through the darkness of drug dealing and violence with his unlikely 14 year old artist bathed in light. I've recommended it to all my friends, fellow teachers and students. Not only is it beautifully and compelling written, it's one hell of a good story.

I admit I am not an intellectually well read person, but I have never been so moved by a novel. I am a transplant to Philly and have lived here for a decade. I will never forget this book. By the time it ended, I felt I was living in this world. It made me realize the importance of our children in this world and what we should do to protect their vulnerabilty. It was an eye opener for me to see how easy it is to make a fatal wrong turn. This book will wake you up to reality in our cities. Months after I have read this novel, I still have moments of reflection when I am near this part of town. I wonder how many other children are in the same shoes as Gabriel. Thank you Steve Lopez for this experience.

Steve Lopez has a powerful voice, and "Third and Indiana" presents us with two characters, Gabriel and Eddie, who we won't soon forget. The scene near the beginning, when Eddie's flip chairs fly off the back of his truck on the expressway, is one of the funniest passages I've ever read. And his friendship with Gabriel, the sonless father and the fatherless son, is touching, but never maudlin--and always believable. Gabriel himself is someone we can completely believe, and like all great characters, he seems vaguely familiar to us, yet we can't remember where we met him before. An outstanding novel