2006 book 89

adam langer's crossing california
hey, this book was pretty great. it focuses on some of the residents of a mostly-jewish chicago neighborhood in the late 70s and early 80s who are all interconnected and all going through various issues. i guess that makes it sound really serious and heady, but i actually read it in one sitting, so obviously it was entertaining (or, conversely, obviously i don't have much else to do with my sunday afternoons). the cast includes pot-smoking teens, politically aware pre-teens, a lovelorn adolescent filmmaker, a wannabe jewish-themed rock star, and a myriad of interesting adults as well. there's a weird movie-script-style portion in the back of the book that indicates a sequel exists, so i might have to hunt that down.