The El

A Novel

By: Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

Narrated by: Michael Beck, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Nile Bullock, Mekhi Hewling, Josh Heathcock, Phil Gilbert, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Nathan Nonhof, Giordan Diaz, Ryan Negron, Leraldo Anzaldua, Mark Sanderlin, Amir Royale, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai

WINNER OF THE CHIRBY FICTION AWARD • From the co-editor of the bestselling anthology Never Whistle at Night, a semi-autobiographical novel that follows a group of teenage gang members as they trek across Chicago to a momentous meeting, inspired by the cult classic The Warriors

“Cool and real as hell.” —Tommy Orange, bestselling author of There There

An ordinary day in August 1979 dawns hot and humid in Chicago. Teenager Teddy is living with his dad after being kicked out of his mom’s house due to his gang activity. But Teddy has thrived in the Simon City Royals, and today, he'll be helping to lead a posse of the group's younger members south across the city to Roosevelt High School to attend a gathering of gangs forming “the Nation”—a bold new attempt at joining forces across racial lines. This holds particular importance for Teddy, as his branch’s only Indigenous member.

But when the meeting breaks up in gunshots and police sirens, Teddy must guide the Royals back across hostile territory, along secret routes and back alleys, and stop by stop on the thundering tracks of the El. In the face of violence from rival gangs and a secret Judas in the Royals’ ranks, Teddy is armed only with a potent combination of book smarts and street smarts, and by the guiding spirit of Coyote, who has granted him the power to glimpse a future only he may survive to see.

Immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of the author’s beloved city, The El will transport you to that singular sun- and blood-soaked day in Chicago. It is a love letter to another time, to a city, and to a group of friends trying to find their place and make their way in a world that doesn’t want them.

Chicago Love Letter

This is the best book of 2025 in my opinion. Brilliant in its pace, plot devices and character development. Certainly the protagonist, Teddy is a juggernaut. The reader is allowed to decode Teddy’s inner monologue, as juxtaposed to his conversations with his “set” and others. His thoughts are vivid and insightful. He conveys this to his fellow Royals in small interstitials almost approaching parables. His “disciples” follow him to the ends of the earth precisely because he projects an other worldly almost detached quality. He is such a well written character. Even when he is at his worst you still care for him. You want him to rise above this…but to what? This world wasn’t made for Teddy, but he bends it to his will, with the occasional interventions of Coyote of course.
I truly appreciated every word of this book. I’d say it could have been longer, but what could the author have possibly added? The colorful and at times foreboding description of 1970’s Chicago sat with me like an Old Style and a Demon Dog. Highly recommend.

Fantastic Tell

Riveting from start to finish. Definitely time well spent to get a peek inside a world that cannot be forgotten. Have a seat, listen up and go there