What it's Like Living During the California Riots

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Recently in independent reading I started All Involved by Ryan Gattis. All Involved is a realistic fiction novel that takes place in California in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots. The riots lasted six days and was caused by California police officers exerting unnecessary force against Rodney King who was an African American man. Due to all the riots that broke out Los Angeles was thrown into chaos. During this time the police were extremely busy managing the riots that they were no longer able to control the rest of the city. All Involved focuses on a specific instance where outside of the riots, gang violence occurred and effected innocent people.
Image result for all involved            At the beginning of All Involved, Ryan Gattis shows a good example of a brother who is killed because his brother is in a gang. Ernesto Vera starts off his day working at a taco truck. After work he heads home and is encountered by gang members who have a grudge against his brother. They then tie him to the back of their car and drag him around until he’s dead. Afterwards his sister finds out and the rest of his friends and family and they are devastated to say the least.
            One particular quote that strikes me is when Gattis writes, “They don’t understand what happens to people with no money who live in a neighborhood where crime is actually a viable career path when there are no other opportunities, and I’m not excusing it or condoning it or saying it can’t be avoided, but I’m saying that’s how it is.” I think this quote is particularly striking because it shows how some people’s views are shaped from the area they live in.

            Overall, I think that All Involved is a well written book and I would recommend it to most people because I think it gives a good insight on the California riots. It also covers a topic that I believe is important to learn about.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         -Lukas Perdekamp                                                                                                                                 


Comments

  1. JanakiSeptember 17, 2019 at 6:32 AM

    I really liked your review as you gave a lot of examples from the book to show the theme. I've never heard of the California Riots before so it was interesting to read about it. I think that the plot is very relevant to today's world, where people of color are still getting treated unfairly by policemen for minor crimes. I thought that the quote you interested was really eye-opening as people of color are often stereotyped as being lazy and not willing to work hard, but they do what they do as that's the only way for them to get out of the situation that they are in. Your review is solid. I would definitely read this book.

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  2. Ryan WangSeptember 20, 2019 at 6:13 AM

    I'm interested in whether or not the book has any more plot development. I understand that the Riots were only six days, but I want to know more about it, such as the overall plot. I've also never heard of the California Riots, which seem like a foreshadowing of the later Civil Rights Movement to come. Overall, your review is really interesting and I am looking forward to reading this book.

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  3. DanielSeptember 20, 2019 at 6:40 AM

    I find this explanation of the book very intriguing. Although prior to this, I had never heard about the California riots, the book seems very interesting. It seems interesting how the California riots also, in some sense, ruined the lives of innocent people. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this blog. Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sam October 17, 2019 at 8:33 PM

    I think that All Involved sounds like a good book to read if you enjoy learning about history but do not enjoy some of the less-interesting qualities of nonfiction autobiographies. Your review is well-rounded and makes good points on how violence affects people who were not even involved to begin with. This books seems good for enhancing overall knowledge of the consequences of corrupt law enforcement, as well as how history repeats itself--because violent situations like this are still going on today.

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