Until They Bring The Streetcars Back

Until They Bring The Streetcars Back

by Stanley Gordon West

West, S. G. (1997). Until they bring the streetcars back  . Bozeman, Mont.: Lexington-Marshall Pub..

Grade Level: 6-10

Genre: Fiction

Until They Bring The Streetcars Back is the story of Cal Gant's senior year of high school in St.Paul, Minnesota in 1949. Cal seems like an average senior in high school with some family problems and girl problems until he meets Gretchen Luttermann. When he meets Gretchen, he is quickly entrusted with her deepest secret, and is thrust into a life that he never would have expected. Gretchen is in grave danger, and Cal is the only one who can save her from her tortured life.

 
This book has some very heavy issues including: incest, rape, abuse, teen pregnancy, death, teen relationships, and crime. Cal and Gretchen go through a lot together in this book. I would only use this book with my most mature students, and only if I sent a note and maybe a copy of the book home with parents. Literature is a good way to bring up these tough topics in a classroom, and these tough topics would give way to some great discussion that would most definitely develop the critical thinking skills of students. These discussions would have to be closely monitored by adults, as they could get out of hand, and there might be lots and lots of questions. 

Teachers have used this book as early as 6th grade. I would not feel comfortable using this book any earlier than 8th or 9th grade, and only then with close monitoring by the teacher and parents.

A great activity to do with this book is “Container with a Lid”. Container with a Lid is a reader response activity that gets students thinking about themes and characters. After reading the novel students will fill a container with ten found objects representing a character or theme in a book. This will be shared with the class or their book group.