Until They Bring the Streetcars Back - By Stanley Gordon West

This novel by Stanley Gordon West (Lexington-Marshall Publishing Bozeman, Montana 1997) takes place in St. Paul, MN in 1949. It is a historic realistic fictional novel and I think it would be a good one for high school students to read. It is easy to read, but has adult themes.

Summary:
Calvin Gant is a high school senior at Central and is a star athlete. He has a good group of friends and is in love with one of the girls in his group. His dad was somewhat psychologically damaged from the war and drives a streetcar in St. Paul. At the time, St. Paul had a wonderful streetcar system (I wish we still had that). His father cannot handle the fact that the city is tearing out the streetcars and switching to buses. His mother and sister are supportive, sweet people.
Cal's life changes when a girl at school tells him that her dad will beat her if she is late to be picked up. He can't believe it is true, but it turns out that the truth is much worse. Her father is extremely abusive in more ways than one. She confides in Cal, but makes him promise not to tell anyone. Cal ends up sacrificing his own safety, social standing, and high school diploma to save her and to keep his promise.

This book is full of moral decisions that have to be made. Once Cal hears how Gretchen is being abused, he can't just ignore it. She is in so much pain and he just wants her to be able to live a normal life. He ends up stealing from a store owner in order to frame Gretchen's father. He knew that if he just called the police that they wouldn't believe him and Gretchen would pay for it. He decided that it was okay to steal as long as he was going to return what he stole and that he was doing it to save someone.

Calvin's parents repeat the saying, "leave well enough alone." But, in the end, the characters couldn't leave it alone when there was suffering involved. Calvin rescued a rabbit that was being tortured and nursed it back to health and his sister continued to bring the rabbit carrots. His father ended up calling the humane society and reporting the neighbor who was torturing a dog. He was worried that somehow he could be fired from his job for doing this, but he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Calvin could not sit by while Gretchen was being tortured. It would have killed Gretchen if he hadn't done something about it.

I feel that students could have a wonderful conversation about this book. They could discuss whether Calvin did the right thing or what they would have done different. A conversation could be had that relates this topic to world politics and history. There are times when people know that someone, or a group of people, is being hurt and no one does anything to stop it. What are the moral implications of this? Is it okay to commit a crime if it is for a greater good?

There was also a theme of love throughout the book. Did Calvin really love Lola? Did she really love Calvin? In the end, Calvin said that his actions showed that he loved Gretchen. Is love in our actions? He ended up sacrificing his relationship with Lola for the safety of Gretchen. Her life was more important.

The streetcars and the relationship between them and Calvin's father is another interesting aspect of the book. Students could discuss how Calvin's thoughts on the streetcars changed through the book and the relevance of getting rid of perfectly good streetcars.

I think high school students would enjoy this book and that it could inspire some deep thinking and conversations.