Growing Up Chicago

by Dave Schaafsma (Editor), Lauren DeJulio Bell (Editor), Roxanne Pilat (Editor)

Growing Up Chicago is a collection of coming-of-age stories that reflects the diversity of the city and its metropolitan area. Primarily memoir, the book collects work by writers who spent their formative years in the region to ask: What characterizes a Chicago author? Is it a certain feel to the writer's language? A narrative sensibility? The mention of certain neighborhoods or locales? While the authors represented here write from distinct local experiences, some universals emerge, including the abiding influence of family and friends and the self-realizations earned against the background of a place sparkling with promise and riven by inequality, a place in constant flux.

The stories evoke childhood trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, nighttime games of ringolevio, and the giant neon Magikist lips that once perched over the expressway, sharing perspectives that range from a young man who dreams of becoming an artist to a single mother revisiting her Mexican roots, from a woman's experience with sexual assault to a child's foray into white supremacy. This book memorably explores culture, social identity, and personal growth through the eyes of Chicagoans, affirming that we each hold the ability to shape the places in which we live and write and read as much as those places shape us.

Genres: Short Stories, Essays

280 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2022

About the author

Dave Schaafsma is a Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he directs the Program in English Education. He teaches courses in English teaching methods, and literature. He's the author or co-editor of six books and is in the process of writing more, but I am not here on Goodreads to promote my writing; this is a reading site.

I guess I should say that I almost never accept friend requests from folks who do not review or almost never review. Nothing personal, but that is what "following" is for. I mean, you don't have to be my friend to like my reviews or comment on them, but if you never share any of your thoughts via reviews of books you've read, then it feels like a kinda one-sided friendship, right?

I can also say that once in a while I clear out my friends list if I can see we never connect in any way. Again, nothing personal. Happy reading!

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

2/27/24: Read stories from the book in a couple classes, YAL and a grad class where I and one c0-editor Roxanne Pilat zoomed in authors and long-time teachers Jessie Ann Foley and Tony Romano to talk about the purposes of and strategies to help students (or anyone) to write neighborhood stories from diverse perspectives.

8/28/23: Reading with my class focused on this topic. Students read and write growing up stories. Three other area teacher friends are also teaching the book and similar classes with me.

Growing Up Chicago! It’s been a privilege to co-edit this volume, along with Roxanne Pilat and Lauren DeJulio Bell. The book features the cover art of Emil Ferris, and a Foreword by Luis Alberto Urrea.

The collection includes stories and essays by contemporary Chicago area authors, including: Samira Ahmed, Dhana-Marie Branton, Anne Calcagno, Ana Castillo, Maxine Chernoff, M Shelly Conner, Stuart Dybek, Saja Elshareif, Emil Ferris, Jessie Ann Foley Jessie Foley, Charles Johnson, Rebecca Makkai, Daiva Markelis, James Jim McManus McManus, David Mura, Nnedi Okorafor, Christian Picciolini, Tony Romano, Erika Sánchez, and George Saunders.

We are grateful to our past and present student research assistants, and especially appreciative of the efforts of the publishing team at Northwestern University Press, for the magic that helped turned this collection into a book!

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edited by one of the best Goodreaders around Dave Schaafsma! Even though I've never been to Chicago (I actually had a planned trip unfortunately get cancelled a couple years ago) I needed to read this.

This is a collection of short stories (some novel excerpts) from numerous writers loosely based around growing up in Chicago. Some are more abstract with the concept than others.

As a comic fan, it's awesome to see the cover and entry by Emil Ferris.

*I'll update this with quick comments on some of my favourite stories later!

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Growing Up Chicago” is a collection of short stories put together by David Schaafsma, Lauren DeJulio Bell and Roxanne Pilat. Being born and raised in Chicago, I am probably not the most of objective of critics, but I really enjoyed the different viewpoints and tales about growing up in the city. No, I did not have a lot of these experiences, but I can picture the alleys and corner stores and streets that the authors write about.

There is a wide variety of perspectives and neighborhoods captured here. Chicago has always been a blue-collar city, a city of hard-working immigrants, a city of distinct neighborhoods, and we see the effects of that on some of these stories, from African children being chased by bullies to the Mexican experience of a girl’s mother to watching a father grieve for his Palestinian homeland from afar. Yes, there is racism and ethnic hatred and assault and coming to terms as one discovers one’s sexuality, all told from those who lived through it. But mostly what comes through in these stories is the love one has for the city where one was raised, which formed the people that they have become today. Overall an empowering collection about the truly American city.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Northwestern University Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the stories didn’t hold my attention. I’ve lived in Chicago for 20 years now & I didn’t feel the city at all in most of these stories.

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to say that I finished this book in one sitting --- but I am a working mother and so that just isn't how my life works right now. However, I came as close to reading this in one sitting as my life allows --- 48 hours.

Excellent selection of texts from a truly diverse group of authors. And the editors have produced a compelling opening essay that will be useful for engaging students in thinking about the many narratives that make up the city of Chicago.

I am excited to use this text in my Chicago Stories course this fall.

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short essays about growing up in Chicago. Some of the stories are warm, some will make you shake your head, good assortment of writing styles and subjects. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

[Jolene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't grow up in Chicago, but I did choose it as my home and create a whole life within it. Basically, I'm a stan. And this collection of essays and vignettes indulges Chicago stans in the best ways. You've seen and remember the neighborhoods and architecture these characters move through. As an English teacher, I found myself thinking about Nick's longing for the midwest at the end of Gatsby while reading the introduction:

Growing up in Chicago offers chance after chance to come to terms with questions of identity, beginning with the city's sheer size and geographic complexity, which could easily make a person feel small, unnoticed, irrelevant. From afar, its muscular skyline -- much of it rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire, and later expanded on landfill that pushed the original shoreline out into the lake -- conveys a certain Midwest practicality, coupled with a seeming determination to conquer the impossible. This is a city that had the fortitude to rebuild after the fire, the imagination to reverse the flow of the Chicago River. The reach of its skyline today frames the expanse of Lake Michigan, stretching north to south, with tall and taller buildings rising into the clouds, like arms of concrete and steel, limestone and granite, as if to say "We are here!" (xvi)

I mean, right? What an absolute celebration.

I read this collection with the hope that I could use it as a text for my high school freshman English classes since the thematic focus of the year centers on identity and "coming-of-age." Unfortunately, I wanted this to work for my classes more than it actually would. Our first semester curriculum teaches narrative elements: characterization, conflict, plot, theme, etc. The pieces collected here are beautiful and evocative, but many of them are challenging reads, and most are slice-of-life vignettes rather than fully developed narratives with turning points and resolutions. They 100% could be used to teach setting (sensory details), though. I mean, that's what they're all about: a place and a time. Here and now. I could also see this collection being a compelling core or supplemental text in a Chicago literature/history course, in a creative writing course, or in a unit about memoir or personal narratives/statements.

My favorites were "Vigil" by Stuart Dybek, "Planet Rock" by Dhana-Marie Branton, "Dillinger" by Jessie Ann Foley, the excerpt from I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez, "Discovering My Femininity in Menswear" by M Shelley Conner, "The Power and Limitations of Victim-Impact Statements" by Rebecca Makkai (CW: sexual assault), and (of course) "The View from the South Side, 1970" by George Saunders.

And just because I read with this framing in mind, I'll also note that the pieces that work best as complete narratives are "Vigil" by Stuart Dybek, "Dillinger" by Jessie Ann Foley, "Running Girl" by Nnedi Okorafor (CW: racism), and "Detention" by James McManus (CW: sexism).

Oh, and don't let the digital image of the cover fool you. It's actually very cool. The museum looks sketched on notebook paper and it has a matte finish.

[Megan Gallardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege to read this book since the early drafts. Being able to see a book evolve from the beginning traits to the book I get to now hold in my hands... it's a magical experience unlike any other.

Let me say... THIS is the anthology collection we need to best capture the changing nature of Chicago. Being born and raised here, I have been able to know the experience of growing up here. I am still not used to the unpredictable weather, but I love the bustling, chaotic nature of our city and while we see many books on the history of Chicago, you won't find many books on the various experiences of living her in Chicago and that's what I love about this book.

From seeing the narrative of the Lithuanian writer Daiva Markelis to the perspective of being a catholic boy in church school with James McManus (one of my favorite pieces!) to even what it's like to grow up on the Hungarian side of Chicago (Which was a brand new experience for me!) from Rebecca Makkai, each story is set to be relatable in one way or another, with each essay leaving at least one burning question that you wish you could ask the authors. This book is one that will stick with you long after you finish and even if you aren't from Chicago, but you want to know what it's like to grow up here... you get to enter a cultural walk down memory lane while experiencing all the diverse experiences of growing up in Chicago.

I highly recommend you all to get your copies now!!

[L. L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific stories from a range of Chicago authors of varied ages, ethnicities, religions, and writing experience. Each new voice contributes a story of import about lessons learned, family lore, or coming of age in the greater Chicago area -- including the burbs.

Read Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor's story "Running Girl" about running from schoolyard bullies and the US culture that continued to define her family members as others because of their foreign roots, regardless of the fact that both her parents had advanced degrees and were successful members of the professional class.

Learn what happened to Jessie Ann Folley's Irish-American family when they tried to sell the gun used by a family member/policeman who shot John Dillinger.

Travel with Erika L. Sanchez when she and a high school pal take off on public transportation to explore the hip neighborhood of Old Town due north of downtown Chicago. If you like her chapter, go on to read her book "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" from which this story was excerpted.

End the book with George Saunders "The View from the South Side, 1970," where he sums up his love for the city this way: "...because you were a kid and Chicago was all you knew, it was in your heart, and stayed there forever, the yardstick against which the rest of the universe was judged," (241).

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book approached a topic I hadn't seen before collected, and one I'm interested in as I raise two kids in Chicago. While a couple of the stories fall flat on their own, everything hangs together nicely as an ensemble. I would have appreciated slightly more variation in time frames, though there is diversity of place within Chicago. But I'll never turn down a locally-set book.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Many stories of growing up in Chicago & the suburbs. It brought back so many memories for me of my hometown & surrounding areas. Loved all the different ethnic stories. Chicago Public Library has placed it on their recommended summer reading list. Also a bonus that I can actually call the editor a personal friend. Great job on the book Dave!!!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories that I enjoyed the most from this collection:
"Vigil" by Stuart Dybek,
"Planet Rock" by Dhana-Marie Branton,
"Discovering My Femininity in Menswear" by M Shelley Conner,
"The Power and Limitations of Victim-Impact Statements" by Rebecca Makkai
"The View from the South Side, 1970" by George Saunders.

Reading the Stuart Dybek story about a man gifting the family on Christmas with a fish and them sneakily throwing it out in the alley was one of my favorite stories from this collection! Maybe it had to do with the fact I read it on the morning of Christmas Eve but I still it enjoyed nonetheless.

I had actually read a few of these stories a while back so it was nice seeing them finally published. Luis Alberto Urrea's introduction to the collection was solid as always. I really had fun with this! It felt cool to read about places that I've been to or lived nearby!

[Tara Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great grouping of short stories. There are some good ones in here!

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Memoir material from classrooms during college. Some were 4 stars and most others 2 to 3 stars. Choosing NOT to go too long and also choosing not to be specifically critical- I can tell you that this has representation of Chicago for coming of age experiences during different (and often sketchy to era frame) time periods.

You should know that any of 1000 people I know could have written just as good or better ones. (Second to None?- Come on, man!) Each of my kids could have written better ones with more place context.

Also know that many here are stories from suburbs/border to suburban neighborhoods which have gone through horrendous times of decline. Two of which are further out of Chicago than I have ever lived for 75 years.

Many of these do represent the attitudes. The one about the Red Line experiences was good- at least a 4. Most of the prose was hard to follow and just bad writing. Especially with giving decent context or in the dialogue portions. The Lithuanian and Polish ethnic authored stories are not much representative for their vast populations or the 100's I have known /loved and also in a couple of cases didn't make the second star.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Saunders: "...you held up your hand and blocked out Chicago with your thumb.
But because you were a kid, and Chicago was all you knew, it was in your heart, and stayed there forever, the yardstick against which the rest of the universe was judged."