Tony is the head of the Jets but has stepped away from the gang in the hopes of straightening out, getting a job, and living a clean life. The Jets have run their particular group of streets in the West Side for years, but recently the Sharks, made up entirely of Puerto Rican immigrants to New York City, have moved in and are challenging them for their territory. The story centers around two street gangs, the Jets and Sharks, both of which appear to be comprised entirely of teenagers between 14-18 years old. The story is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and takes place in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City in the mid-1950s. My attention was brought to it by Steven Spielberg's 2021 film adaptation, which I have not yet seen but have heard good things about. West Side Story is Irving Shulman's 1961 novelization of the popular Broadway musical of the same name. And if things did not change, the way it would always be. Some of the wishes came true, but it made no difference to the city because it had been built to endure beyond the lifetime of all the people that inhabited it.

They hoped that someplace, somewhere, someone heard them, that their own little dreams would come true, that very soon they would meet someone they could trust, could love and be happy with. And there were people who looked up at the sky and ached with loneliness, as they appealed in silence to the stars and the moon. There were people who died in peace, in pain and in violence.

Kobo eBook (Spanish) (November 21st, 2021): $11.There were people who loved, who ate, who lusted and promoted.

Library Binding, Large Print (December 3rd, 2021): $31.99.

Fiction / Romance / Historical / American.

Shulman also wrote the original treatment for Rebel Without a Cause, the film that shot James Dean to stardom.

He is the author of ten books, including the novels The Amboy Dukes, Cry Tough, and The Square Trap, which were all adapted into movies. Irving Shulman (1913–1995) was a novelist and screenwriter, known for his depictions of urban life.

West Side Story by Irving Shulman