Heroes & Hooligans Growing Up in the City of Saints - Dennis James Ganahl

Reading Heroes ' Hooligans Growing Up in the City of Saints is like eating a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy, it's comfort food.

Dennis Ganahl writes laugh out loud stories that tell heart warming tales about boys who are expected to act like saints growing up in a city where all of the streets are named after saints. The book describes life in 1963 in vivid detail. It describes the people, their clothes, the games they play and the food they eat in their modern suburban homes.The boys don't have helicopter parents so they need to learn how to take care of themselves. They have to learn the rules of the street because the hooligans are always trying to take their money and their pride. They have adventures in school and on camp outs in their backyard. They get dirty crawling in sewers, playing in creeks, going to the drive in and playing summer baseball. You will be kept guessing what happens next as you see yourself and your friends in this book.

Let's meet some of the memorable characters in the book.

'Streak has blonde wavy hair and stands six feet tall and ramrod straight. His muscles always bulge out of a black sleeveless t-shirt that he wears with skintight blue jeans, a wide black belt with with a big silver buckle, and black motorcycle boots with silver chains across the tops. Streak oozes cool.'

'Sister Henry doesn't tell us what to do. She is shepherding us with silent, subtle commando orders like slightly nodding her head, narrowing her eyes, or cocking and twisting her head. All of her commands are accompanied by her unspoken threat, 'Do what I'm telling you or there will be swift punishment.'

'Stubby is the funniest kid. He is short and as round a a playground ball. He is a spitting image of 'Curly' and he can imitate every facial expression, sound effect, joke and gimmick Curly ever used. He doesn't stop clowning around until somebody wets his pants.'

You will laugh out loud and you will enjoy this book as you learn about or remember what it was like being a kid and growing in the 1960s. Ganahl writes stories like Mark Twain, and Jean Shepherd. You will laugh and think at the same time.