Wannabe

By Daniel J. Monti.

Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1994, 169 pp. $49.95.

In Wannabe: Gangs in Suburbs and Schools, Daniel Monti explores gangs in the suburbs of a Midwestern U.S. city. Using extensive transcripts from his conversations with youths, Monti gives readers a feel for the life circumstances that contribute to adolescents joining gangs, what they get from it, and what we as a society might do to deal with these problems. In his concluding chapter, Monti suggests forming settlement houses in areas of high gang formation, staffed by personnel trained to work with youth to build meaningful relationships and hopeful futures.