Dave Larsen has turned what at first appears to be a nostalgic tale about growing up in a close-knit Chicago neighborhood into a sharply focused challenge to polite fictions we still live by. Tracing the growing discomfort of one family as they face moral decisions about where to live, how to raise children in their faith, and how to be good neighbors, we are invited to examine our own notions of normalcy, neutrality, and Christian living.

Marilyn McEntyre, author of Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict

Dave Larsen's novel takes us back to a very tumultuous time in the 1960s when our neighborhoods were changing, and millions of Americans feared that things were falling apart. But in many ways Dave's book also is the story of our nation right now as fears are rising once again. What is so powerful about this novel is the way that Dave raises up characters so realistic that I clearly recognize them from my own neighborhood back in the '60s. So, this is my story, too. And this is our story.

Reginald Smith serves as Director for Diversity for the Christian Reformed Church in North America and is a Thrive Consultant helping congregations navigate transitions and crises.

Although many think they know a lot about post-World War II white flight from U.S. rust belt cities, Green Street in Black and White interrogates assumptions with a charitable yet incisive glimpse of the families who lived and loved in those contested places. Dave Larsen delivers a gripping story about race, ethnicity, and religion in a Chicago neighborhood convulsing with the anxiety and violence of social change.

Mark T. Mulder, author of Shades of White Flight: Evangelical Congregations and Urban Departure

Dave Larsen's novel Green Street in Black and White captures a time, a place, a culture, and the characters who lived it. This novel explores two powerful and basic themes: a young man's difficult journey from childhood innocence to maturity, and his experience of the damaging results of racism, involving fear, hate, loyalty, and destructive allegiances. Larsen conveys these themes with understanding, sensitivity, and honesty.

Hugh Cook, emeritus professor of English at Redeemer University and recipient of the Leslie K. Tarr Award from the Word Guild of Canada

Dave Larsen's masterful debut novel, Greet Street in Black and White, challenges as much as it charms. Far more than a wistful walk through "the good old days," Larsen's story honors a crucial time in Chicago's (and America's) history with truth. Indeed, Larsen looks back on the people and places of his youth with love and appreciation but also with humility and honesty - never shying away from the cruel fear and injustice rampant in those same people and places. I loved this book, but be warned: it not only confronts and convicts us about our past - but about our very present. What an amazing read!

Caryn Rivadeneira, author of Saints of Feather and Fang and Grit and Grace: Heroic Women of the Bible

Wow. While it is painful to take this journey, it is necessary for all of us. This story left me deeply troubled, yet surprisingly hopeful. More than just being an important contribution to this nation's history, it is an instructive display of human nature and the ability of fear to shape our lives. Through the transformative power of personal storytelling, Dave Larsen has made the lessons abundantly clear. I pray we are all listening.

Ted Williams III, professor of political science and chair of the social sciences department at Kennedy-King College in Chicago