Reader's Guide to North Beat Christmas

If you’ve read the first and second books in this series, you already know the story is set in New York. In this third and final book of the Beat Street Series, I brought the action out to San Francisco, California, where a substantial number of Beats gathered, in addition to those who lived in New York.

The fun part about setting the story in San Francisco involves introducing Ruby and her brother to a whole new world. The North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, where the siblings’ father is staying, is full of surprises—including much warmer weather than you’d find in New York in December.

I titled the book North Beat Christmas because the story, which happens during the Christmas season, is also very connected to the Beat culture that surrounds it—as numerous Beat poets were living in North Beach in 1958. Although Christmas is supposed to be one of America’s happiest holidays, the season is a difficult one for Ruby. She and her brother are forced to deal with their father’s addiction to alcohol, and don’t have the tools to do that—like most people their age.

I wrote North Beat Christmas not only for middle grade kids and teens struggling with family issues, but for those who live in healthier families who want to learn more about struggles like these. I wish I could say there are easy answers, but I can’t.

What I can say is that Ruby finds a way to feel better by reading and writing poetry, working at a famous local bookstore, and meeting the people who work there and visit. In past books, Ruby has also turned to art to make her feel better and less alone; in this book, it is what helps her to survive.

To learn more about the poets Ruby loved, see if you can find poetry by writers including Charles Bukowski, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Denise Levertov, Kenneth Patchen, and Marie Ponsot. If you can get to San Francisco, you’ll likely find echoes of the Beat Generation in North Beach—and a whole lot more. If you make it there, let me know what you like and don’t like about the city. I’d love to hear from you!