garbage town
by ravi gupta
A group of 90s teens unearth buried truths and embark on a fight for their lives.
Raj Patel grew up in the shadows of Fresh Kills, the largest landfill the world has ever seen. At sixteen, he's watched the Staten Island crime family extend its tentacles to all aspects of his town’s lucrative trash business, but he's always kept his distance from their dirty trade.
That is until Raj and his friends unearth a dark secret at Fresh Kills. Now they must choose between self-preservation and the pull of justice. With the burden of caring for his family and the determination to protect those around him, Raj plunges headfirst into the dark secrets that lie just beneath the surface of the dump. The more Raj and his friends dig, the more they risk. Soon, they’re in way too deep, and the line between hero and fool starts to blur.
In Garbage Town, Ravi Gupta spins a tale that blends the heart-pounding adventures of a mystery novel with the intimacy of a coming-of-age story. Follow Raj and his friends as they decide who to trust and whether to risk everything.
“Gupta evokes the time and place with sharp details and plenty of wit. . . An immersive teen adventure as big and eclectic as a Staten Island landfill.”
— Kirkus Reviews (“GET IT”)
“Garbage Town abounds with sharp dialogue, striking period detail, strong pacing, and heaps of heart . . . Period references will ping millennial nostalgia radars, but they never feel belabored. This work pulses with charm, suspense, and strong local color.”
— Publishers Weekly BookLife (“EDITOR’S PICK”)
“Original, compelling, emotionally engaging, skillfully crafted, and a thoroughly entertaining read from cover to cover.”
— Midwest Book Review
"It's Stand by Me meets Mystic River... a very poignant story of society and race and family and friendship, as well as a really compelling crime novel."
— All the Books (Book Riot)
“Garbage Town is a coming-of-age tale flavored with mystery, adventure, and thrills. This is a story about growing up, friendships, and the hardships that many teenagers have to overcome when unwittingly thrust into the world of crime, childhood abuse, and violence. If you love coming-of-age stories, this one's a must-read!”
— Readers’ Favorite (“FIVE STARS”)
“Garbage Town pulls you in and doesn’t let go. Think The Goonies meets Goodfellas—this gritty, gripping novel brings 1990s Staten Island to life, where a bunch of kids stumble into secrets way bigger than they can handle. Hands down, the best novel I’ve read in years.”
— Jason Kander, New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Storm and Outside the Wire
“This may be the best telling of Staten Island since Wu Tang. Ravi shows us what the city’s sometimes forgotten borough is all about through the lens of a protagonist you really care about and a plot riddled with crime, adolescence, mobsters, loyalty, friendship, conscience — and lots and lots of garbage. This is one of those novels that sucks you in immediately and keeps you there till the final page.”
— Bradley Tusk, Author of The Fixer, Obvious in Hindsight and Vote With Your Phone
“Ravi Gupta is like the love child of S. E. Hinton and John Grisham, with a coming-of-age story about a group of misfits that's wrapped in a thriller involving corruption, sinister forces, and ordinary heroes who take extraordinary risks. Set in 1990s Staten Island, Garbage Town tests the loyalties of three teenagers who live along the muck and stink of the Fresh Kills Landfill. Nearly every adult in town has sold them out for a share of the grift that is New York City's garbage. But Gupta deftly draws young people struggling fiercely to rise above and do the right thing—even if it costs them their lives.”
—Ann Bauer, author of A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards, The Forever Marriage, and Forgiveness 4 You
“I’m Googling ‘How to buy movie rights’ RIGHT NOW. This coming-of-age mystery is so ready for the screen! So tense! So funny! And set in the only New York landmark Hollywood has overlooked: the Fresh Kills Dump on Staten Island. Like its setting, Garbage Town reeks of New York City and its secrets.”
—Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids
“All hail Ravi Gupta, the Bard of Staten Island! In this debut novel, a gang of teenagers shows it’s possible to have pride of place, even though their neighborhood is literally a dump. A fast-paced adventure with a big heart, Garbage Town is ruled by a high-school hustler who loves his mother, written by an author who treasures the back alleys and trash heaps of his hometown.”
—Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of American Ending
About Ravi
RAVI GUPTA is a serial social entrepreneur dedicated to reforming civic institutions. He is the cofounder and CEO of The Branch, a media company committed to combating online polarization. At The Branch, Ravi hosts several shows, including The Lost Debate and Majority 54—two podcasts focused on bridging the political divide— and Killing Justice, a collaboration with Crooked Media investigating an alleged political murder in India.
In addition, Ravi serves as the CEO and founder of Squadra Health, a company focused on longevity and wellness. Before these ventures, he cofounded Arena, where he led efforts that helped elect dozens of candidates and launched one of the largest campaign-staffer training academies in political history. Earlier in his career, Ravi founded and served as CEO of RePublic Schools, a network of charter schools in the South, and established Reimagine Prep, Mississippi’s first charter school. He also played key roles in Obama’s first campaign and first term, serving as an assistant to Chief Strategist David Axelrod and Ambassador Susan Rice.
A native of Staten Island, Ravi graduated from Yale Law School and Binghamton University. He’s won numerous awards, including the Truman Scholarship, the Webby Award, and Binghamton’s University Medal, along with recognition in Forbes’s “30 Under 30” and Crain’s “NYC 40 Under 40.”
