Book Review: Max A. Greenberg, Twelve Weeks to Change a Life: At-Risk Youth in a Fractured State

Abstract

Drawing on three years of ethnographic interviews and observations in multiple violence reduction youth programs, Max Greenberg provides a critical examination of the important role they play. Greenberg offers a timely conceptualization of the ways these programs become an extension of the “ephemeral state” that does not provide long-term solutions for social ills, but rather relies on other social actors like not-for-profit community organizations to address such issues (2019, 5). The book offers five empirical chapters after the introduction. The epilogue provides practical policy suggestions in regard to youth programming. The empirical chapters are rich in detailed stories gathered while Greenberg collected data at Peace Over Violence in Los Angeles. Each chapter provides a different perspective of the dialectical relationship between program employees, youth participants, and the state. Moreover, the book is full of compelling stories and provides insight into the challenges faced by many youth of color in urban areas. However, instead of stigmatizing youth involvement in violence, Greenberg offers a humanizing framework for making sense of their actions.