Garbage Town Book Release Party

📅 Saturday, March 30th | 3:00 PM
📍 Church of St. Andrew
40 Old Mill Road, Staten Island, NY 10306

Food provided. Celebrate the launch of Garbage Town, a gripping coming-of-age thriller set in 1990s Staten Island. Meet the author, connect with fellow readers, and experience the city’s most overlooked borough like never before.

Pre-order the book:

• Amazon
• Bookshop.org

"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 Review, EDITOR’S PICK

"GARBAGE TOWN PULLS YOU IN AND DOESN’T LET GO. THINK THE GOONIES MEETSGOODFELLAS —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

About the Author

Ravi is the Founder and CEO of The Branch, a nonprofit media company launched in 2021 to combat polarization and misinformation online. Before founding The Branch, he co-founded Arena, where he helped elect dozens of candidates and built the largest campaign staffer training academy in Democratic Party history—training over 7,000 political operatives in just three years.

Gupta is also the Founder and CEO of Squadra Health, an early-stage longevity medicine and wellness company, and a Shorenstein Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He co-hosts Majority 54, a political podcast about engaging with people across the ideological divide, and hosts Killing Justice, a true crime podcast with Crooked Media exploring an alleged political M**der in India.

Previously, he was the Founder and CEO of RePublic Schools, a network of charter schools in the South. Under his leadership, RePublic’s two flagship schools became the first and only charter schools in Tennessee to rank in the top 5% of all public schools for both growth and absolute performance. He also founded Reimagine Prep, Mississippi’s first charter school.

Earlier in his career, Gupta held multiple roles in President Obama’s first campaign and administration, including serving as an aide to David Axelrod and Susan Rice.

A native of Staten Island, he graduated from Yale Law School and Binghamton University. He has received numerous awards, including the Truman Scholarship, the Webby Award, and Binghamton’s University Medal, and has been recognized in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Crain’s “NYC 40 Under 40.” His debut novel, Garbage Town, will be published in March 2025.

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.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Church of St. Andrew, 40 Old Mill Road, Staten Island, United States