On the Sidewalk Bleeding

by Evan Hunter

Genres: Short Stories, School, Read For School, Young Adult, Classics

About the author

Better known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.

Born Salvatore Albert Lombino, he legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952. While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.

Reviews

[Sinitih · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in class, and it has been the best book I have read this month! Though it is very short it brought me to tears and made me realise a very real problem!! Everyone should read this!

[Sophia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depressing

[Paynton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this story as part of my work for school.
Normally i hate anything we cover, this however i found really interesting.
I think this book is a lot to do with identity and social responsibility.
I also thought that maybe it had something to do with the stages of grief.
Not my usual read, but for school piece, it was really good.
Defiantly worth a read.

[olivia]

🤣🤣🤣

[Irelyn Mooney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for 8th grade English class.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words to describe how phenomenal this book is.
Even though that it's very very short, I feel that everyone should read this, because it's just so amazing, and under hyped.
Wow.
That's all I have to say. A solid 6 stars for me ;)

[Micole Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

gets to the heart of the matter...in the most tragic way

[Madame Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for English class in Grade 9. A moving short story.

[Angela Dubose · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book it brought me to tears

[tea.ya ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

guess what happened on the sidewalk

[Ell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this for school at the time it seemed so boring and meaningless as I've never liked being forced to read something but I went back to read this very short story and it surprised me and caused me to think about the true meaning behind this story.

very short but the meaning is clear and something that needs to be seen in the media to expose these scary situations that real people do go through.

It's a quick read so why not read it, it's moving and has the reader wondering what will happen to the main character.

[Vanessa]

I was assigned this book quite a while ago back in my first year of high school, and usually mandatory literature for English class ends up being bitterly remarked upon by me in the future, but this proves to be a rare exception. Despite its short length, On the Sidewalk Bleeding remains an unforgettable, chilling, and poignant story about a misdirected young boy who gets caught up in a street gang and eventually pays the price for it. Now I’m not sure if the writing is up to par to my standards now since I’m reviewing this years later, and hence I can’t truly give it a proper starred rating, but nevertheless, I was quite moved at the time by the internal struggles Andy faced in his last hours, and the implicit life lesson learned thereafter. It’s not only a tale about misfortune and bad choices, but also the brutal reality of how unfair life can be, and how it often does not offer up second chances to those who desire them. This has hugely inspired one of my own written pieces, and so I feel a strange fondness and obligation to acknowledge this emotional, yet clever, short story.

[m · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing could’ve been more descriptive/detailed, and I wish there was a happy ending cuz it was sad :( great morals though

[chinon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I HATE ANDY

[mama mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

so confusing and repetitive, worst piece of literature i’ve ever read. mid ngl.

[mimi ྀི · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy deserved better 😞😞

[Alice Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

a tragic story on identity. never expected the ending.

[Allison ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 / 5 stars!
★★★★☆

I read this short story for my Grade 9 English class, and I was surprised by how emotionally moving it was. The writing was descriptive and gives the reader a look into Andy’s thoughts.

Reading through this text, almost as if you’re experiencing Andy’s struggle as he dies tugs your heartstrings. It opens up my eyes to the life I have ahead of me, and the choices that can affect it. Even with Andy dying in the end, it represents a great message: don’t let others define who you are, or see you as something you’re not. Whoever you want to be seen as, that’s who you should be.

Personally, It was difficult to absorb in one read, but I wasn’t complaining when I read it another time to thoroughly understand the details. It had a lot to take in, but ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’ is truly a great, quick read and worth the time.

[Micah Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best short stories I have read.

[-✰✰✰- · Rating 5 out of 5]

like many others I read this for class, not too bad of a book honestly, idk don't really have any other opinions about it. Writing style was cool. I quite liked the super psychological aspect of this all, however, so points for that.

[The Novel Slasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a boy named Andy and where he stands in society, and finally, what his true identity is. Hunter brings truth to light; what society sees in a person is completely outwardly based, your inner self is insignificant. Amazing how he managed to execute this as well as he did, with so few words.

The protagonist, Andy proudly joins the Royals, purple gang jacket and all, but in the end realizes his biggest failure; he fails to become Royal to himself, and those whom he loves most. But time is fleeting, and it's too late. His dreams of a better life come to a tragic and abrupt end. A story small in size but nonetheless potent in content; a worthy read.

****

[Summer :3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something about this really spoke to me, I'm glad I decided to read it when it was referenced in something we were doing in class. It shows well that the police, the news, people, etc can forget that we are all human. We are seen as the labels put onto us and we are dehumanized. Andy may have been a Royal at one point but underneath it all he was a boy. A boy with a family, a girlfriend, and most importantly a life. A life that was taken from him all too soon. Such a short read left me with a pit in my stomach.

[Crystal Fall]

My daughter brought this home from school and asked me to read it. I realized that I read this as well in school, totally forgot about this one but it all came back with resonating truth. A short young adult story, sad but with a good message behind it.

[Edgky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a good story to help wake up and live in the moment

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a unique story and definitely left me awestruck. It was pretty interesting although I wish he would have lived. Great story line and moral behind it :-) thumbs up

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does anyone know where I can get an actual copy of the short story book this comes from? The online versions have typos.

[Emily Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the writing style, and I was very curious of what was happening, and what was going to happen.

[tay ༉‧₊˚. · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good, very well written!
(updated as of january 29, 2025)