The Chosen meets Darius the Great in this irreverent and timely story of worlds colliding in friendship, betrayal, and hatred.
Hoodie Rosen's life isn't that bad. Sure, his entire Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up and moved to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, but Hoodie's world hasn't changed that much. He's got basketball to play, studies to avoid, and a supermarket full of delicious kosher snacks to eat. The people of Tregaron aren’t happy that so many Orthodox Jews are moving in at once, but that’s not Hoodie’s problem.
That is, until he meets and falls for Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary—who happens to be the daughter of the obstinate mayor trying to keep Hoodie’s community out of the town. And things only get more complicated when Tregaron is struck by a series of antisemitic crimes that quickly escalate to deadly violence.
As his community turns on him for siding with the enemy, Hoodie finds himself caught between his first love and the only world he’s ever known.
Isaac Blum delivers a wry, witty debut novel about a deeply important and timely subject, in a story of hatred and betrayal—and the friendships we find in the most unexpected places.
Format
Page Count
Trim Size
Dewey
AR
Lexile
Genre
Scholastic Reading Counts
JLG Release
Book Genres
Topics
Standard MARC Records
Cover Art
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—For Orthodox Jew Hoodie Rosen, the move to a new city has not been all that bad even though the town resents the Jewish people moving into their community and worries about how it changes the status quo. Hoodie's days, though, have stayed pretty much the same—he goes to religious instruction every morning and "regular" school in the afternoon, a school only for members of the Orthodox community. His comfortable existence, only slightly bothered by the conflict in the town, becomes much more difficult when he meets Anna-Marie Diaz-O'Leary, the daughter of the town's mayor who wants the Jewish people gone. He has an instant attraction to Anna-Maria despite a relationship with her being forbidden by his religion. Hoodie's life takes a difficult turn with the defacing of Jewish graves and a vicious anti-Semitic attack in the community. His relationship with Anna-Maria and his actions that offend the Jewish community result in him being ostracized. This unique coming-of-age story addresses issues of faith and action in a manner that has both light-hearted and very serious moments. Hoodie's gentle rebellion against the constraints of his religion and his family will resound with readers of this relatively short novel who find themselves at odds with those closest to them. Adding to the uniqueness of the book are the easily understandable discussions of Jewish Orthodox beliefs. Hoodie, a nicely developed character, has special appeal because of his thoughtful analysis of what he believes and what he wants from his life. VERDICT A great addition to a diverse book collection for any YA library.—Janet Hilbun