7/7/20 IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TRUE

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers; Reprint edition (July 7, 2020)
Language: English

A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out.

“The story may be set in the past, but it couldn’t be a more timely reminder that true courage comes not from fitting in, but from purposefully standing out . . . and that to find out who you really are, you have to first figure out what you’re not.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things

After her father’s death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta—the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can’t be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the “pastel posse,” Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club.

Does it matter that Ruth’s mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth’s life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she’s come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.

Thoughts/Review:


Love
Identity
Truth

In the summer of 1958, Ruth Robb’s life was suddenly uprooted after the death of her father. Moving from NY to Atlanta, Ruth, a Junior in high school tries to fit in, and that means blending in with the white debutantes and Christian clubs. With her heart falling quickly for Davis Jefferson, this meant only one thing, and that was to hide her being Jewish. However, Ruth’s mother still made her go to temple weekly, and there she met Max who was serious about fighting for social justice. Ruth finds herself in the crossroads between Davis and Max, and her true identity. This was a powerful book that touched upon current and relevant themes of racism, antisemitism, and identity. I really admire md Carlton’s writing as she delivered realistic and relatable characters for readers both young and old.

I really enjoyed this one.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Susan Carlton was born in San Francisco, although (to her great regret) she did not come of age in the hippie era. Her latest novel, Love and Haight, is set in the Haight-Ashbury in 1971, and has been nominated for ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults and the Amelia Bloomer Project for feminist fiction for kids and teens. She is also the author of the teen novel Lobsterland and a longtime writer for magazines, including Self, Elle, and Mademoiselle. She currently teaches at Boston University. She lives in Massachusetts with her family and a not-so-standard giant poodle. Find her online at www.susancarlton.com.