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.
BOOK REVIEW
This was such a phenomenal book and I am baffled that more people aren’t rushing to read this sensation! Not only is it such a significant story for when it was set but it also rings so true for today’s time and situation.
There was so much about this story that resonates with everything going on in today’s society and what troubles we faced like they did in 1958. It saddens me that we are in the 21 century and still dealing with these issues that shouldn’t have such a large place in our society.
There is nothing more enjoyable than reading a book about the 50’s but also feeling like you are in the time. It’s such a great trait within writing that I think so many people can’t always pull off. But this was so well written and just immersed you in that time and made you feel the way these people felt. Made you feel emotions they felt. And that is a huge feat to be able to accomplish!
I really loved Ruth and everything she was within this book. She was such a diverse character and I sure so many people can relate to her. Be who she is or conform to be liked by so many others. In a time when being yourself was never easy. Ruth has such immense growth and was able to see through so many things that many held high valued.
Hiding who you are is never an easy feat but Ruth does what she feels is necessary in order to be accepted.
I really enjoyed the instalove that Ruth shared But was a little disappointed that the ending was a bit rushed. I hope so many people read this book and take to heart what it means to feel the way so many people feel daily. Never being accepted is unacceptable. Everyone is different for a reason. Would you want someone to treat you different because of your traits?
Susan Kaplan Carlton currently teaches writing at Boston University. She is the author of the YA novels Love & Haight and Lobsterland. Her writing has also appeared in Self, Elle, Mademoiselle, and Seventeen. She lived for a time with her family in Atlanta, where her daughters learned the finer points of etiquette from a little pink book and the power of social justice from their synagogue.
susankaplancarlton.com | @susankcarlton | @susankcarlton
In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton
Algonquin Young Readers / Publication Date: April 9, 2019
Price: $17.95; Hardcover; 320 pages; ISBN: 9781616208608
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