Here we are, on a new website design and URL for like the third time, but here’s hoping this one is for good. Today I am excited to participate in a blog tour for the paperback release of In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton. Now I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I really like this one.
About the Book
A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out.
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.
My Thoughts
3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.
I picked up this book because I had never read a historical fiction like this before. (Is it okay to say it’s historical fiction if it’s from 1958?) It ended up being a quick read, but not an easy one because of the terrible racism and anti-Semitism that the characters have to deal with. It took me about two days to read, and I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it.
The best part, for me, was the main character Ruth. SHe just wants to fit in, so she passes as non-Jewish. She has a lot of internal struggle but she means well and is never rude or snarky. She’s a kind and polite character, which we need more of.
This was more of a romance than I thought it would be. I think the author did a good job of showing sexuality without going over the top (there’s sex but it’s a fade out). Ruth is feeling completely normal things when she’s around a boy she likes. Even if I didn’t much like Davis.
I would have liked to see a little more personality in Ruth and see more of her internal struggle. She feels pretty closed off to me as a reader. Maybe the writing style just wasn’t my cup of tea, so your mileage may vary.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.