CCBC Booklists

CCBC Review:

Orthodox Jewish Yehuda “Hoodie” Rosen (white) has moved with his mother, father, and four sisters to Tregaron, a fictional town near Philadelphia. Hoodie’s father wants to build a high-rise apartment to house Orthodox families, but Mayor Monica Diaz-O’Leary, fearing the apartment will invite an unwelcome influx of Orthodox Jews, is stonewalling the project. When Hoodie meets the mayor’s daughter, Anna-Marie, they tentatively hit it off and even work together to remove some swastikas that have been spray-painted on Jewish graves. Hoodie knows that he is not allowed to talk to Anna-Marie, but he’s begun to question the necessity of Orthodoxy’s strict rules. While he loves his community and feels deeply religious, he’s also curious about the world. Like his strong-willed older sister, Zippy, he is willing to bend the rules (albeit behind their parents’ backs). Hoodie and Anna-Marie’s cultural differences mean they have vastly different expectations of one another, and Hoodie greatly misjudges Anna-Marie’s interest in him. But the two teens become inextricably connected when both survive a devastating act of antisemitic violence in the local kosher supermarket. A story told in Hoodie’s thoughtful and playfully sarcastic voice provides a refreshingly nuanced exploration of Orthodox practice, family life, and community. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center 

CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range: Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Novel
Subjects: Anti-Semitism Faith, Spirituality and Religion Families Friendship Humor Jewish People Violence
Diversity subject: Latine Jewish
On CCBC Booklist: Religion in the Lives of Children and Teens 

Publishers: Penguin Random House, Philomel
Publish Year: 2022
Pages: 218
ISBN: 9780593525821
CCBC Location: Fiction, Blum

Add To My List