
Reach for this book when your teenager is struggling with the pressure to fit into their community or questioning the boundaries between their family traditions and the outside world. This wry and contemporary novel follows Hoodie Rosen, a boy in a newly relocated Orthodox Jewish community, as he navigates a forbidden friendship with the local mayor's daughter. While the voice is witty and irreverent, the story tackles the heavy reality of rising antisemitism and the pain of being ostracized by one's own people. It is a powerful choice for older teens, ages 14 and up, who are ready to discuss how identity is forged in the face of both internal communal pressure and external prejudice.
Your experience helps other parents find the right book.
Sign in to write a reviewOccasional strong language consistent with realistic YA fiction.
A chaste but emotionally intense relationship between teens.
Themes of grief, communal shunning, and social isolation.
The book deals with antisemitism and hate crimes through a direct, secular lens. The climax involves a shooting that is visceral and realistic. The resolution is bittersweet and ambiguous: Hoodie survives and grows, but the scars on the community and his relationships remain.
A high schooler who feels like an outsider within their own culture or religion. It's for the kid who uses humor as a defense mechanism but cares deeply about justice and truth.
Parents should be aware of a graphic scene involving a shooting toward the end of the book. It is handled with gravity but is intense. The book can be read cold by older teens, but conversation afterward is recommended. A parent might see their teen pulling away from religious services or being harassed online or at school for their heritage and realize their child needs a story that acknowledges these complexities without being preachy.
Younger teens (14) will focus on the 'forbidden' romance and the basketball. Older teens (17-18) will better grasp the nuance of the 'moral ambiguity' regarding Hoodie's betrayal of communal norms.
Unlike many books about Orthodox life that focus on 'leaving the fold,' this book focuses on the messy middle ground of staying while being different, all while using a sharp, modern comedic voice to tackle a tragic subject.
Hoodie Rosen's Orthodox community moves to a new town where they aren't exactly welcome. Hoodie doesn't care about the politics until he meets Anna-Marie, the daughter of the mayor who is trying to block the community's expansion. As their secret friendship grows, the town's tension boils over into antisemitic vandalism and, eventually, a horrific act of violence that forces Hoodie to choose where his loyalties lie.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.