In the Neighborhood of True

February 15, 2019
Girls in 1958 Atlanta don't just have soft drinks before lunch: They drink Co-Cola floats.And if they want to be popular and successful, they compete for pre-debutante titles like Maid of Cotton and Magnolia Queen. They certainly don't admit to being Jewish. Ruth Robb--who's arrived from New York after her father's death--never mentions her religion to her boyfriend even though she goes to synagogue every Shabbos. Carlton (Love & Haight, 2012, etc.) loves her telling details a little too much. Characters say "Shalom, y'all" a few times too many, and readers may worry, on occasion, that the author is going to describe every single object in the Robbs' home. But every character is memorable and complex, and the plot quickly becomes engrossing, though it leads up to an act of anti-Semitic violence that 21st-century readers may find much too timely. The characters are, unsurprisingly, largely white, and in one brief act of defiance, Ruth walks through the colored-only entrance at the movies. The climax involves larger acts of defiance, but it also requires a level of coincidence that may raise eyebrows. Still, the characters' moral decisions are so complicated and so surprising that many people will be kept spellbound by even the tiniest detail.Riveting. (Historical fiction. 14-19)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-In 1959, Ruth Robb moves from New York City to Atlanta. The daughter of a former Magnolia Queen, she is welcomed into a world of surface beauty and perfection, where girls learn society rules from their "pink books" and gardeners measure the distance between chaise lounges with a ruler. Her friends, the pastel-clad girls from Tea and Etiquette, think of New York as full of "Jews and commies." What they don't know is that Ruth herself is Jewish-and Ruth intends to keep it under wraps. She can be Jewish on the weekends at the temple, where the rabbi preaches controversial sermons about integration, and pass for Christian everywhere else: at her school, where buildings are named after Confederate generals; at the exclusive club, where Jews aren't allowed in the door; and, most of all, with Davis Jefferson, a boy whose blue eyes and deep dimple make Ruth fall hard and fast. But when her love affair with the South is punctured by an act of violence, Ruth, who has been taught that her voice is a "strong spice" to be used sparingly, must decide how much-and who-she is willing to risk by speaking up. Inspired by the 1958 bombing of an Atlanta synagogue, this novel uses its immersive historical setting to convey truths about hatred that remain relevant today. Ruth is an initially shallow protagonist who comes to realize the smallness and egocentrism of her own actions and whose complex choices ultimately transform her into a braver, fuller version of herself. VERDICT Timely YA historical fiction that belongs on all shelves.-Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 13, 2019
Following her Jewish father’s death, Ruth Robb moves from New York City to Atlanta in the summer of 1958. Ruth, her mother, and her younger sister, Nattie, live in her grandparents’ guesthouse, and Ruth encounters differences surrounding life in the South, where lipstick melts, a girdle goes on more easily when it’s stored in the freezer, and her world seems shaped by balls, clubs, debs, comportment, and etiquette. Ruth makes fast friendships with Gracie, Claudia, and Thurston-Ann, and she develops a crush on charming Davis, but she remains “secretly Jewish,” attending synagogue on the sly. Her mother, a local reporter, encourages her to be honest and an individual, but Ruth thinks that it feels “good to be part of a whole, even something flowery, even something brown around the edges.” When a hate crime shakes the town, Ruth develops larger concerns than keeping her dance card full and must reassess who she wants to be and who she will stand beside. Carlton captures the racism, anti-Semitism, and social interactions of the time and place with admirable nuance. The dialogue and setting are meticulously constructed, and readers will feel the humidity and tension rising with each chapter. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

November 15, 2018
Grades 7-10 After her father's death, Ruth's mother transports Ruth and her younger sister from Manhattan to her childhood home in Atlanta. Besides dealing with the shock of her dad's death, Ruth has to acclimate to a new way of life. Her grandmother, Fontaine, wants her to travel in the best circles, perhaps to become the Magnolia Queen at the city's fanciest ball. And though Ruth enters an elite school and finds new friends, she's aware that in 1958 Southern society, it'll all go away if people find out her father was Jewish, her mother is a convert, and she spends Saturday mornings in synagogue. Carlton does an excellent job of mixing the personal with the historical here. Ruth's growing romance with Davis Jefferson is another reason to hide. But when Davis' brother is involved in the bombing of her synagogue, Ruth must finally choose her truth. Ruth crisply relays her conflicted feelings, the tense situations, and characters who are well shaded and occasionally surprising. The story's centerpiece is based on actual synagogue bombings, spotlighting forgotten history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)