In the Neighborhood of True

by Susan K Carlton and Susan Kaplan Carlton

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.
 

• ISBN13: 9781643750293
• Publish Date: 7 July 2020 (first published 1 April 2019)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 March 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Algonquin Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy.

Ruby has recently moved to the south with her mom and little sister after the death of her father. Her mom is originally from the south means that ruby is now expected by her grandparents to become the perfect debutante southern bell to a certain extent. The one big problem with is that she’s Jewish. This is a big no-no for many people in the southern high classes during this time. Which means ruby can either lie and be who her grandmother wants her to be or she can be who she really is and not fit in at her new school.

During her time at school with the rich kids and the time becoming a pre-debutante she meets a boy who she really likes. Davis is the ever so perfect southern gentleman it seems. The only glaringly obvious problem with him from the beginning is his brother Oren who is used to using his charm and daddies money to get what he wants or to get out of trouble.

With Ruby’s big secret weighing her down the more antisemitism happens around her and the more she learns about the true south she will have to make tough decisions that could ruin everything she’s been working so hard to have.

Overall I did really enjoy this book. Ruby is a character that anyone can connect to. She wants to fit in but she also wants to be who she truly is the more time goes on. She’s still grieving the loss of her dad and how her life has changed completely in a very short amount of time. She’s confused and in love and trying to do the right thing. This is such an important book for so many reasons.

The romance part of this book I didn’t really mind for the most part. It did all seem a bit fake though considering they both had secrets and we’re from completely different lives.

I was so proud of Ruby by the end and the decisions she made for herself and her family.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of In the Neighborhood of True in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In the Neighborhood of True is the story of a young woman trying to find herself while also figuring out the values that mean the most to her in life. It’s an absolutely beautiful tale, and for a multitude of reasons.
It’s a historical fiction novel set in the 1950’s, and it’s heavily focused on the racism and anti-Semitism of the time. That alone makes this novel extremely important. What is more though, are the lines it draws between those moments in the past, and the present. It forces the reader to realize what is happening even today (and for those that are affected by anti-Semitism and racism it likely rings painfully true).
Ruth is torn between the world she’s built for herself that she loves, and the world she was born into. She can’t have it both ways, but for just a while it would be nice to pretend.


Warnings: In the Neighborhood of True is unabashedly about racism and anti-Semitism. A lot of the novel is pretty heavy for that reason, though no less important because of that. There are events that are uncomfortable, and events that are outright painful.
In the Neighborhood of True caused a tumult of emotions as I read, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that fact. There are novels that open your eyes to what is important, and this is one of them. This novel draws connections between racism and anti-Semitism, connections between the past and the present. It all becomes unavoidable and undeniable.
I particularly loved how the novel started. I don’t always love it when a novel begins with a point later on, but in this case it worked out really well. It gave us a hint to where Ruth’s character was leading, and left us with more questions than answers. Naturally we couldn’t do anything other than continue reading.
Ruth is a strong and fascinating character. It was impossible not to be fond of her – especially when it was so easy to see how torn she was. She had an extremely difficult choice to make, no matter how much we’d like to overlay our own opinions on the matter. The truth is that while it may appear black and white to people on the outside, that sort of decision isn’t always easy. And I don’t blame her for her struggle, or for her need to fit in or go for what she wants.
That’s actually what made this novel so human. There were so many complex situations and emotions being thrown around, but it never surpasses what a single person experiences in their lifetime, if that makes any sense. Everything that happened in this novel was perfectly believable, because it happens so frequently.
I can honestly say that this was the first novel I read that delved so heavily into anti-Semitism and Jewish culture while not being set during the Holocaust. First, that says that I need to do some digging for more books of this nature. And second, it means that this book will forever hold a special place in my heart. So thank you, Susan Kaplan Carton, for that.
I think my one and only complaint about this novel would be that it was a tiny bit too predictable for my liking. I enjoyed reading about the situations and characters, even as I sort of had a feeling about where everything was going to lead in the end. As far as complaints go though, that’s not a very big one.
I can’t wait to see what Susan Kaplan Carlton comes out with next. Her writing style alone would have me interested in reading anything else she publishes. I’m looking forward to seeing what it will be.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Sam@WLABB]

Ruth felt like a fish out of water, when her family relocated from New York to Atlanta following her father's death. She was immediately caught up in all the fanfare surrounding the pre-debutant world, but she quickly realized, that in order to keep her place in that world, she would need to hide a part of herself.

This book left me with a heavy heart. The story is set in the past, in 1958, yet many people still experience similar things today. I did enjoy reading about this through a historical lens, though, because it's easy to forget that side of the 1950s. There were all those clean cut looking kids attending their sock hops and listening to doo-wop as we see in many films, but there was also segregation, antisemitism, and homophobia.

The heart of this story for me was Ruth's inner conflict. She wanted to be part of the group and enjoy all the galas, the Club, and a romance with a handsome boy, but there was a cost. She could not reveal that she was Jewish. Ruth was still grieving her father, and hiding the fact that she was Jewish was a sort of betrayal of her heart, as her religion was so intertwined with the memories of her father. Carlton did a beautiful job navigating all the emotions Ruth was experiencing, and I really enjoyed seeing her work through it all. I was actually really surprised by a few decisions Ruth made, and some made me quite proud of her, because I knew they were not easy choices.

Historically speaking, Carlton competently brought me back to that time. From the hair to the music to the lingo, I felt very immersed in the era. She peppered the story with many important events from the early civil rights movement, as well as some lesser known acts of antisemitism, such as the murder of Leo Frank. I was engaged and entertained.

Overall: A compelling historical look at life in the American south vividly depicted with great details and interesting characters, which highlighted the difficulties and rewards of being true to yourself and taking a stand for justice.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[girlinthepages]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.I always seem to forget how much I enjoy historical fiction until I read it and remember how fascinating it is. There's something so surreal about reading fiction that you know is often based on major real life events and being dropped into the mind of someone who is experiencing it as their reality, even if fictionally. In the Neighborhood of True had been on my radar for a while because it combined many of my favorite elements in YA, including a Southern setting and religious themes. I was also excited to pick up a book that followed a Jewish protagonist, as I can't think of many YA novels I've read that feature Judaism, which is such a rich tradition with so much history and I enjoyed studying it in many of my Religious Studies classes while in college.

For a story that clocks in at just over 300 pages, In the Neighborhood of True covers a LOT of themes and social issues. First and foremost, it covers the struggle of protagonist Ruth has with her identity, of being a Jewish teenager from New York transplanted into Atlanta-n high society after the death of her father, when her mother moves them back to her hometown. While Ruth is enraptured by the South and the pastel dresses, pre-debutante balls and country clubs, she also must deal with the racism and discrimination that's more obvious in her new home state than it was in New York, and determine where she wants to fit in among a society of socialites where she'll never truly be able to admit her heritage and be accepted. While I didn't always like the decisions Ruth made, I thought her struggle as a teenager in her situation was realistic and that she was at times (realistically) selfish and shallow and wanting desperately to fit in, but at her core struggled with her morals and beliefs and how they were compromised by her new social circle. This story is very much a coming of age tale that shows both the wise and selfish choices of the protagonist.

As the story is set in 1958, the racism and segregation faced by Black Atlantans cannot be ignored and I'm glad the author tackled these topics as well as the oppression and discrimination against Jewish citizens. Ruth's Rabbi is one of the leaders in the city spearheading the desegregation movement, and though Ruth wants to fit in with the "pastel posse," she finds herself still being drawn to social justice causes and uncomfortable with the casual racism she encounters everyday (and gets called out on her own problematic behavior a time or two as well). Ruth definitely goes through a "coming of age" journey in this book and her relationship with her Jewish identity evolves over the course of the novel.

One thing that really stood out to be about the writing in this story was how vivid the setting was and how clearly I could picture the scenes. I felt like I was lying poolside in the hot Southern sun drinking Coke and could easily imagine throwing a casual "say hey!" over my shoulder to an acquaintance. The author did a wonderful job in creating an authentic atmosphere though the descriptions, character thought processes, and dialogue.

One element I wasn't expecting was the the novel opens and closes with a court case, and the story itself of Ruth moving and settling into Atlanta is told in between to give context to the trial. The court case revolves around the actual bombing of a synagogue in Atlanta in the 1950s that had a huge impact on the city and the country, which the author covers in the author's note at the end of the book. I always enjoy historical fiction that covers events and happenings that perhaps do not get as much attention as others.

Overall: In the Neighborhood of True is a quick read that covers several important social issues in 1950s Atlanta, and does a good job of juggling multiple historical issues. While I do wish the book had been a bit longer, I enjoyed the novel and it's rekindled my desire to pick up more historical fiction!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages