The Chosen

A coming-of-age classic about two Jewish boys growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940s, this profound and universal (The Wall Street Journal) story of faith, family, tradition, and assimilation remains deeply pertinent today. Works of this caliber should be occasion for singing in the streets and shouting from the rooftops. Chicago Tribune Its the spring of 1944 and fifteen-year-olds Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders have lived five blocks apart all their lives. But theyve never met, not until the day an accident at a softball game sparks an unlikely friendship. Soon these two boysone expected to become a Hasidic rebbe, the other at ease with secular Americaare drawn into one anothers worlds despite a fathers strong opposition. Set against the backdrop of World War II and the creation of the state of Israel, The Chosen is a poignant novel about transformation and tradition, growing up and growing wise, and finding yourselfeven if it might mean disappointing those you love.