⚠️cw: sexual assault, racism, forced institutionalization of a minor

In 1972 when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a Black deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe. As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive.

What a beautiful book! McBride is so talented at his craft and the book was so well written. I loved all of the characters and McBride really did an amazing job at creating so many diverse people. I loved all of the subplots going on in the background and how they ultimately converged. Coming from a Jewish family myself, I found the depiction of the Jewish community beautiful and Chona’s character was my absolute favorite. Her kind heart and justice-seeking attitude made her the absolute best. There were some more sinister subject matters so check trigger warnings, but overall the story was so heartwarming and I loved seeing how people of various races and ethnicities who were marginalized by the white society they lived in were able to band together and find common ground over their shared love of Dodo and Chona. Definitely recommend this one!