In the Neighborhood of True
Full Praise
Junior Library Guild Selection
Sydney Taylor Notable Book
Rise: 2020 Booklist
Named an Amazon Best of the Year, 2019
“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.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Carlton does an excellent job of mixing the personal with the historical here… Ruth crisply relays her conflicted feelings, the tense situations, and characters who are well shaded and occasionally surprising.”
—Booklist
“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
“A gorgeous story about a teenage girl finding her voice in the face of hate, heartbreak, and injustice.”
–Nova Ren Suma, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Room Away from the Wolves
“Susan Kaplan Carlton’s snapshot of 1958 Atlanta is both exquisite and harrowing, and I will hold it in my heart for a long time.”
–Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone and Our Year of Maybe
“The characters’ moral decisions are so complicated and so surprising that many people will be kept spellbound by even the tiniest detail. Riveting.”
—Kirkus
“Carlton writes with equal parts bemusement and respect for the pre-deb cohort, who are well aware of the difference between looking good and being good.”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“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…Timely YA historical fiction that belongs on all shelves.”
—School Library Journal
“This YA historical novel about discrimination and social justice is painfully relevant today.”
—Bustle
“It has Jewish rep, loving sisters, two boys but no love triangle, social justice, pretty dresses, and a perfectly flawed main character!! 12/10 highly recommend!!”
—Bookish Rantings
“Seriously, this book was so good. Sometimes you come across a YA book that just completely sweeps you off your feet. The writing is so beautiful and the plot is so well thought through, and in the end, you just sit there and think, why hasn’t everyone on the planet read this yet?”
—Caffeinated Words
“Can we celebrate the fact that we’re finally getting a historical YA novel about a Jewish teen that isn’t only about WWII?! … Susan Kaplan Carlton makes historical fiction super approachable and I know I’ll be recommending this to teens at my library!”
—Bookslibrariesalsocats
“As an English teacher who covers world literature with a focus on historical fiction, this is a book I am already recommending to my students. Ruth’s story is relatable and relevant today as we still live in a social climate of hate…Thank you, Susan Kaplan Carlton for opening my eyes and my students’ eyes to the discrimination that is not discussed in our classrooms.”
—Miss Teachers Reading
“In the Neighborhood of True has one of the most honest, multifaceted, and authentic portrayals of teen girlhood I’ve ever read.”
—YA Books Central
“In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton is absolutely incredible. I loved this book. The characters are complex and relatable…Carlton captures the emotions and the struggle perfectly, making it a great place to find representation of what it’s like to be Jewish then and now.”
—Teenreads