{ "item_title" : "The Forbidden Book", "item_author" : [" Sacha Lamb "], "item_description" : "Set against a backdrop of literary censorship and growing Jewish political consciousness, Printz Honor and Stonewall award-winner Sacha Lamb's sophomore novel is a soaring exploration of identity, survival, and ultimately, hope. On the night before her wedding, 17-year-old Sorel leaps from a window and runs away from her life. To keep from being discovered, she takes on the male identity of Isser Jacobs -- but it soon becomes clear that there is a real Isser Jacobs, and people want him dead. Her mistaken identity takes Sorel into the dark underworld of her small city in the Pale of Settlement, where smugglers, forgers, and wicked angels fight for control of the Jewish community. In order to make it out, Sorel must discover who Isser Jacobs really is -- and who she wants to be. P R A I S E Best of the Year: Boston Globe - The Horn Book Thrums with fervent tension... steeped in Jewish folklore, queer awakening, and a reckoning of body and spirit...offers a fresh way into the messy tangle of gender, its freedoms, and its restrictions.--Reactor Rooted in Jewish history and brimming with magic, The Forbidden Book is at once a heart-pounding mystery and a poignant tale of identity and found family. Whatever the opposite of forbidden is (mandatory?) that's what The Forbidden Book should be.---Isaac Blum, Morris Award Winning author of The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen ★ Unique and absorbing...page-turning and attention-grabbing...There are many gripping twists and turns, along with dubious motivations, questions of faith and orthodoxy, friendship, identity (gender and otherwise)--and a stolen book that was 'written by an angel, with its own hand.'--Horn Book (starred) ★ A precise and deliberate storyteller... Lamb creates a historical fantasy world that is both deeply lived-in and immersive. This is a story that will undoubtedly possess more advanced readers from beginning to end.--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred) The Forbidden Book is the perfect follow up to the masterpiece that was When the Angels Left the Old Country... Steeped in Jewish folklore and magic, I could not put this book down. The characters are all amazing--Sorel is brash in the best way, and I love them, and the ending had the perfect pay off.--Katherine Nazzaro, Porter Square Books, Boston MA", "item_img_path" : "https://covers4.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/64/614/456/1646144562_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "19.99", "online_price" : "19.99", "our_price" : "19.99", "club_price" : "19.99", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "19.99" } }

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Seventeen-year-old Sorel’s arranged marriage is meant to unify two powerful Jewish families in her community in the Russian Empire’s Pale of Settlement. But when 17-year-old Sorel hears a voice in her head urging her to run on the eve of her wedding, she doesn’t think twice. Determined to leave her old life behind, she jumps from her bedroom window and disguises herself as a young man, taking the name Isser Jacobs. However, as she tries to flee the city, she is recognized—not as Sorel, but as an actual boy named Isser Jacobs, who apparently has many enemies. To leave for good, she must figure out how to separate herself from his identity without getting caught by the many people hunting her down. Steeped in Jewish folklore and culture, The Forbidden Book is a fantastic tale with resonant political themes. Based on mythology concerning the dybbuk, a disembodied spirit that inhabits the body of a living person, this novel flows between the supernatural and the concrete in order to ask powerful questions about identity and beliefs. From the very beginning, The Forbidden Book blurs the line between fantasy and reality: Is the voice in Sorel’s head real? If so, whose voice is it, and why is she the only one who can hear it? From there, the story becomes more and more surreal, taking readers on a wild ride through dreams and visions that seep into reality. Author Sacha Lamb uses the magical aspects of the story to highlight and tackle serious cultural and political issues. Sorel doesn’t know much about the voice in her head, but it drives her to question her place, power and identity as the betrothed daughter of a wealthy merchant. The disappearance of the real Isser Jacobs is shrouded in mystery, but it seems connected to his passion for printing and distributing illegal political pamphlets about Jewish Emancipation. As Sorel and the other characters work out what’s real and what’s not, they also explore themes around community, government and freedom. At the heart of this story is Sorel, who spends the majority of the book trying to establish herself as an individual. As she uncovers the lies and truths around her, she must question every facet of her identity, including her family, community, faith and gender. Sorel’s nuanced and complex coming-of-age shows how developing an identity takes time, thought and care. Through all its twists and turns, The Forbidden Book ultimately remains centered around hope and how it can be a powerful catalyst for change—both for an individual and a whole community.