Castle of Concrete

Set in the final year of Soviet Russia's collapse

This stunning debut novel tells the story of Sonya, a timid Jewish girl reuniting with her once-dissident mother and falling in love with a mysterious muddy-eyed boy who may be an anti-Semite.

All the while, Sonya's mama is falling in love also—with shiny America, a land where differences seem to be celebrated. The place sounds amazing, but so far away. Will Sonya ever find her way there?