Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

Definitely a good book, maybe just not my thing. Very well-written, excellent portrayal of Jewish culture with very lovable characters. I think for people who like this type of book, they would love it. I’ll probably read it again at some point when I’m older and wiser and can appreciate it more

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kari_f's review against another edition

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4.0

“Living on a land that ain’t yours, pretending to know everything when you don’t, making up rules for this or that to make yourself seem big, that puts a terrible strain on a body.”

I absolutely love books where members of a community come together, especially when they find ways to unite despite differences. This book has that and so much more, focusing in on community members of Pottstown, whose lives overlap and intertwine as they strive for a common goal.

Some aspects of the book I loved:

🫱🏾‍🫲🏽 The Black and Jewish experiences in 1930s Pennsylvania, while vastly different, had many overlaps. Seeing the characters recognize traits and struggles in each other that felt relatable to their own was so important. There was quite a bit of discord at times, but there was also so much goodness.

🗞️ The book dives into systemic corruption, inequality, racism and antisemitism, power, and the value (or lack thereof) of a life in an authentic way. And doing so really helps the reader to understand how those things impact everyday people and their views, belief systems, and treatment of others in today’s world.

🕍 We are introduced to Chona early on, and she’s a fabulous example of a strong female character. She is a champion for the marginalized and forgotten, she stands up for her principles, and she talks the talk and walks the walk during a time where women were heavily discouraged to be loud or take up space. I love so much that she embraced change and diversity when it wasn’t “cool” to do it.

😭 The book made me cry twice. The humanity in the characters and the heartbreak our youngest character must endure were utterly heartbreaking, and the fact that I cried means I truly cared for these fictional people.

🪡 The way the plot and characters are woven into a tapestry that starts to take shape is so well done, and while it took a bit of time to get into the story and differentiate between the large cast of characters, it was all worth it to see how everything came together!

📝 The author’s note at the end is for sure one I’d suggest reading once you finish the book!

This was my first book by McBride, but it definitely won’t be my last!

Content Warnings

seacowe's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

jschwie2's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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itshrewsbury's review against another edition

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emotional

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I went into this book with no idea what to expect and I came out really loving it. While I found it kind of circled around a point at times, the ending was really solid and I appreciated how well the epilogue tied everything together. After reading the book, I had to look up more about McBride, because his writing of his Jewish characters made it clear that if he wasn't Jewish himself, he was very very close to someone Jewish. (And he is both - while his mother was born and raised Jewish, she converted to Christianity when she married his father), so that made a lot of things fall into place.

This book was really solid. The characters felt so in-depth, even if at times we were only getting glimpses of them. The story was hard to read at times (and sometimes hard to follow), but the characters were so good at the overarching plot was strong. I really look forward to reading more from McBride, since everything he's written seems fascinating.

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jahsi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This isn't my typical read but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ngl the ending made me tear up a bit. While each character was well written and important to the story, Chona felt like the anchor that really brought it all together.

Content Warnings

befrazzledenby's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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