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A review by lazygal
The Orchard by David Hopen
2.0
This had so much promise, but the constant digressions into discussions of Gemara and philosophy stop the action and dragged events out for far too long. It also may be difficult to follow some of the plot if you aren't familiar with Judaism (and specifically, the frum life of Modern Orthodox Jews). This isn't The Chosen, although there are some reviews comparing The Orchard to it; yes, we have a fish out of water and deep discussions, but Ari/Aryeh/Andrew/Drew's life in Zion Hills is more like Danny spending a lot of time with Reuven, but in The Chosen we see more of the reverse (Modern Orthodox to Hasidic) than here.
Once you get past those discussions and the religious aspects, this is a coming of age story about a group of boys trying to survive senior year of high school, get into college, date, etc.. They're all stereotypes, with little growth or change during the course of the book. Some of the adults are complicit, some are simply absent, none are responsible. It also took me by surprise that in this area of Florida, basketball was an academic year-long sport. While it served a plot point, it definitely didn't ring true.
eARC provided by publisher.
Once you get past those discussions and the religious aspects, this is a coming of age story about a group of boys trying to survive senior year of high school, get into college, date, etc.. They're all stereotypes, with little growth or change during the course of the book. Some of the adults are complicit, some are simply absent, none are responsible. It also took me by surprise that in this area of Florida, basketball was an academic year-long sport. While it served a plot point, it definitely didn't ring true.
eARC provided by publisher.