The Chosen — Chaim Potok

A coming-of-age classic about two Jewish boys growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940s, this “profound and universal” (The Wall Street Journal) story of faith, family, tradition, and assimilation remains deeply pertinent today.

“Works of this caliber should be occasion for singing in the streets and shouting from the rooftops.” -- Chicago Tribune

It's the spring of 1944 and fifteen-year-olds Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders have lived five blocks apart all their lives. But they've never met, not until the day an accident at a softball game sparks an unlikely friendship. Soon these two boys -- one expected to become a Hasidic rebbe, the other at ease with secular America -- are drawn into one another's worlds despite a father's strong opposition.

Set against the backdrop of World War II and the creation of the state of Israel, The Chosen is a poignant novel about transformation and tradition, growing up and growing wise, and finding yourself -- even if it might mean disappointing those you love.