Orchard

A NATION­AL JEW­ISH BOOK AWARD FINALISTA Recommended Book From:The New York Times * Good Morning America * Entertainment Weekly * Electric Literature * The New York Post * Alma * The Millions * Book Riot A commanding debut and apoignant coming-of-age story about a devout Jewish high school student whoseplunge into the secularized world threatens everything he knows of himselfAriEden’s life has always been governed by strict rules. In ultra-OrthodoxBrooklyn, his days are dedicated to intense study and religious rituals, andadolescence feels profoundly lonely. So when his family announces that they aremoving to a glitzy Miami suburb, Ari seizes his unexpected chance forreinvention.Enrollingin an opulent Jewish academy, Ari is stunned by his peers’ dizzying wealth,ambition, and shameless pursuit of life’s pleasures. When the academy’s goldenboy, Noah, takes Ari under his wing, Ari finds himself entangled in theschool’s most exclusive and wayward group. These friends are magnetic anddefiant—especially Evan, the brooding genius of the bunch, still living in theshadow of his mother’s death.Influencedby their charismatic rabbi, the group begins testing their religion inunconventional ways. Soon Ari and his friends are pushing moral boundaries andcareening toward a perilous future—one in which the traditions of their faithare repurposed to mysterious, tragic ends.Mesmerizing and playful,heartrending and darkly romantic, The Orchard probesthe conflicting forces that determine who we become: the heady relationships ofyouth, the allure of greatness, the doctrines we inherit, and our concealeddesires.