Language: R (63 swears 6 'f'); Mature Content: PG13 (intimacy); Violence: R (murder, dead bodies, torture, assault).
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
In 1893 Chicago, 17yo Alter Rosen is working hard to save enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America from Romania. It was supposed to be Alter and his father working together, but his father died - now Alter is doing the best he can. At first, he worked for a street gang, picking pockets, but when one job turned violent, Alter left the gang and is trying to make an honest living as a type setter for a Yiddish newspaper. Several young men his age have disappeared over the last few weeks, and neither the police nor his newspaper think it's worth reporting - the police are calling them runaways. But when his best friend Yakov is murdered, and Alter is possessed by Yakov's dybbuk, Alter is thrown back into the dangerous back alley life he left behind, and must reunite with the boy he's tried so hard to forget to try to find out who, or what, is the killer.
I could not put this down. Looking into the world of Jewish immigrants and their religion was beautiful - Polydoros' description of the ritual involved in preparing someone for burial was sensitive and spiritual - followed immediately by a plunge into this thriller that grabbed me and wouldn't let go. There was a lot of Yiddish included, I appreciated the glossary in the back, Yiddish speakers won't need it. I'm happy that Polydoros didn't try to incorporate context into the story, and let the glossary fill in my gaps. Alter and his friends are in their late teens, but they are experiencing adult lives, living on their own, working etc. Alter is gay, and there is some romance in The City Beautiful, but it's also pretty dark, and violent and scary.
Lisa Librarian
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