Books with author Susan Kaplan Carlton

A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out.“The story may be set in the past, but it couldn’t be a more timely reminder that true courage comes not from fitting in, but from purposefully standing out . . . and that to find out who you really are, you have to first figure out what you’re not.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things After her father’s death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta—the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can’t be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the “pastel posse,” Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club. Does it matter that Ruth’s mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth’s life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she’s come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.

A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out.“The story may be set in the past, but it couldn’t be a more timely reminder that true courage comes not from fitting in, but from purposefully standing out . . . and that to find out who you really are, you have to first figure out what you’re not.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things After her father’s death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta—the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can’t be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the “pastel posse,” Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club. Does it matter that Ruth’s mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth’s life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she’s come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.

A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out.“The story may be set in the past, but it couldn’t be a more timely reminder that true courage comes not from fitting in, but from purposefully standing out . . . and that to find out who you really are, you have to first figure out what you’re not.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things After her father’s death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta—the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can’t be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the “pastel posse,” Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club. Does it matter that Ruth’s mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth’s life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she’s come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.

Tourists may think life on an island off the coast of Maine is quaint, but Charlotte knows better. She's tired of her island prison (it has a real name, but she calls it "Bleak"), and she's sure that a life in the great anywhere-else is heaps better than one that revolves around catching a ferry to the mainland. She even has the perfect solution: boarding school.But who will take care of the siblets? Will clinically crazy Mom or organic-obsessed Dad be able to hold things together without her there? And is Charlotte ready to leave love-of-her-life Noah behind?Susan Carlton has created a remarkably vivid, strong character in Charlotte; her intelligence, charm, and bitingly sarcastic wit are sure to win over anyone who has ever wanted more than Bleak."A realistic picture of a girl who yearns for independence but secretly fears letting go of the familiar." - Publishers Weekly

Tourists may think life on an island off the coast of Maine is quaint, but Charlotte knows better. She's tired of her island prison (it has a real name, but she calls it "Bleak"), and she's sure that a life in the great anywhere-else is heaps better than one that revolves around catching a ferry to the mainland. She even has the perfect solution: boarding school.But who will take care of the siblets? Will clinically crazy Mom or organic-obsessed Dad be able to hold things together without her there? And is Charlotte ready to leave love-of-her-life Noah behind?Susan Carlton has created a remarkably vivid, strong character in Charlotte; her intelligence, charm, and bitingly sarcastic wit are sure to win over anyone who has ever wanted more than Bleak.

Tourists may think life on an island off the coast of Maine is quaint, but Charlotte knows better. She's tired of her island prison (it has a real name, but she calls it "Bleak"), and she's sure that a life in the great anywhere-else is heaps better than one that revolves around catching a ferry to the mainland. She even has the perfect solution: boarding school.But who will take care of the siblets? Will clinically crazy Mom or organic-obsessed Dad be able to hold things together without her there? And is Charlotte ready to leave love-of-her-life Noah behind?Susan Carlton has created a remarkably vivid, strong character in Charlotte; her intelligence, charm, and bitingly sarcastic wit are sure to win over anyone who has ever wanted more than Bleak.

A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out. "The story may be set in the past, but it couldn't be a more timely reminder that true courage comes not from fitting in, but from purposefully standing out . . . and that to find out who you really are, you have to first figure out what you're not." -Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things After her father's death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta-the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can't be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the "pastel posse," Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club. Does it matter that Ruth's mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth's life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she's come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.