One of them A novel

In Zeldis's nuanced story of friendship and heritage (after The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights), two American college students grapple with their Jewish identity in the wake of WWII. In 1946, Miriam Anne Bishop drops her first name when she enrolls at Vassar College, choosing to pass among her gentile classmates. Delia Goldhush, on the other hand, doesn't hide her Jewishness and ignores the snubs and rude remarks made by Anne's friends. Anne is intrigued by Delia and they form a secret friendship, which implodes when Anne chooses her gentile friends over Delia. Anne feels terribly guilty, however, and leaves her snobby clique to study in Paris for her junior year. Delia is also drawn to Paris, where she was living with her family on the eve of the German invasion. There, she searches for answers about her French sculptor mother, Sophie, who stayed behind when the Goldhushes fled back to the U.S. and may have been killed while fighting with the Resistance. Anne and Delia meet by chance in a Paris gallery, and Anne offers to help Delia, hoping to renew their friendship. Zeldis adds depth to the brisk story in her portrayal of the characters' complex feelings about their Jewish heritage. It's an appealing historical. Agent: Susanna Einstein, Einstein Literary. (Sept.)

Zeldis (Not Our Kind) explores a friendship between two students at Vassar College just after World War II. Anne Bishop, who used to go by Miriam, conceals her Jewishness to fit in with the popular girls. She's unsure how to assert herself when her white friend group targets Delia Goldhush, a Jewish student who doesn't fit in and doesn't care to. Anne quietly befriends Delia, but the dynamic between them is corrupted by a betrayal. Both women's families have traumatic histories, and both grapple with their Jewish identity, which ultimately leads them to Palestine. As they intersect on the eve of the creation of Israel, the tension within their identities intensifies, and both women try to find a voice for themselves and with each other. The milestones of first loves, the agony of family secrets, and a hunger to find their place in the world guide each woman in a different direction until the fitting and satisfying ending. VERDICT A strong story of women's friendship set against a dynamic historical era. The journey Anne and Delia undertake will inspire plenty of fruitful book club discussions.--Tina Panik