Set in the final year of Sovi­et Russia’s col­lapse, this stun­ning debut nov­el tells the sto­ry of Sonya, a timid Jew­ish girl reunit­ing with her once-dis­si­dent moth­er and falling in love with a mys­te­ri­ous mud­dy-eyed boy who may be an anti-Semite. 

All the while Sonya’s mama is falling in love also — with shiny Amer­i­ca, a land where dif­fer­ences seem to be celebrated.