Thir­teen-year-old Ruthie is the only child of a Jew­ish moth­er and an Ital­ian father. She lives in New York City’s Wash­ing­ton Heights in 1949. She is an ana­lyt­i­cal, obser­vant child with a live­ly mind who has a fam­i­ly filled with se­crets. The author uses snip­pets from Ruthie’s diary as a way for the read­er to peer into her mind, an engag­ing and plau­si­ble technique. 

Jew­ish issues such as anti-Semi­tism, the Holo­caust, and preser­va­tion of lega­cy, as well as gen­er­al issues like racism, are addressed. Although the themes are worth­while and well-pre­sent­ed and the main char­ac­ter is engag­ing and lik­able, this com­ing-of-age sto­ry may miss its tar­get­ed read­ing audi­ence as the writ­ing style seems geared to audi­ence a bit younger than the sub­ject mat­ter would suggest. 

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 11 – 13.