I just finished listening to the audiobook version of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Story by James McBride. What an amazing story and performance. I am eager now to get the printed version to read. If there was ever a story that every person, and especially young people, should read, this is it.
The story takes place in Pottstown, PA during the 1930s It's about the interactions among the Jewish and African-American residents in the poorer part of town, Chicken Hill. Hanging over them is the prejudice of the Anglo white people who control the economy and life of the town.
The old State Mental Hospital, Pennhurst, looms over the story. One of the reasons I liked this so much is that my daughter and her family live across the Schuylkill River in Spring City. A little over a year ago we went on a tour of the abandoned Pennhurst Hospital. The hospital was spooky enough just from a visit of the old buildings. But to imagine what life may have been like through the experiences of one of the story's main characters and another boy was almost too much to think about.
As great as this book is, I wonder how many times it has been banned in schools around the country? In today's atmosphere I wouldn't be surprised. Here's a link to the book in Librarything.
