The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

This was such a cute story, and I felt pretty heartwarming despite all of the conflict and differences throughout the book. It also brought to light a different era of historical fiction that I don’t normally read.

Throughout the book, there are lots of little things playing out, but the main focus for me was the sacrifice of Chona and Moshe, taking in an orphan when asked by their friends Nate and Addie. The poor 12-year-old gets the nickname Dodo because of his deafness and what people assume is also dumbness. Chona especially works hard to protect Dodo and keep the state from taking him away to an asylum. In both Chona and Dodo, sacrifice and love is apparent, but in the end, both lose out on what they are fighting for. And they do so in unexpected ways.

I loved the depth of some of the characters and how easily James describes them and their traits in his writing. The ending also came together well, but part of me was hoping for a little more. Overall, 4 ⭐️s. I would recommend giving this one a try!