Something True: A Review of The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen

Something True: A Review of The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen 

Isaac Blum’s bio says he has taught English at several colleges and universities, and at Orthodox Jewish and public schools. It also says that he lives with his wife in Philadelphia where he watches sports and reads books that make him laugh while showing him something true about the world.

Even knowing only that about him, I can see him in his fantastic book: The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen - and I look forward to meeting him in January when he joins us for our Spill the JEWce book club after we’ve also read his book The Judgment of Yoyo Gold. 

Before we get into the book, you should know there are antisemitic incidents in it, including (CW spoiler alert) a shooting in a store in which some people are killed. 

Fifteen-year-old Yehuda “Hoodie” Rosen and I don’t seem to have a whole lot in common at first. Sure, we’re both Jewish . . . and in some ways that might be it. Hoodie’s tight-knit Orthodox world is filled with Yiddish slang and daily halacha (Jewish law) classes. His community has recently relocated to the mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron. He has a big family, lots of sisters, and his relationship with his oldest sister, Zippy is - in many ways I think - the heart of this book. Because this is a book about questions in which Hoodie is constantly asking himself (and us) - Who am I? What do I believe? What parts of my Jewish life matter most to me? Which parts of my Jewish life do I want to challenge? - his character particularly resonates with me right now. I’m not a teenager trying to figure out who I am and what life I want, I’m a 50-year-old trying to figure out - again - who I am and what life I want. We are different, me and Hoodie, and so are our journeys. We live in the same bigger world, though, and we ask ourselves many of the same questions. 

For Jewish readers who don’t come from Orthodox backgrounds, this book is both a window and a mirror. As a window, Hoodie’s world with its rules, customs, boundaries, clothing, and gender roles might feel unfamiliar. We get to enter this world with curiosity and learn about someone else’s Jewish life. As a mirror, we have an opportunity to find parallels with our own Jewish lives and ask ourselves the same questions Hoodie does. Some of the YA readers in Spill the JEWce loved this book with a great big love, and some of them said they, “liked it okay,” while all of them appreciated being able to get to know Hoodie’s Orthodox world “from the inside.” They liked seeing Hoodie’s friends goof off in class, and they liked Hoodie’s sisters and how real they all are.

Of course, Hoodie’s story also includes a girl: Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary - the not Orthodox and not-even-Jewish daughter of Tregaron’s mayor (the mayer who is actively trying to prevent Hoodie’s community from settling and building in the town). When Hoodie and Anna-Marie begin to build a friendship (and maybe something more), Hoodie finds himself in the tension between two very different worlds. What begins as a light-hearted and awkward connection quickly becomes much more serious, especially when Hoodie is shunned (put into cherem) for breaking the rules.

I think this book also does a solid job of centering Jewish life and Jewish experience and remembering that while antisemitism affects us, it isn’t about us. When antisemitic graffiti is scrawled on Jewish graves and when antisemitic violence - including the shooting I mentioned - enters the story later on, Isaac Blum confronts both directly with care and truth. He reminds us that antisemitism is real, that it hurts, and that it can show up anywhere. At the same time, it’s not a reflection of anything we’ve done. It’s about hatred, fear, and ignorance, and it’s something we respond to in part by living our lives with pride, strength, and community.

For non-Jewish readers, The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen is an intimate invitation into one part of our vibrant and diverse experiences as Jewish people. It offers a look at how some Jewish families live, love, argue, pray, and try (sometimes awkwardly) to grow. It’s not meant to represent all Jews, there is no single way to “be Jewish”, and it’s a powerful reminder for everyone that all    our stories matter and that the more we share them, the more we can understand one another.

For Jewish readers, I deeply believe that reading Jewish books by Jewish authors is a vital part of being Jewish. When we see ourselves in stories and when we hear Jewish voices telling stories, we begin to understand more clearly who we are and who we might become. Whether we light Shabbat candles every Friday or not at all, fast on Tisha B’Av, celebrate Chanukah with our grandparents on our “Jewish side”, keep kosher, or eat bagels on Saturdays before going to soccer practice - this book is for us. All of us.

Ultimately, Hoodie’s journey is about learning how to be fully himself.
In reading his story, we might get a little closer to figuring out how to be fully ourselves, too.

What’s our November read?
I’m so glad you asked!
The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker