Tag Archives: New York City

373B: Jewish woman in the 1930’s – 1960’s Gets a Raise

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I am looking for the title and author of a book I read about 7-8 years ago (2015-2016). I believe it was a fairly recent release at that time, so this book isn’t too old. It is a historical fiction book (I can’t remember exactly what decade it was set in, but I believe it was 1930s-1960s) and what I remember most is that it was about a young Jewish woman who lived in an apartment in New York with her family and worked at an office in Manhattan. The other women at her work weren’t very nice to her, but she was really good at her job and got a promotion. Her home/family life was a big part of the book too. It even talked about cooking on the Sabbath and what was and wasn’t allowed. I know this isn’t much to go on because I don’t remember many details, but I absolutely loved the book. I have tried searching for it for about a year now and have come across a lot of books that hit these points, but they are not the right one. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

370T: Current Events and How to Explain to Children Via Different Religions

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Description: immediately post 9/11, in New York (I think), 3 women meet to “brainstorm” what/how to tell their children about that event. One woman is a Christian, another a Muslim and the third is Jewish. Their meetings continue as they compare and contrast how their religious backgrounds lead them to view both current happenings and each other.

357W: Racy novel set in 1960s in Fashion Industry

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I read this novel in the early 90s. It had a mostly white cover, possibly with a woman decked out in white fur. Here’s what I remember:
— Novel is set in the 1960’s and in the fashion industry.
— Main character was traumatized when, as a child,  she saw her mother, Coral, having sex and thereafter had a lot of problems.
— Her best friend is overweight, marries a drug addict named Alastair. She is also a fashion designer I think, in the style of Mary Quant.
— Coral, her mother, is a magazine editor I believe and nearly dies in a fire.
— Set in London and New York
— Potboiler type novel. Possibly with the word White in the title but maybe not … could just be confusing it because the cover was white.

355U: Metiek Survives Holocaust (Solved!)

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I don’t even remember how old I was when I read it. I’m thinking in the late 60’s or early 70’s. It was a paperback. A young boy nicknamed Metiek (I think) gets separated from his family during the Holocaust. I think, not completely sure, it was Warsaw Poland. He gets captured and thrown on a train to one of the concentration camps. He escapes the train and ends up back in Warsaw (?) on the streets and becomes very street wise. Later he is able to make it to New York City where some relatives are located, and ends up working in the garment district. He becomes successful, marries, she is an actress. They build a nice home, she goes on a vegetarian diet in order to get pregnant, is successful and they have several kids. They (wife and kids) die in a house fire. Metiek (don’t remember his real name) is alone. True Story, his biography. It had pictures in it.

351D: Two Black Girls Grow Apart at Summer Camp (Solved!)

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Two black girls from NYC (I believe) have an opportunity to go to summer camp, maybe upstate? Catskills? Adirondacks?  One loves it, the other misses the city. They are best friends. Book describes city life well: hydrants on to cool the girls off, the cool of the apartment, waiting for mom to get home, making lunch, very detailed as I recall, which makes sense given how much I love richly described characters. Then off to camp where I believe the girls drift apart a bit.  I loved it and would love to know the title.

347P: Skateboarding Girls Try to Save Apartment Building

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Preteen (maybe 13 y/o) girl lives in New York (most likely Greenwich village) with her single mother. They are about to lose their apartment or an apartment building is about to be torn down. She and her best friend, who is a POC, try and find a special artifact in the building before it is torn down or save the building from being torn down at all. I remember that a tree is growing in the foundation of the building. This girl and her mother sometimes ate egg sandwiches whenever they were upset. The girl and her best friend liked to skateboard.