L'Chaim to Life!

Book excerpt: Trouble starts brewing in Maggie Sanders's neighborhood when it is discovered that the renters next door are Jews. Mr. Sanders is pressured by his boss to kick them out, and thirteen-year-old Maggie is forbidden to associate with fifteen-year-old Ben. But Maggie has been spying on the neighbors and is excited to find a mysterious object in her tree house. Maggie and Ben soon form a secret friendship. Through her new friend, Maggie learns about a special people and the devastating reality of prejudice. Maggie opens her heart to the beautiful call of L'Chaim: To Life! But will society allow her to embrace both her Gentile upbringing as well as her newfound Jewish friend? J. Ledford Hamilton's inspiring novel reveals the burden of discrimination and the loving choices that can conquer it.