The Orchard

One of my absolute favorite books of this year is a relatively new release: THE ORCHARD by David Hopen. It’s effectively THE SECRET HISTORY by way of Orthodox Judaism, following a young man named Ari Eden as he moves from his ultra-Orthodox community in Brooklyn to the Miami suburbs for his senior year of high school. At his new modern-Orthodox high school, Ari falls in with a group of popular guys who introduce him to a world of teen partying, sex, drugs…basically everything he never would have considered trying in his former life. Grieving his late mother and determined to prove that he is one of God’s “chosen” people, Evan heads down a path of self-destruction that threatens the lives of his friends as well. It’s equal parts cerebral and thrilling, and I could not put it down. 

—Julia Hammer, Creative Exec