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The Orchard

Review

The Orchard

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Ari Eden has been surrounded by religion his entire life. For 17 years, he attended a small Orthodox Jewish school where religion came before education. He obeys all the rules and traditions, studying the Torah each night with his father. However, despite portraying a devout image, Ari feels out of place.

The family relocates to Florida when Ari’s father lands a job there, and Ari starts his senior year at a Jewish private school. Interestingly enough, the school has never accepted a student in their senior year in almost 50 years; Ari is an exception. He worries that he will feel out of place again. Luckily, his neighbor Noah takes him under his wing. Noah is the golden boy and introduces him to the lavish life of a modern Orthodox kid. It is quite a contrast to his old life, where he studied at an all-boys school and followed shomer negiah, a custom that prevents a person from touching someone of the opposite sex. Ari struggles with this modern Orthodoxy, where teens pick and choose the traditions they follow.

"Though THE ORCHARD is very much dark academia, it perfectly captures the essence of the high school experience."

Ari meets many of Noah’s friends, including Sophia and Evan. From the very beginning, readers see that Evan has charisma, intelligence and an alluring sense of danger. Still reeling from the death of his mother, he is cold and desperate to find meaning and God. He may or may not have drugged Ari during their first encounter, but Noah dismisses this and Evan’s other suspicious behavior.

I found myself drawn to Evan’s interactions with Ari. The headmaster tries pitting them against each other, as they both think on a higher philosophical plane. It was enthralling to hear their conversations about finding God, morality and the true self. Their discussion carried over to actions in the real world, which was fascinating.

A favorite character of mine was Sophia, the love interest of both Evan and Ari. Beautiful, intelligent and confident, she will pierce your heart. I never knew what she was thinking, as she kept her true feelings close to her chest. She has a mysterious allure, and I loved to hate how manipulative she was, especially when she took advantage of Ari's infatuation with her.

As someone with little experience in Judaism, I struggled with certain references, but debut author David Hopen does a good job of explaining various concepts and stories. Though THE ORCHARD is very much dark academia, it perfectly captures the essence of the high school experience. I highly recommend it to readers of THE SECRET HISTORY and those who are interested in the Jewish faith.

Reviewed by Alison Lee on December 4, 2020

The Orchard
by David Hopen

  • Publication Date: September 28, 2021
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Ecco
  • ISBN-10: 0062974750
  • ISBN-13: 9780062974754