I Am Forbidden: A Novel

In 1939 Transylvania, five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard. He’s rescued by a Gentile maid and raised as her own son. Five years later, Josef rescues young Mila after her parents are killed while running to meet the Rebbe Zalman Stern. Josef helps Mila reach Zalman, a leader in the Satmar community, and she is raised as a sister to Zalman’s daughter, Atara. As the girls mature, Mila’s faith intensifies, while Atara discovers a world of books. The rise of communism forces the family to move to Paris, where Zalman tries to raise his children within his strict tradition. Mila marries within the faith, while Atara questions the fundamentalist doctrine. The young women are estranged by their choices until a dangerous secret threatens to banish them from the only community they’ve ever known.

A beautifully crafted, emotionally gripping story of what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law, and centuries of tradition collide, I Am Forbidden opens a startling window on a world long closed to most of us - until now.