The heart of this book is in the interactions of the community. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters, but felt the plot was a little slow.

You know you are reading a truly great book when you are only one chapter in and you are already recommending it to others. You aren't even worried whether the rest of the book will live up to the beginning. It doesn't matter. And you don't need to worry, because this book is the real deal. It is a great story and well written. This story takes place in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in the poor neighborhood known as Chicken Hill made up of immigrant Jews and African Americans. While not always willing to work together, these groups come together to protect a young deaf boy from the authorities who want to send him to a state institution. Of course, this book is about so much more. James McBride has truly captured his characters, the time, and the place. My only regret is that the book ended before I was willing to let it go.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advance copy. My opinion is my own.

James McBride scores again with this intensely absorbing story of a divided community separated by race, religion, economics and personal and cultural history explored through the lens of a murder mystery. The characters are surprising, strongly portrayed, and relatable.

From the first chapter, I fell in love with this book. The characters are colorful and really come to life on the pages. Author does a great job of creating a visual experience for the reader. I literally felt like I was in Pottstown Pennsylvania, living next to the main characters. I wish I could shop at the Heaven and Earth Grocery store. I truly heartwarming book on humanity.

This book started out a winner; and then I came to the part where it was painful to read to the end. I loved other books by this author and was disappointed that this book did not stand up to his best work.

Beautiful, beautiful story. I have always loved his writing in the book was no exception. Could not put it down.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride follows a community of people in the Chicken Hill Section of Pottstown, Pa. in the 1930's. This is an area inhabited by Black families and Jewish Immigrants. Chona and Moshe run the neighborhood grocery store, staying in the area after many of their contemporaries are opting to move to better sections of town. Chona is unable to have children of her own and agrees to take in Dodo, a young black orphan who is deaf following an accident. Chona and Moshe agree to hide Dodo from the state who is trying to place him in the Pennhurst Institution.

McBride's storytelling abilities are magnificent as he weaves together an entire community, his characters are brilliantly depicted. I especially loved the interactions between Dodo and Monkey Pants.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this great book.

4.5 stars

James McBride’s writing is, as always, a joy. And the feeling behind the book—the message—is well needed and well conveyed and well appreciated.

Still, I felt this was more uneven than other works by him. There were sections that were absolutely captivating but also sections that moved too slowly. I’m not sure I was entirely satisfied by the conclusion.

It was worth the read, and with recommending, but missed an extra level of oomph for me.

I thought this was terrific. The story is as complicated as a tapestry. The characters weave around each other and through the story until the deliciously complex plot becomes clear. The story telling is amazing and the characters are so well thought out and so well written. I've been recommending this to everyone.

McBride is a master storyteller. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is a wonderful, intricately woven tale sure to please most fans of historical fiction.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is my second James McBride book. McBride has such an interesting voice and style. He is so great at capturing the many facets of a neighborhood. The characters are so real and flawed that you can almost forget that you're reading a book.

Opening with the discovery of a body in 1972, the novel quickly goes back in time to the 1930's in a Pennsylvania neighborhood inhabited by African-Americans and immigrant Jews. The main characters are Moshe, owner of an integrated theater, and his wife Chona, who insists on keeping their unprofitable grocery store open. Their employees and friends Nate and Addie ask them to take in a disabled missing boy who is being chased down by officials who want to place him in an institute for the insane. The prejudices and wrong-headedness provoked in this situation are all too relevant today. The descriptions of the Pennhurst Hospital, based on its factual history, are all too horrific. The resolution is most satisfying, and circles back to the mystery of the body found decades later.

This book is one of my favorites that I’ve read all year. I loved how each character in the community was so fully rendered, and I loved how suspenseful it became toward the ending. McBride has shown America itself with this story, and I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s the next Great American Novel, as far as I’m concerned.

Set in the 1930's, residents of Chicken Hill come together to save a young boy from being institutionalized. Chicken Hill's community is largely made up of immigrant Jews and African Americans and even though everyone has their own struggles, they help each other out when they can. Chona and Moshe own a grocery store that helps provide credit to anyone who needs it and Chona doesn't turn anyone away. Dodo lost his hearing in an accident and when his mother dies, Chona takes him in and tries to protect him from being taken away and sent to the asylum. But after an altercation with the local doctor, Dodo is accused of attacking him and taken to the institution. The community then works out a plan to rescue him without bringing more trouble on any of the residents. Overall, a gripping story about a small town with many secrets where the residents try to do the right thing by a young boy despite the bigotry and hypocrisy of some of their neighbors.

Heaven and Earth Grocery Store has already earned much acclaim. It is a story of community and how people of minorities are treated in white Christian America. When Pottstown, Pennsylvania is being torn down to make room for a new development a body is uncovered. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is the story of who the body is and how it ended up there. Read this book! You'll be drawn in immediately. This a book made for book clubs as well. Many thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read the ARC.

This book was another work of art produced by James McBride. Set in the 1930s, we follow a Jewish immigrant theater owner as he chases the American dream with his headstrong wife that sees the worth in all people. When the Jewess decides to help the Negros in town hide a boy, the story takes on a rollercoaster ride of schemes and dirty dealing. This novel embodied what it means to be an immigrant in America through so many lenses. Race relations are tackled honestly and boldly. I enjoyed every twist and turn in this complicated tapestry of 1930s America. This story will be with me for years to come.

James McBride is a master! This book begins in 1972 after the damage of Hurricane Irene uncovers a skeleton in a well and a mizusah. Back in time to the 1930s in Pottstown, Pennsylvania where we meet Chona, her husband Moshe and the Black residents of Chicken Hill. Chona and Moshe are the last of the Jewish families left there. Chona runs the grocery store-which never makes money because she will never deny food to anyone without money. Chona has grown up there and her father founded and built the shul with his Black neighbor, Shad. Chona and Moshe's lives are interwoven with their Black neighbors and friends. Chona is a character with deep moral principles who cannot let injustice go by without challenging it. A wonderful book

This story of a neighborhood called Chicken Hill, where Black, Jewish, and immigrants live and work together, is (in my opinion) McBride's best work yet. The narrative is just brilliant, each chapter serving almost as a vignette that McBride connects to the rest of the story and other characters in remarkable ways. It's tender and suspenseful, heartbreaking and hopeful, and at times laugh out loud funny. The ending is completely satisfying and brings the whole story full circle in such a beautiful way that I didn't even mind that I saw it coming. I love it and highly recommend it.
I was given a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Pottstown, Pennsylvania in the 1930's. Jewish immigrants trying to start new lives. Black families trying to survive. Their lives intermingle on Chicken Hill, especially when it comes to Dodo, a Black boy who is deaf.

James McBride is one of those authors that will never write the same. He pushes the boundries to make you feel uncomfortable but does it in a way that make you at a subject in a new way and actually learn from the experience. The Heavan & Earth Grocery Store is no exception. It has an incredible cast of characters that keep you turning the pages. The main characters are Moshe and Chona who own the Heaven & Earth Grocery store in Chicken Hill which is in a black neighborhood. Nate and Doc are some of the other characters who play a major part of the story. From page one to the final page these townspeople whether good or bad are ones that you truly care about and learn what happens to them. I hope there is some sort of sequel because it really holds your interest and you never really want it to end. I'm sure this book will end up on many "best of year lists" and it is well deserved. Thank you to Riverhead Books and netgalley for the read. I will be recommending this book to my socials as well as a book club selection. There is plenty to discuss and it's not always going to be comfortable but that is what makes this book so exciting.