Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2024) Featured Review: The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen

  • The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen
  • by Issac Blum
  • Narrated by Josh Bloomberg
  • Publisher: Books on Tape/Listening Library
  • Publication Date: September 13, 2022
  • ISBN: 9780593630037

Hoodie Rosen’s life is pretty good. He likes his friends, he has a great relationship with his sisters, and he enjoys playing basketball with his classmates. Sure, he is fitting in with his entire Orthodox Jewish community, adjusting to a new town actively campaigning against them and a recent string of anti-semantic hate crimes, but Hoodie’s happy. He has his Kosher snacks, and he just met Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary, a non-Jewish girl whose mother, the mayor, opposes Hoodie’s community. Hoodie is smitten with Anna-Marie though; he believes they are meant to be together. However, as the violence towards Hoodie’s community grows, he begins to question his faith, what it means to love, and where he truly belongs. The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen is realistic fiction and is an own-voices, character-driven novel.

Narrator, Josh Bloomberg, beautifully brings to life Isaac Bloom’s Morris Award-winning novel. Bloomberg perfectly blends humor and snark to give Hoodie a realistically unique voice as he explores painful topics of hate crimes and religious prejudice with heartfelt realism. The book is entertaining, powerful, and perfect for fans of Jeff Zentner and Deb Caletti.

-Rebecca Baldwin

Other Nominated Titles

Release Date: January 10, 2023
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Release Date: September 13, 2023
Release Date: February 7, 2023

The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination.

Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten.