The Forbidden Book is a queer friendly YA fantasy by Sacha Lamb. Released 1st Oct 2024 by Levine Querido, it's 256 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
The genderqueer main character runs away from her former life and the external constraints forced on her by her culture and station, and takes up the name and identity of a young man who is in the middle of murder, inherent conflict between different groups of Jews (religiously Orthodox, and more casual), and the wider world in the context of Jewish identity and culture.
It's well written, although there are significant pacing hiccups, and the storytelling is not at all linear. It hops around quite a lot. Much of the characterization is left to the reader to fill in, and it's not always easy to keep them straight, or to extricate any believable motivations for them.
Three and a half stars. It's worthwhile for the cultural background and quite interesting to read for the Jewish folklore itself. There are depictions of distressing (accurate) antisemitism, sexism, etc.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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