Dybbuks. Illegal printing. A genderqueer lesbian with a knife.

Set against a backdrop of literary censorship and growing Jewish political consciousness, Sydney Taylor and Stonewall award-winning Sacha Lamb's sophomore novel is a soaring exploration of identity, survival, and ultimately, hope.

On the night before her wedding, 17-year-old Sorel leaps from a window and runs away from her life. To keep from being discovered, she takes on the male identity of Isser Jacobs — but it soon becomes clear that there is a real Isser Jacobs, and people want him dead.

Her mistaken identity takes Sorel into the dark underworld of her small city in the Pale of Settlement, where smugglers, forgers, and wicked angels fight for control of the Jewish community. In order to make it out, Sorel must discover who Isser Jacobs really is — and who she wants to be.

Reviews

★ “Unique and absorbing…page-turning and attention-grabbing…There are many gripping twists and turns, along with dubious motivations, questions of faith and orthodoxy, friendship, identity (gender and otherwise)—and a stolen book that was ‘written by an angel, with its own hand.’” –Horn Book (starred)

“Rooted in Jewish history and brimming with magic, The Forbidden Book is at once a heart-pounding mystery and a poignant tale of identity and found family. Whatever the opposite of forbidden is (mandatory?) that's what The Forbidden Book should be." –Isaac Blum, Morris Award Winning author of The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen

“Captivating… wonder-filled. Sorel is swept into a mystery involving stolen magic and a probable murder... Her growing affection for Adela is an electric undercurrent to her story of defiance, bravery, and unexpected friendships.” –Foreword

“Fascinating.”–Kirkus