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Chicken Hill is a mixed-race neighborhood of Pottstown, PA, and Chona Ludlow, owner of the titular store, is its most beloved resident. Every chapter introduces a new neighbor, and there are certainly some characters on Chicken Hill. There are Jews and blacks, immigrants and Mayflower descendants, and they all have some sort of connection to Chona and her husband Moshe. When the Ludlows are asked to help keep the state from sending a local deaf boy to an asylum, Chona fiercely protects her new charge, Dodo.

Alas, every town has its scumbags and here it’s the local doctor who mucks everything up. McBride deftly weaves his stories so that even the most heinous villains get their comeuppance. I loved the storytelling, the character development, and the endearing nature of the community. I probably wouldn’t have picked this book up had it not been gifted to me, but I am certainly glad someone thought to!