The Blood Lie
Description
Years before WWII begins, latent hostility against the Jews erupts in a blood lie when Daisy, a young Gentile girl from Massena, New York, disappears in the woods.
It's September 22, 1928, Jack Pool's sixteenth birthday. Jack's been restless lately, especially during this season of more-times-at-the-synagogue than you can shake a stick at. If it wasn't Rosh Hashanah, then it was Yom Kippur, and if it wasn't Yom Kippur, it was the Sabbath. At least going to temple is good for some things. It gives him lots of time to daydream about a beautiful but inaccessible Gentile girl named Emaline.
When Emaline isn't on his mind, he's thinking about his music and imagining himself playing the cello with the New York Philharmonic. Yup, music is definitely his ticket out of Massena, New York. It's nothing but a remote whistle-stop town, and he doesn't want to be stuck there one more minute.
But Jack doesn't realize exactly how stuck he is until Emaline's little sister Daisy goes missing, and he and his family are accused of killing her for a blood sacrifice.
The Blood Lie is inspired by a real blood libel that took place when a small girl disappeared from Massena, New York, in 1928, and an innocent Jewish boy was called a murderer.
Praise for The Blood Lie
"Vernick’s novel is a scathing indictment of anti-Semitismit is an important book that reminds us of the imperative need to remember lest we find ourselves repeating the horrors of the past." Booklist
"A powerfuland poignantreminder that no person can live freely until all people can live freely." Lauren Myracle, author of Shine
"The evolution of how an anti-Semitic lie spread throughout this community is convincingly portrayed in this story[and] the troubling issues that the book raises are sure to give readers a sense of the fragility of Jewish-Christian relations and the challenges posed by ignorance. Highly recommended for all libraries." Association of Jewish Libraries
"Effectively mines layers of ignorance, fear, intolerance and manipulation." Kirkus Reviews
"tackles the weighty issue of anti-Semitism with uncompromising clarity."Publishers Weekly
"The Blood Lie is a riveting and hard to put down novel of small town life and the viciousness that lies in some people." Midwest Book Review
"A short story that makes an impact."Shooting Stars Mag
"Vernick has rescued a troubling historical incident and vested it with contemporary relevance." Hadassah Magazine
"The Blood Lie is the first novel of its kind to be published in the United States."The Canadian Jewish News
