JO JOE by Sally Wiener Grotta is Released

In today's America, racial and ethnic identity is no longer cut and dried, yet prejudice and misunderstandings abide. Who are you? Where do you belong? Who are your people? Why does it matter? And what happens if your loyalties are not only divided, but conflicted?

"Jo Joe", a new novel by Sally Wiener Grotta, explores these questions within the framework of a compelling, character-driven story.

Judith Ormand learned hate and bigotry early in life. As a child, she was the only Black - and the only Jew - in a small insular Pennsylvania mountain village where she was raised by her white Christian grandparents. Now, she must reluctantly break her vow to never return to the town she learned to hate. During the one week visit, she buries and mourns her beloved grandmother, is forced to deal with the white boy who cruelly broke her heart, and is menaced by an old enemy. But with her traumatic discovery of a long-buried secret, Judith finds more questions than answers about the prejudice that scarred her childhood.

"Jo Joe" is a story about contemporary human relationships, a mystery of the heart that takes the reader through a single week, which starts out with twisted memories, love that becomes hate, bigotry that explodes into violence, and ends with a surprising revelation. "Jo Joe's" themes of Jewish and Black identity, as well as childhood memories as an "outsider," are particularly suited for lively, interesting book club and classroom discussions. A free Study Guide for book discussion leaders is available from the Pixel Hall Press website.

"Jo Joe" is by the award-winning, internationally respected journalist Sally Wiener Grotta. Ms. Grotta's articles, columns and reviews are marked by a narrative style that entertains as well as informs. Her work has appeared in scores of magazines and newspapers (including Woman's Day, American Heritage, Islands, The Robb Report, Popular Science, etc.). She is also the co-author of numerous non-fiction books. Her short fiction has appeared in The North Atlantic Review.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION

Publisher: Pixel Hall Press
Publication dates:
May 6, 2013 Hardbound
June 6, 2013 Trade paperback and eBook

312 pages
Hardbound $29.95 (ISBN: 978-0-9883871-4-0)
Paperback $17.95 (ISBN: 978-0-9883871-1-9)
eBook $3.99 (ISBN: 978-0-9883871-5-7)
Distribution: Ingram
Category: Fiction (Adult), Jewish, African-American

Review copies available on NetGalley, or contact Cynthia Dadson (Cynthia(at)PixelHallPress(dot)com) for an advance readers copy (eBook or print). Author available for interview.

ABOUT PIXEL HALL PRESS

Pixel Hall Press is a relatively new, but old-fashioned small publishing house that focuses on discovering literary gems and great stories that might have otherwise been overlooked.

In this era of digital technology, Wall Street involvement and merger mania, mainstream publishers seem to have lost sight of the core principles and purpose of publishing. At the other end of the spectrum is an avalanche of self-published books that are notoriously uneven in quality. Small boutique imprints, such as Pixel Hall Press, are reclaiming the heart and soul of publishing by reviving the idea that a publisher's raison d'être is to find and nurture great writers, and to provide readers with beautiful, meaningful, truly enjoyable books.

To post a comment, you must register and login.