Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 1 introduces Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. The novel is written in first person through the eyes of Reuven Malter. Reuven Malter is a 15-year-old Orthodox Jewish boy that attends a Yeshiva, or Jewish Parochial school, in Brooklyn. His father is a teacher at his Yeshiva. His school teaches Jewish as well as English subjects. Lessons are taught in Hebrew instead of Yiddish. The focus of Jewish study is the study of the Talmud or Jewish Law.

Danny Saunders is a 15-year-old Hasidic Jew of Russian heritage. He lives only five blocks away from Reuven. Danny wears the traditional Hasidic Jew garb of white shirts, dark pants, white sweaters and black skullcaps. He has curled ringlets of hair near his ears known as ear locks. There is a brief mention of Danny's father, Reb Saunders, who is the leader of the Hasidic sect...