Susie Orman Schnall, “The Subway Girls” and Kitty Zeldis, “Not Our Kind”

In Conversation with Adrianne Murchison, Journalist, AJC Northside Living Magazine

SUSIE ORMAN SCHNALL, The Subway Girls: A Novel
Book Club Pick!

The Subway Girls is the charming story of two strong women, a generation apart, who find themselves up against the same eternal struggle to find an impossible balance between love, happiness, and ambition. In 1949, ambitious Charlotte’s dream of a career in advertising is shattered when her father demands she help out with the family business. Meanwhile, Charlotte is swept into the glamorous world of the Miss Subways beauty contest, which promises irresistible opportunities with its Park Avenue luster and local fame status. But when her new friend―the intriguing and gorgeous fellow-participant Rose―does something unforgivable, Charlotte must make a heart-wrenching decision that will change the lives of those around her forever. Nearly 70 years later, outspoken advertising executive Olivia is pitching the NYC subways account in a last ditch effort to save her job at an advertising agency. When the charismatic boss she’s secretly in love with pits her against her misogynistic nemesis, Olivia’s urgent search for the winning strategy leads her to the historic Miss Subways campaign.

KITTY ZELDIS, Not Our Kind: A Novel
Book Club Pick!

Not Our Kind is a compelling and thought-provoking novel set in postwar New York City, about two women—one Jewish, one a WASP—and the unexpected consequences of their meeting. One rainy morning in June, a minor traffic accident brings together Eleanor Moskowitz and Patricia Bellamy. Their encounter seems fated: Eleanor needs a job. Patricia’s difficult thirteen-year-old daughter Margaux, recovering from polio, needs a private tutor. Though she feels out of place in the Bellamy’s Park Avenue milieu, Eleanor forms an instant bond with Margaux. When Eleanor meets Patricia’s bohemian brother, Tom, at the Bellamy’s summer home, the spark is instant and intense. Flushed with new romance, Eleanor begins to feel more comfortable with Patricia. As the summer wears on, the two women’s friendship grows—until one hot summer evening, when a line is crossed, and both Eleanor and Patricia will have to make important decisions—choices that will reverberate throughout the rest of their lives.