The Chosen by Chaim Potok is a book that my brother recommended I read. There are very few books that he likes enough to recommend them to me. So far, each of the books he has suggested to me, over the years, have been incredibly compelling.
Typically, my brother chooses books that fit squarely into the fantasy genre. The Chosen, however, has no fantasy elements.
It focuses on two Jewish boys live in the same neighborhood. Both boys play baseball. My brother is not Jewish, and doesn’t care much about sports. Despite this, he liked The Chosen, possibly because the book has a deep story with a lot of social complexity running through it.