Jean Ende, celebrated for her award-winning short stories, now captivates audiences with her first full-length novel, Houses of Detention.
Set in the Bronx, N.Y., the novel follows the Rosen family, a multigenerational Jewish family that escaped persecution under the Nazi regime to build a new life in America. Their hard-won stability is shaken when Rebecca, a rebellious teenager, finds herself in the Bronx House of Detention, forcing the family to confront secrets, struggles, and survival in a changing world.
“Houses of Detention is a story that not only reflects Ende’s upbringing but is also relatable to many different audiences,” said Kevin Atticks, director of Apprentice House Press.
Mark your calendars for May 2025—Houses of Detention will be available on Amazon!
Description:
So, what’s a nice girl from a good family doing in a place like the Bronx House of Detention? Like all immigrants who flee persecution, when the Rosens escaped the Nazis they thought life in America would be perfect. And for a while it seemed like it was. The men started businesses and provided comfortable homes with a mink stole in every hall closet, the women served abundant helpings of high carb food and offered Nobel-worthy diplomacy and grandma preserved traditions while finishing a bottle of whiskey every week. But then cracks began to appear and the whole structure became shaky. American born, teenager, Rebecca, pushed boundaries so far the family story suddenly included the police and juvenile justice system; her father, a formerly revered Talmudic scholar mourned his loss of status in this money-grubbing society, and a woman with stricter religious beliefs married into the family causing near catastrophic rifts. Although the shadow of the Holocaust in always present, this is frequently a humorous book. People who eat frozen, pre-packaged bagels are condemned, Cossacks with fiery swords who once burned peasant villages are now Bar Mitzvah waiters carrying flaming cherries jubilee, the blonde chippie who’s dating the synagogue president has a poodle-shaped purse that barks in French and no one understands how WASPs can wear leather loafers without socks. This book has enough twists and turns and turmoil to make anyone, from any group, immigrant or Mayflower descendant, cry, Oy Vey!
About the author:
Jean Ende is a native NYer who is trying to exorcise her background by writing fiction influenced by her Jewish family in the Bronx, NY. A former reporter for daily newspapers in Westchester, NY and Jersey City, NJ, she was a press secretary in the NY City government and for several political candidates. When she left politics, Jean spent several years doing communications work for public service organizations which led to her decision to go over to the dark side. An English major with a degree from CCNY, Jean got an MBA from the Columbia University School of Business. She became a VP at a major commercial bank, wrote for business magazines and taught marketing in college management departments. Jean has had two dozen short stories published in print and online magazines and anthologies in the US and England and her work has been recognized by major literary competitions. This is her first novel. Jean and her dog now live in Brooklyn which is a foreign country to anyone from the Bronx.
About Apprentice House:
Apprentice House is the nation’s first and largest entirely student-managed book publisher. Students at Loyola University Maryland are responsible for every aspect of the publishing process, from acquisitions to design and publication of every book. Our mission is, first and foremost, to educate students about the book publishing process.
As a program within the Communication Department at Loyola University Maryland, it is driven by student work conducted in four courses: Introduction to Book Publishing, Manuscript Acquisitions and Development, Book Design and Production, and Book Marketing and Promotion.
Students in these courses serve as staff in Apprentice House’s acquisitions, design, and marketing departments, respectively.