When the Angels Left the Old Country

Published in 2022, When the Angels Left the Old Country is Sacha Lamb’s debut novel. It is a YA fantasy novel that follows the adventures of the demon Little Ash and angel Uriel as they travel to America with their new friend Rose in hopes of finding and saving Essie, a girl from their small shtetl, or village. As an unlikely friendship grows among Little Ash, Uriel, and Rose, the novel explores how they overcome their differences and shape their identities despite the many challenges and dangers of immigration.

Lamb graduated from Simmons University in Boston and is a 2018 Lambda Literary fellow in young adult fiction. Lamb uses Jewish folklore in When the Angels Left the Old Country to help contextualize the challenges of Jewish immigrants coming to America. The novel is the winner of the Stonewall Book Award and the Sydney Taylor Award.

This guide refers to the first edition hardcover published in 2022 by Levine Querido.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide contain descriptions of violence, prejudice, and antisemitism.

Plot Summary

In a shtetl (village) so small that it is known only as Shtetl, the demon Little Ash and his friend the angel sit in a synagogue and study holy texts, arguing over whether to follow the example of the town’s young people and go to America;  the demon argues in favor of the journey.