Bookishly Jewish

Soon By You has a lot to live up to. While it is not the first adult book written by Dahlia Adler, it is the first with the backing of a major publishing house and published after she found success with her witty, and very queer, YA books. It is therefore forgivable that some readers seem to think it is her adult debut. It is also the first time she’s featuring Modern Orthodox characters, something I’ve been secretly hoping she would do for a while now. That’s a lot for one book to carry on it’s shoulders. Luckily, it’s a book that knows something about expectations.

Main character Arielle Becker has long ago given up on other people’s expectations. She has been defying the conventions and expectations of her community for years. She is not ashamed of her various ‘hook ups’, has a penchant for Lego, and her day job involves editing smutty romances. While readers from outside the community will not think of her as particularly old, in the Orthodox dating scene, she’s practically ancient. She’s also not interested. While she is a bridesmaid at an astonishing number of weddings, she’s long ago stopped considering herself marriage material. This would be fine, except the last of her close friends is now getting married, leaving Arielle to feel left out and alone. Not to mention in need of a roommate. Because upper west side rent isn’t cheap.

Wedding singer Judah Klein is an expert at meeting expectations. He is your classic, rule following, Orthodox Jewish, nice, single boy. Right down to meeting every stereotype ever shared about German Jews (Yekke’s for those who like to speak the slang). While Arielle may be considered an “older single,” such labels are not affixed to men like Judah. He is constantly being set up with a steady stream of perfectly suitable, albeit much younger, single women. He’s become even more desirable ever since a video of him singing went viral ala the Miami Boys choir obsession of 2022. The only problem is that Judah is realizing he isn’t attracted to a single one of these women. Until he literally knocks into a very un-suitable bridesmaid at a wedding. A popular Jewish singer isn’t supposed to date a girl like Arielle Becker. And yet.

The story unfolds from there, and I’ll let you read the rest, but I would like to note that it is a high heat book so readers can set their own expectations properly. This may come as a surprise to readers who pick up Soon By You because of the “Modern Orthodox” label, so I want to lay this out up front and avoid confusion. As noted, Arielle has no problem “hooking up” and she is actively looking for a new hook up partner when we meet her. Her main boundary appears to be no penetration. Judah is very much a shomer negiah – no touching – kind of guy. The difference is, unlike most people who observe this custom, he’s never wanted to touch someone romantically before. When he is finally confronted with that temptation, he has his own reasons for giving in to it. This did not bother me because both characters actually discuss their religious choices and why they are making them. Judaism is not a monolith, even with a very small group of Jews, and their choices don’t necessarily have to reflect mine in order to be true. Still, if it’s going to offend you – find another book. If you simply don’t enjoy vivid descriptions of blow jobs (especially when the female does not receive any reciprocal pleasure from the male for many chapters) skip the first sex scene but read the rest.

What about the expectations of Adler’s fans excited for more queer joy in an adult book instead of a YA this time? I believe they are in good hands. Yes, this book features a male/female pairing. No that does not mean it isn’t queer. In addition to one of the side characters representing the difficult position of a Modern Orthodox gay person, Judah is clearly somewhere on the asexual spectrum. He doesn’t need a label, and he isn’t given one, but his working through what this means for himself is an integral part of story. Anyone who doesn’t feel like their expectation for a ‘queer’ book wasn’t met, should probably revisit their biases and expand their definition of queer.

My on small issue with Soon by You is a huge spoiler so please skip if needed. <SPOILERS BEGIN HERE> The character of Mira is introduced as an alternative love interest. She is the female version of Judah – everything the community thinks a girl should be. I have no problem with Judah’s ultimately not ending up with her, but in my opinion, the break up scene did her dirty and by extension also all of Modern Orthodox Jewry. Most of the characters we meet in depth are Arielle and her friends who very casually have oral sex (yes, it does count as sex) because that is their particular brand of observance. It isn’t shocking that a close friend group would all fall into one division within Modern Orthodoxy and make similar choices. Mira, however, is presented as someone with an entirely different religious opinion on sex. Having her take her clothes off in desperation gives the impression that everyone like her is a phony, lying about their chastity, simply waiting for the right opportunity to come along. She appears to violate her principles because Judah is famous. Or maybe because she’s desperate not to become an older single herself. Either way, I felt it did not further the story at all and simply served to degrade her. We could have achieved the same end with her dignity intact and a much fuller view of how many different types of Jews there are even within Modern Orthodoxy. Which is why I rewrote that scene in my head to end differently. <SPOILERS END HERE>

Arielle and Judah both need to change their own expectations in order to find a way to make things work. Readers, however, won’t need to temper theirs. Soon By You might clock in at 336 pages, but it holds the weight of reader expectations well on its paperback shoulders. It has all of the wit and banter + queer joy we have been trained to expect from a Dahlia Adler novel. If you’re looking for some heat, with a dash of religion, this one is for you.

Note: BookishlyJewish received an arc of this book after requesting one from the publisher

---

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

As Psylina explains to her sister, the seductive casino worker Psalome the Dazzler, in Y.M. Resnik’s The Elysium Heist, they may be surrounded by beautiful women, but there are complications: “One of those pretty women needs to be rescued from the jackass who stole her life and the other two want you to rob a casino.” These last are Finley and Kiyokimora—and five point-of-view heroines do complicate the story, though it flows surprisingly well with them all. Psylina continues, “I know you, Lo, and that is exactly why you agreed to this escapade. Ilaria and your desire to help her are affecting your judgement. You like her.” And there’s the novel’s multiple conflicts in a nutshell. 

In fact, Ilaria is fleeing her religious husband and space colony as an agunah—a “chained” woman whose husband won’t grant her a Jewish divorce. As such, she’ll never be able to remarry. On Thillov, married women can’t leave the planet alone or access their bank accounts. Finley thinks, “I’d been to plenty of Jewish run planets before, and none of them were anything like this.” She had offered Ilaria an ultimatum: 

If Ilaria could blow up her office, make it look like an accident, and not hurt a soul, we’d smuggle her off planet.…Ilaria said yes without hesitation. She even upped the task to leveling the entire mine and setting a fire hot enough to destroy any and all human remains so there would be no questions as to the validity of her death. Apparently, jilted women take things to a whole new level of unhinged. 

Accordingly, Ilaria escapes to freedom. She’s rather sheltered—she flinches at sex tapes and profanity. At the same time, she breaks expectations with her surprising and fun quirks, like her training in explosions. As she thinks: 

“All I really want is my life back. My self-respect. A chance at a partner who loves me despite the fact that I like experimenting with explosives more than praying or keeping house. In fact, you might say blowing stuff up is my form of prayer. It certainly feels divine.”

This unusual twist on religion is a fun way to shatter expectations for a conflict that goes back to the fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer. Even in futuristic space casino capers, some elements of Orthodox Jewish life will remain the same. She’s a realistic, believable character with plenty of Yiddishisms. 

Off go all the zany young women on their mission. Kiyokimora GoldWeaver is being blackmailed by Ilaria’s husband Shaul Harbormaster—the sex tape part won’t damage her reputation, but the fact that the client dropped dead from a combination of his drugs and her gold body paint is a problem. Further, the blackmailer stole her heirloom pearl earrings, laser stamped with her family crest and imbedded with a piece of her great-great-grandmother’s DNA. But they’re not just jewelry—without this evidence, her lawyers can provide reasonable doubt. Shaul is using the pearls as his buy-in for the Tournament of Gems at the Casino. And the dealer, Psalome, will be wearing all the buy-in jewelry over a very seductive outfit. All their skills will be needed to win the day.

A sixth friend in the jumble is El (short for Elysium), the AI who manages Psalome’s and Psylina’s lives at the casino. Psylina, who nicknamed the computer, identifies it as her “joyfriend,” a fun way to add a nontraditional relationship. As she adds, “We bring each other happiness. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.” However, it does as she thinks, “Now I’ve committed to helping my sister rob the love of my life.” Here is the difficulty for the characters, as personal loyalties clash over and over. 

As the friends, partners, and sisters defend one another, they all quest for romance and freedom in an exploitative universe. Science fiction and futuristic elements are light. The fun comes from the personalities and the excitement of the heist. Meanwhile, Psalome and Ilaria in particular embark on a spicy and boundary-breaking new romance. It’s a satisfying read as the heroines triumph—and do so with a delightful amount of joy. 

Note: The reviewer received an e copy of the book from the author

---

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

I feel duty bound, as a writer, to warn you that before you pick up a copy of Portia Elan’s debut Homebound, you should finish whatever you are working on. Firstly, because I could not put it down and therefore ignored everything in my life while staying up until 3 am finishing it. Secondly, because I immediately knew I would never write anything even close to this good. Thirdly, because I sat here in front of this blank page for weeks trying to figure out how to write a review of something that changed me so profoundly. However, I am told book reviewers are a dying breed and in order for good books to find their readers book influencers have to step up. So I am putting on my big girl panties and attempting to be coherent while fangirling over this book.

The truth is, Homebound is actually several books in one. There are multiple narratives including a story about grief and coming out in 1980’s, an interactive computer game, an automaton that has somehow gained sentience and is now looking for the meaning of life, and a sea captain trying to protect those she loves in a dystopian future. While the discerning reader can find links in the characters of these stories, the thematic connection is clear even to those of us who are simply looking to enjoy some extremely hypnotic prose. Homebound is a story of seeking connection, what we owe ourselves and each other, and how to be your true self in the face of unfortunate odds. While it is a work of prose, including fun experimental formats, it has the soul of a poem.

It should therefore not be surprising to learn that Elan is also a poet. Or that her instagram and bio feature numerous cats. There is something elusive about cats that makes one suspect they know all the secrets of the universe, if only we could convince them to enlighten the rest of us. Homebound winks at the reader as we rifle through the pages as fast as we can in our eagerness to learn the ending, only to find ourselves flipping backwards to reread a particular paragraph laden with meanings that become more clear as we move forward. Indeed, I was sad when it ended and there was no more to read, but I was also amused at the trick the narrative had pulled on me. It turns, the meaning of the universe is within us all, if only we can learn to listen. Elan knows how to listen. She also knows how to grab your attention and force you to listen too.

Do I sound like a fan? I am. But that brings me to my last disclaimer. I am fortunate to have virtually work shopped fiction with her, and I have never met a kinder soul. Reading Homebound in several iterations was a masterclass in fiction for me. I am still convinced I will never write anything as good as even the drafts of this story that wound up on the editing room floor. But I am no longer willing to give in to writers block. Because what I owe myself, is to continue sharing my stories, and what I owe my reading and writing community is to continue to boost the books that have impacted me. Homebound will heal you. It will bring you closer to true community. You should read it. You owe it to yourself.

Note: BookishlyJewish received a copy of this book from the author.

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

When I was in eight grade, I decided I was done being seen as a nerd. I would become a popular girl with loads of friends (who still got very good grades). The grand plan? Attend a sleep away camp where nobody knew me, use my acting skills to achieve celebrity status by scoring a lead role in the play, and otherwise wow people with my coolness. After all, none of them knew me. If I pretended I was one of those popular people who ruled my school, then why wouldn’t they believe me? It worked for about three days. I did get a major part in the play, and continued to do so every summer, but I just wasn’t interested in the topics required for a girl to maintain status in the “it” crowd- boys, hair straightening techniques, and brand name athletic wear. Turns out you can’t really change you entire persona in a month, nor is it advisable to try. Too bad I don’t have a time machine to explain all this to my bewildered younger self. Next best thing? Rebecca Bendheim’s debut Middle Grade novel, When You’re Brave Enough, which will hopefully spare some teens my tragic fate that first summer.

Lacey has been pigeon holed with the same best friend, Grace, ever since birth. Their parents are close, and while Lacey enjoys Grace’s friendship, she finds their joint families over exuberance somewhat mortifying when compared to all the other chill kids at school. Grace, whom the reader quickly suspects is neurodivergent, is more comfortable in her own skin than any middle schooler I’ve ever met. She brushes it off when various crushes very publicly turn her down, and pursues her own interests even when they bring her ridicule from her Classmates. Like most of us, Lacey is not made of such stern stuff. When her father announces the family is moving to Rhode Island, she’s more relieved than upset. Life in Austin has become disorienting. Here is her chance at a fresh start in a school that revolves around one of her major interests – musical theater.

Lacey is thrilled to be cast in a starring role in the middle school production of Bye, Bye, Birdie, although her peers are horrified that both female leads were given to students who transferred in that year. A frenemy relationship begins, with Lacey never sure if she is in or out with the popular girls, who are pressuring her to keep up the longstanding school tradition of two lead roles kissing in the final performance.

The girls obsess over this kiss in a way only middle schoolers can, each trying to convince Lacey which boy she should choose, only for Lacey to realize that she doesn’t want to kiss either of the boys because she’s a lesbian. Say what you will about the girls behavior – their ulterior motives in befriending Lacey are not pretty – they are very supportive of her coming out, as are her mom, sister, and best friend from home. The conflict comes in the form of Lacey’s Dad, who has always been a queer ally but must now face the scary reality of having his own child come out, and Lacey’s determination not to kiss someone “just for traditions sake.” There’s some heartbreak that Lacey overcomes admirably, a very sweet love story, and growth from a parent which is always nice to see in middle grade. My favorite part though? Lacey realizes that sometimes old friendships are not the problem, but rather our preconceived notions of both our friends and our self are. Lacey is not the only middle schooler realizing she needs to reexamine her prior relationships in this story, and I enjoyed the side plot in which another girls breaks free of bad influences. This was probably what my younger self needed to learn – the only thing holding me back was myself, and there’s no reason to feign interest in things just because the popular kids are.

Lacey also faces some religious pressure. In one scene, her new “friends” misunderstand that fasting on Yom Kippur is not a chore that she would rather avoid but a spiritual experience that she actually finds meaningful. She also decides to have her previously cancelled bat mitzvah, and forms a real connection with her Rabbi and new Synagogue. Again, the true friends prove themselves but not only showing up for the party, but also taking an interest in Lacey’s Torah chanting and what this day actually means for her.

You can’t change your entire personality in a summer, nor should you. When You’re Brave Enough reminds readers that sometimes finding the courage to be brave, to be yourself without embarrassment or hesitation, is actually the only real change that’s needed.

Note: BookishlyJewish received an e-arc of this book from the books publicist.

---

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

It is a difficult thing to be a woman, although the exact details of the struggle vary based on person place and time. For me, it’s about the pressure to try and do it all – career woman, domestic Goddess, hobbies that could be a second job. For Mariyln Weisfeld, protagonist of Susan Kleinman’s debut novel All Afternoon, it is about realizing she has given up her dreams in service of someone else’s. To add insult to injury, that person is failing spectacularly and the rest of her peers are reclaiming their lives, leaving Marilyn in the dust.

Kleinman’s debut is set in a 1970’s orthodox Jewish community in NJ. Marilyn has followed traditional expectations by giving up her promising creative writing career after marrying an economics graduate student. She dove into housekeeping and child rearing as a way of keeping up her end of the marital bargain, while her spouse was supposed to be broadening her intellectual horizons with his big academic career, and providing monetarily for the family. Unfortunately, his career was actually far less promising than Marilyns, landing the Weisfeld’s in a small obscure college town where most of their contemporaries in the Jewish community have far more prestigious and/or lucrative careers. Marilyn might still have been happy, except the reader quickly ascertains that her spouse is a total jerk who uses her for domestic labor while mocking her in front of his snooty academic peers. He’s the kind of man who thinks he should control all decisions because he controls the cash flow, and takes out out his work related frustrations on his family. It’s the kind of toxic relationship that should have ended years ago but is still puttering on due to the children and societal expectations.

Speaking of societal expectations, the women in Marilyn’s town are broadening their horizons, trying to turn their domestic pursuits into careers. It’s a trend currently known as the side hustle. However, as seen through Marilyn’s eyes, these women are petty and small, without any knowledge about how to actual turn a profit at running a business. They also fall right into the trap of early feminists in thinking that anyone who wants something different is automatically a fool. They exclude Marilyn from their groups on the basis that “she wouldn’t be interested,” and one even chides Marilyn for not going back to school because she hasn’t taken the time to learn that unlike herself, Marilyn actually graduated from college – with honors. I suspect several of these women could be the protagonist’s of their own very interesting stories, but in All Afternoon they serve as reminder that there is no one correct way to be a woman, and no one perfect life journey. Indeed they have taken Marilyn’s chosen vocation – cooking, cleaning, etc. -and decided it has no value unless a dollar value can be assigned to it. Not, overall, a great step ahead for women.

Marilyn herself has a much more exciting and vital private life than her neighbors realize. After a disastrous dinner party she reconnects with a friend of her husbands who is a famous writer. Her reminds her of her early career and encourages her to pick up her pen again. Over their enfolding afternoons together, the reader quickly realizes that this man should have been the love of Marilyn’s life. Not her overbearing, chauvinist of a spouse. But Marilyn is too wise and too Orthodox for an affair. Instead, she must sort out the pieces of her family and find a way to integrate it all.

I can empathize. The social dynamics among women Marilyn notes are still alive and kicking. Except now one is expected to be all the things, and to do them flawlessly. #TradWife is trending – but make no mistake, these women are a business unto themselves, monetizing their perfect domestic performance through their social media presence. As a writer, I was surprised to learn that even in traditionally published spaces, writers are currently expected to take on many roles that have nothing to do with writing. The most successful learn to tune out all that noise, focus on what they enjoy, and skip (or outsource) the rest. All Afternoon came with one of the most professional promo kits I have ever received (I admittedly don’t receive that many kits containing more than just the book and some stickers), and I suspect the author designed it all herself. If that is true, she has a real gift. As someone who highly empathizes with Marilyn’s love of baking her own mishloach manot, but has very limited skills for design, I would have zero hesitations about hiring whoever put this package together. Hopefully, this is a sign that we are moving forward as a group and are embracing each others talents and life choices.

All Afternoon also depicts a rising feminism in Judaism, as evidenced by the spread of Bat mitzvahs. Many modern female scholars are asking the same questions a frustrated Marilyn asks of her stunned family when she interrupts their bible trivia game – Anyone know the name of the wives of all these biblical figures? No? Why not? Indeed there are far fewer named female characters in the Bible than men, and far fewer works of biblical scholarship from women who have traditionally been exclude from such pursuits. Women today aim to bridge that gap. Much as Marilyn seeks to reclaim her own existence as a unique individual and not just the unnamed “mother of, wife of, sister of”.

All Afternoon is the kind of book you have to sit and think with. It reads quickly, but it poses many questions for the reader to ask of themselves. I may not agree with all of Marilyn’s choices, but also can’t say that I wouldn’t have done similarly. I respected her unwillingness to upturn her children’s lives and I highly identified with her desire not to be defined by a man – even a good and kind one. I’d like to see more from Kleinman, even if she doesn’t have the time to make adorable promo packages (I kind of hope she does, though). I’d love to hear more of her thoughts about women both in family and in Judaism. Let’s just say, if I was starting a book club, she’d be one of the first people I’d invite.

BookishlyJewish received an arc of this book from the author

---

Find it: Amazon | Bookshop

Author Suki Wessling explains in her afterward that she wrote her children’s book Hanna, Homeschooler after her daughter complained that all chapter books follow children going to school. Indeed, this novel explores the life of its homeschooling heroine (who’s in the equivalent of first grade but has some friends in kindergarten). They cook (with math lessons about how to measure different sizes to make 3/4 of a cup of flour) and make charts about the life cycle. 

However, Hanna frets that the other children have a first day of school, a last day of school, a set schedule and, in fact, worksheets and homework. Her mother carefully listens to these requests and finds her projects that suit her interests. As such, the book acknowledges children’s concerns about homeschooling and also models reasonable responses. As Mom explains to Gram, “So you see, it starts with a question, then it becomes a field trip, which creates an interest, which leads to a project, which depends on art, science, spelling, and math to be completed.” Mom is learning to say “Why not” to Hanna’s suggestions for projects instead of no, and find ways to manage her daughter’s concerns. At last, they come up with their own way to make a meaningful graduation ceremony as Hanna moves on to her next stage.

As far as conflict, there’s tension from Gram, who isn’t sure she’s comfortable with Hanna’s unschooling. There are also still mean kids and bullying, even without being in school. In fact, Hanna reveals that she’s been hanging out with mean girls because, as she puts it, “I like to find out what school’s like.” She feels a lot of judgment from everybody who doesn’t homeschool. However, she does have fun in the history club where all the kids are becoming knights in shining armor. Later, she and her dad visit a nursing home and sing for the residents there. 

Casually mixed into the story are moments of Jewish life, as Hanna and her mother make challah most Fridays now that they live with Hanna’s grandmother. They all light candles and say the prayers together. When December comes, Hanna invites the whole history club to her house for doughnuts and singing, as they make menorahs out of clay. There’s gentle pro-diversity imagery, as they wish everyone “happy holidays” and Gram says, “This is a time of year when everyone celebrates light and love no matter what sort of church they go to.” 

The family doesn’t have much money for commercial toys or other things many children take for granted, but they still lead a happy life together. Using a cassette player in this 2016 book does feel a little dated. Besides this, there aren’t many references to technology. It’s a small-town story of a family who’s used to seasonal travel. The hand-drawn black and white pictures are fun and enticing, as are the handwritten-style chapter headers. It’s a charming book following a nontraditional lifestyle and celebrating the people in it.

Valerie Estelle Frankel is the author of over 100 books on pop culture, including Hunting for Meaning in The Mandalorian; The Villain’s Journey and Adapting Bridgerton. Her Chelm for the Holidays (2019) was a PJ Library book, and now she’s the editor of Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy, publishing an academic series for Bloomsbury/Lexington Press. Come explore her research at vefrankel.com.

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

It is easy to think of a story as over when the last page is turned. The war is worn, the crisis averted, that’s all she wrote. However, it is often just as difficult to deal with the aftermath of a great drama than the actual drama itself. This is something people tend to forget, especially when it comes to the Holocaust. All was not well for the surviving Jews once the allied forces liberated the camps. In fact, there were now scores of homeless, paperless individuals with dire health needs stuck in war torn countries because nobody else would take them in. The antisemitism that allowed Jews to be shuttled off to death camps while their neighbors largely kept silent and/or appropriated their homes and possessions did not magically disappear with Hitler. In fact, in a post-war world where resources were tight, it could be even worse than before.

This is the world that Sharon Kurtzman’s The Lost Baker of Vienna asks you to remember. Told in dual timelines, the novel first starts with food journalist Zoe trying to learn more about her family background after the passing of her grandfather. Searching for any record of her great Aunt, and seeking to explain mysterious post cards and photographs she found in her grandfather’s items, she bets her career by attending a culinary conference in Vienna at which an elusive food industry CEO has promised to meet with her and share more about her family. The magazine Zoe works for is paying her way on this trip she cannot afford because they want the story, but the CEO is only willing to talk if she’ll sign an NDA.

As the story unfolds, we are quickly thrown back to Vienna of 1946, in which Zoe’s great Aunt Chana is struggling to find passage for herself, her mother, and her brother to America. While waiting for immigration papers that may never come, the family must find protection from both thieves, pimps and plain old fashioned hunger wherever they can find it. Even if that means Chana accepting the advances of suitors who work on the black market. It’s a tale full of the kind of thing most people assume was over once the war ended – antisemitism, starvation, exploitation.

I usually shy away from WWII novels. Partially due to generational trauma and partially because I actually shy away from all war related fiction. I just don’t find wars particularly riveting fiction. It’s a personal taste, likely influenced by a pacifist nature and a preference for fashion over firearms. I know such books tend to be hugely popular, have their own sections in bookstores, might be supporting half of trad publishing if not more etc. They just aren’t my thing. That being said, I did not struggle to read The Lost Baker of Vienna. It moved at a brisk pace, and while the aftermath of war was clearly essential to the plot, there was so much else happening to pull me through. It’s worth a read, even if you, like me, aren’t a big WWII buff.

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

For many Jews around the world, Passover prep is well under way. With all that cleaning and cooking going on, it can be easy to forget about a much lesser known Jewish custom that occurs this time of year – counting the Omer. Starting on the second night of Passover, Jews count the days until the holiday of Shavuot when we receive the Torah. If done properly, the Omer can be viewed as a kind of spiritual cleansing mirroring the physical process we just finished when purging our homes of leaven. Last year, BookishlyJewish ran a special Omer program (you can read more about it, and the Omer, HERE). Response was tremendous, with many reading hearing of the Omer for the very first time, and others finding new meaning in their established practice. Which is why I almost fell off my chair when I saw the premise for Evening Begins The Day, a recently released novel from Jessica Brilliant Keener.

In Evening Beings the Day, several linked characters find meaning and purpose through the Omer. Rachel, who kicks the story off, has just found out that her husband had an emotional affair. While weighing her options, she moves out into a small home near her work colleague Cynthia. When Cynthia’s husband tells her about the concept of the Omer, Rachel decides it might be just what she needs to get herself sorted, and even signs herself up for a week long women’s retreat built around the Omer. Cynthia, meanwhile, is having a crisis of her own. Her daughter Lauren is flunking out of school due to depression that presents with components of rage. In a last minute attempt to get her to graduate, to mend fences in the family, and to foster healing, Lauren’s English teacher – who also happens to attend their temple – suggests a homeschool curriculum involving counting the Omer.

The counting in the book follows the same Kabalistic schedule we use here at BookishlyJewish. Each week represents one of the seven sefirot, or attributes, while each individual day is used to consider how each sefirah interacts with the others. Kind of like one sefirah enfolded into another. Through the course of seven weeks the characters embrace concepts like lovingkindness, strength, harmony, endurance, humility, foundation, and regality. While I do not suggest this as a replacement for therapy, I do think it is a very good framework from improving as a person and together as a community. Counting begins at night since in Judaism the day actually beings with the night – as referenced in the title of the book.

There are multiple POV characters in Evening Begins The Day, but only Rachel’s chapters are told in the first person, making her the most visceral. You may or may not agree with her choices in the end, but I found her journey very compelling. The women’s retreat was the kind of thing I would never sign myself up for but sort of wish I would. Cynthia has her own journey, and I found it easy to sympathize with her even when I could spot her missteps with her daughter from a mile away. The one character I struggled to connect with was Lauren. It is possible I was simply not meant to connect with her, as I suspect she’s having trouble connecting with herself during the timeline of the story, but I really, really wished she showed some modicum of ability to be self reflective. She is literally critical of every single thing in the world – especially her mother – but seems to have lost all sense of self perception. Which I suppose resembles many teenagers. Unlike many teenagers though, she still uses “word” as an affirmation. I’ll have to leave it to our teenage audience to weigh in on if kids these days still do that.

We are told many times that Lauren is a smart and mature young woman struggling with how to relate to a world in crisis. We definitely see her being distressed by the world’s crises, and she is obviously struggling, but mostly what sets her off is her mother. I did not get the sense that she was in any way smart or mature, despite literally spending entire chapters in her head. Instead, she came off as a very stereotypical teenager looking to blame the entire world’s problems on her mother, over glorifying her father, and having an almost too close relationship with her English teacher. Unlike the other characters, she didn’t have much of an arc. I left the book worried about her future, and was desperately hoping she would receive some actual therapy to supplement her Omer work.

Rachel’s time at the retreat serves as an excellent overview of the Omer ritual. I even found myself wandering into a Judaica shop to buy my first seder plate much like Rachel does in the book. (Side note, this is a beautiful scene in which Rachel confronts some of her own stereotypes about Orthodox Jews. Top notch stuff.) I’ve always just used a random plate. This year, I wanted it to be special. Mine, completely owned and decided on by me for this purpose. Just like Rachel felt about her solo Seder. If you are thinking of being inspired to count the Omer along with us this year, I would highly suggest reading through Evening Begins The Day as a primer. We’ll be posting a book rec every night that we think brings out the message in the particular sefirah pairing of the evening. However, we know you’ll likely only pick a handful to actually read. Most people don’t have time to read a book a night. Choose what feels meaningful to you. Hopefully, you’ll feel more fulfilled at the end, just like the characters of Evening Begins The Day.

BookishlyJewish received a copy of this book from the author after we reached out and asked for one.

---

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

A Line You Have Traced is a slow generational story, comparing women’s lives across time. In that way, it suggests The Hours or The Female Man. Bea is Jewish, working in her husband’s jewelry store in the Jewish East End of London after World War I. The angel who repeatedly visits her suggests a trace of hope in her dark life. Still, she knows her husband will never believe her about these visitations. Meanwhile, fascism is rising and presenting a constant threat. Towards the end of the story, Bea has embraced Judaism more deeply, eagerly throwing himself into practice. She even goes so far as to consult men about Jewish practice after services, embarrassing her ambivalent husband. As her husband’s judgy friend writes a book about them, resentment builds in their marriage. 

In Ess’s futuristic dystopia, the environment has been destroyed and those with resources live behind massive gates. Humanity is dying out. While her group, called the Network, is preparing for humanity to die out entirely, she agrees to be sent to the past. The science has been based on their people’s foundational texts – specifically the environmental texts and time travel speculation of O. This experimental time travel may be their only hope. But if it succeeds, how is Ess meant to intervene?  

In the present, Kay works multiple jobs and parties with her queer underground friends. As they celebrate counterculture, they avoid the news because it’s so depressing and stressful. Kay serves as a link between the eras as her philosophy bridges past and future. She finally finds herself asking, “If you were a tourist…a time-traveler tourist…what would you say when you got to me?” (268). Her lover O responds that a warning, or advice and a road map, would be nice. Further linking the times, she proposes going back to their great-grandparents’ eras to suggest that they run or get organized and resist. “Maybe you could go back far enough that they wouldn’t even need to run” (269). This is the hope of time travel – improving the past to minimize atrocity. When Kay worries about destroying the timeline, O responds, “What’s the point if you don’t get involved?” (269).

The story explores the ethics and goals of time travel, not the technology. Just because humanity can, doesn’t mean they should. All three times also celebrate nature, from the fertile marshes to the parakeets soaring free in the future. Throughout, there’s an environmentalist plea to not destroy everything. All three women read books written by and about one another, even as their stories show how the books came to be written. All this further links their characters’ beliefs and journeys.

As one character observes, “When we talk about time, we should really talk about history…” reminding the reader that “We are trying to avert catastrophe. To change the future. […] Ecosystem: fucked. Resource management: nonexistent. Human and nonhuman rights: thing of the past. The only difference between us is that I’ve known, nearly all my life, I’ve known—there’s a solution. We can fix what we have done. We can undo the mistakes our ancestors made” (232). The novel ends by wondering whether humans will finally find a way to undo all this damage, or whether earth will be better off without humanity. It’s a slow, meditative experimental text that celebrates women and writing even as the three reflect across their eras. 

---

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop

Who among us has not wondered where we go when we die? Lots of cultures, and books!, have mythology surrounding a river and a ferryman. Certainly a lighthouse is not out of place in that setting, but in J.R. Dawson’s The Lighthouse At The Edge of The World, we get an intriguing glimpse into an almost zany afterlife where dogs are escorting souls onto the boat to the afterlife. And some souls never make it to the lighthouse and boat at all.

All is not peaceful within the lighthouse. The dogs are overseen by two human staff members – the ferryman and his daughter Neera, who are not quite alive but also not quite dead. For the ferryman this does not seem to be a problem. He has long ago left his life behind, thinks this existence is better, and finds the lighthouse a much safer place for his daughter than the streets of Chicago. Unfortunately, Neera would prefer having a chance to actually live before taking over as final companion for the dead. Especially when a living woman named Charlie manages to find her way to the Lighthouse while searching for her dead sister. Suddenly, Neera realizes there is an entire world she’s been missing out on. Including deep dish pizza.

There are two very distinct viewpoints, and I was definitely more of a Neera fan than a Charlie fan. I think this happens when authors are pushed to find some way to distinguish their narrators so absolutely that no one can ever claim they are not distinct enough (a favorite complaint from people who don’t know why they didn’t like a book and therefore reach for low hanging complaint fruits). I suspect there will be some ride or die Charlie fans out there, but I really identified with Neera.

To touch a moment on representation, this is a book that is very Jewish without being about Judaism. Since Neera’s father is Jewish, part of her learning about caring for the dead involves writing names on a wall like the wall of remembrance in many Synagogues, and reciting Kaddish. Similarly, in her in between, painless world, Neera just assumes it is totally normal to be queer. It is Charlie who realizes that holding hands, even on the streets of Chicago, could pose some danger. This was true normalization of marginalized experiences. They are just part of the story, with each character having their own life background changing the lived experience of the same moment. Content note for suicide, homicide, and mass shootings.

Things kind of fell apart for me at the end in terms of the magic system, and I had a couple outstanding questions about the Neera/Charlie relationship, but overall I really enjoyed the balance of plot and romance. This is a slow burn with two very lovable leads. Plus, the dogs are pretty much perfect. If the afterlife is as depicted in The Lighthouse At The Edge Of The World, I think we’re all going to be alright.

---

Find It: Amazon | Bookshop