You’ll Do – A History of Marrying For Reasons Other Than Love
by: Marcia A. Zug
narrated by: Leigh Serling
January 9, 2024 Steerforth
336 pages
Every writer loves a wedding. Whether our medium is books, television, theater, or movies the drama of two people – two families! – joining together during one extremely overpriced party is hard to beat. Yet, as every writer also knows, the plot behind the plot is often where the real story lies. Love marriages are a relatively new concept, and even those often have other motives lying beneath the hearts and roses. In You’ll Do, author Marcia A. Zug chronicles a host of reasons other than love for which people have been marrying for centuries. The real life cases are often more compelling than fiction.
In the intro, and possibly most Jewish part of the book, Zug reveals that a family member of her own married in order to skirt immigration quotas and help another Jewish person escape Nazi Germany. The chapters that follow detail couples who married for money, child custody, inheritance, and yes immigration purposes. If this shocks you, I think you’ll find as you read the chapters that it should not. Instead, I am hoping your shock will turn towards the horrific laws like have made marriage often the only tool for safety and advancement available to many women and immigrants, and how the cult of love marriage has stripped even more rights away from these vulnerable populations.
There is one big caveat, which the author herself points out. Religious motivations for marriage are not covered in the book. Many people marry because they feel it is Gods will, or because they believe sex outside of marriage is a sin. I understand why religion was left off as a motivator, since the topic could span an entire book of its own, I simply hope Zug decides to make a companion book and cover the topic in it.
As you can tell from the title, You’ll Do, tackles a tricky topic with humor. The writing is clear and concise, and the examples really bring the topics home. I chose to listen to the book on audio and the narrator, Leigh Serling, has a nice smooth voice that keeps even the more boring topics interesting. It was a good match for my commute.
While we have come to think of anything but a love marriage as abusive, You’ll Do challenges us to rethink those thoughts, to judge less, and maybe look at our own notions of marriage with a more critical eye. As a writer, I can say it opened up about fifty more plot lines in the proverbial wedding setting. For this, I am grateful.
Parshat Noah is a writers dream. Among other adventures, we have the flood/ark drama, the Tower of Babel, and one very unfortunate drunken incident. Today, I’d like to focus on something small to learn something large. Most people know that Noah sent out a dove to ascertain if it was safe to leave the ark. Many also know that the dove returns with an olive branch. Fewer know that the olive branch trip was the second of three dove flyabouts, and actually the third bird reconnaissance mission. Before the dove, Noah sent the raven.
Ravens are birds often associated with darkness, death, and horror (thank you Edgar Allen Poe), but in Judaism there is a very special role for this bird of prey. In Sweet Malida, poet Zilka Joseph invites readers into the world of the Bene Israel Jews who have a special relationship with Elijah the prophet. She reminds readers that when Elijah was banished, it was the raven that fed him. She asks us to recall that every creature has its place. When the raven returns to the ark so quickly, it is not selected for the next mission, and several commentators ascribe it malevolent, jealous, motives. However, Aggadic Midrash states that when the raven returns to the ark until “the drying of the waters,” the Torah is telling us the raven was preparing for it’s true mission – feeding Elijah after he was banished for prophesying that there would be no rain, aka a drying of the waters.
I like to think the story of the raven is reminding us to be generous with our fellow man and ourselves. Everyone has a purpose, we simply are sometimes sent on a mission that does not suite us. If we take our cues from the raven, and instead of giving up, we hold ourselves ready, then when the right mission comes along we will grasp the opportunity. We also won’t judge our colleagues as inconsequential to the story. We all have a part to play, we simply don’t know if it’s in the intro, middle, or conclusion of the story.
You’ll have to forgive me for being a little late with this post. I couldn’t gather my list and get everything together until October. The good news? Most of these books are available for purchase right now!
A debut is a wonderful moment for a writer, but it is also incredibly stressful. In today’s climate, there is less and less opportunity to grow over the course of a career. If you want to ensure Jewish writers continue to be able to publish stories, then please consider supporting them – especially debuts. Before we get to the list, here are some suggestions for how to help out a debut. Many are free! And if you have a debut book coming out in 2026 please do let us know.
The most important way to help is buying or pre-ordering the books. Sales are often used by publishers to determine if an author can publish a second book with them. Out of cash? Library requests are free, and they too can help towards sales. Actually reading the book – and then posting a review on major review or sales website – is also critical for a book to find its audience. Did you love the book? Tell your friends! Follow the authors that resonate with you on social media or through their newsletters. Boost a post or two. Attend a local event. You have no idea how much this means to the authors who are shaking with trepidation that nobody will show up to their signing. Even if you hate a book – please be kind. Someone put their heart and soul into making this art. I put together these round up posts in the spirit of ahavat chinam – loving my fellow Jew no matter who they are or if I know them or not. I’d ask you to keep that spirit alive.
For the purposes of this post, a 2025 Jewish Debut is an author who identifies as Jewish and has their first book coming out in the 2025 calendar year. Unlike the rest of the website, for this post, the book does not need to contain Jewish content. I haven’t read them all (although I have read some, and they were great!!). The only other criteria for inclusion was that someone thought to inform me about the above criteria being met. I can’t promote you if I don’t know about you! So if you belong on this list, shoot me a message. If you qualify for 2026, let me know. Maybe next year I can get the post up before the year is almost over.
Without further ado: HERE COME THE 2025 JEWISH DEBUT BOOKS (in alphabetical order)
Acts Of Lovingkindess
by: Nina Kentsis
February 22, 2025 Porter Place publishing
Francie Baum was hoping that turning seventeen would bring some changes, but maybe not so many all at once: a cute new boyfriend from the neighboring school, a shaking up of her once-solid friend group, extra homework from her Hebrew teacher, and, more worrisome, her older brother’s ongoing refusal to return to rehab. She didn’t realize senior year of high school would be this complicated.
As she edges closer to college and the uncertainty of the future, Francie must figure out how to navigate all this and more, demonstrating how acts of lovingkindness have the power to mend even the deepest fractures.
Alice Rue has never spoken to her longtime crush Nolan Altman, but after she saves his life, the EMTs tell his family that Alice is Nolan’s girlfriend. She wants to set the record straight, but Nolan’s in a coma, and if the family feels comforted by the idea of Nolan having his “girlfriend” by his side for what might be his last moments, isn’t it kinder to go along with it? At least for now?
The Altmans are impossibly nice and supportive, and there’s something about Nolan’s sister Van that makes Alice feel more seen and understood than she has in years. She knows it’s wrong to lie, but it’s easy to convince herself that she’s doing the right thing by evading the truth.
But what she can’t avoid is her growing chemistry with Van. Alice must decide if she can unravel this tangle of lies to salvage her chances with the woman who just may be the love of her life—especially if Nolan wakes up.
Unlike the high-achieving members of her family’s secret society, Ada Castle has mastered nothing but the art of falling for the wrong guys. But now she finally has the chance to prove her worth: she just needs to gain access to a hidden school that her family has been trying to locate for generations. Granted, she accidentally goes on a date with the recruiter first, then is temporarily abducted, but Ada manages to secure herself an invitation to the Genesis Institute, where descendants of exiled Renaissance masters practice long-lost arts and sciences.
The school is a utopia of sustainable technology, medical advancements, and myths come to life, yet they are unjustly hoarding their resources. Ada goes undercover to steal their innovations for the rest of the world, but Genesis nurtures her creativity and challenges her views, and she can’t help but fall for the school…and maybe also for her frustratingly off-limits recruiter-turned-mentor.
Ada’s tangle of lies starts to unravel when one of her new friends goes missing. To rescue her, Ada is forced to work with a dangerous (and dangerously hot) classmate whose suspicions threaten her cover. And when the information she’s shared with her family puts her missing friend and all of Genesis in peril, she’ll have to choose whom to betray: the family she loves or the school that has helped her find herself.
When Cy Adler dies, it’s a shock to everyone, especially his daughter, Cammy. Almost thirty, slightly aimless, and stuck in a basement apartment in Queens, she’s forced to return to River Hill, her one-square-mile New Jersey hometown, to sit shiva. Cammy’s fraught relationship with her mother, Beth, has never been easy. And now, with her beloved father gone, she would rather be anywhere but back in her childhood room, in a house filled with guests noshing on snacks and offering their condolences. So Cammy does whatever she can to make it through seven turbulent days of mourning.
Amid getting stoned, reconnecting with her best friend and her high school crush, evading the rabbi, and spending a debauched night in Atlantic City, Cammy must reckon with her roots—with the place she fled for the glamour of New York, where she thought she belonged. But is she really any better off than those she left behind? While navigating the swirl of emotions that accompany grief, Cammy also uncovers hidden truths about her father, which lead her to doubt how well she knew the man she adored. Then again, does she even know herself?
It’s the beginning of the school year—and Briar’s newest resident, D.J. Rosenblum, is not here for it. Ever since her cousin Rachel died, D.J.’s family has been a mess: Her aunt and uncle are catatonic. Her mom is even more scatterbrained than usual. She had to postpone her bat mitzvah a whole year. Worst of all, she and her mom had to move—leaving her best friend, Eva, behind.
Briar does have one redeeming factor, though: Here, in Rachel’s hometown, D.J. can finally get to the bottom of her cousin’s death. With the help of a chatty journalist and a queen-bee hacker, D.J. can fill in the last days of Rachel’s life. And if she can just figure out her Torah portion—with help from her cute tutor, Jonah—maybe, just maybe, she’ll be able to solve a bigger mystery.
Psalome Shipmen is a Dazzler, a hostess working on the gaming floors of The Elysium, the galaxy’s most decadent space casino. But she is also a prisoner to the debt she inherited from her deadbeat father, with years of service ahead of her until she can earn her way out.
Kiyokimora GoldWeaver is a disgraced heiress looking to rescue her family business with an audacious scheme to rob the casino. To pull it off, she needs Psalome on board. When they team up, it looks like a simple job – until Psalome meets Ilaria, the jewel in Kiyo’s master plan, and sparks begin to fly.
With a recovering alcoholic card counter and Psalome’s little sister – who happens to be dating The Elysium’s artificial intelligence – as part of the crew, they might still beat the odds… or learn that the house always wins.
Merriment Feast’s life is one constant party, complete with dazzling gowns and delicious pastries. Everything is perfect…except for her aunt’s physically grueling training. Merri believes it’s her responsibility to protect her family’s traditions and the power they’ve held for generations.
Rue Famine knows that only Feasts benefit from Feast rule. As the heir of House Famine, she spends her days studying potion-making in an enormous, dusty library and learning how to use her magic to help others.
Custom dictates that the heirs of Feast and Famine must duel on their thirteenth birthday. Only one family can rule the land of Fauret, and Merri and Rue have been raised as rivals.
But as the contest draws near and dangers escalate, their true enemy may be a shared one…
This funny mother-daughter caper story stars 73-year-old, overweight former beauty, Aurora, who is a perpetually broke, eccentric divorcee living in the wealthy enclave of Marin County. When Aurora discovers her father’s widow has died, she decides to drive to Los Angeles to see if this means money for her.
Enter Aurora’s high-strung and estranged daughter, 43-year-old Leyla, who spends her days keeping up with the other Marin uber-moms, manically pursuing perfection. When she overhears a conversation and suspects her husband is embarking on an affair, she decides to sneak into a Cannabis business conference he is attending, also in LA, to spy on him.
Aurora and Leyla’s separate quests simultaneously intersect and enmesh in Los Angeles over the course of a weekend provoking hijinks and chaos, and yes, even some healing.
Azrael Ashmedai Hart must be cursed. He’s a witch twice named for the devil. He’s making his way back to his family manor in Hallowcross after a failed screenwriting career. He’s adopted a cat he’s allergic to, and if all of that is not enough, he’s also forced to come face-to-face with his childhood best friend and former crush.
Victoria Starnberger, the bubbly girl-next-door Az lost touch with after an awkward incident in college, has just been disowned by her parents for quitting business school and buying Azrael’s late parents’ Hopelessly Teavoted tea shop against their wishes. Being cut off financially is one thing. But, now Vickie also owes a lesser devil for the souls her parents promised him in exchange for her gift to summon the dead by touching something they treasured in life, destroying the object in the process.
When spirits all over town, including Az’s parents, keeping warning her about a sinister threat, Vickie and Az are forced to combine their powers to save the Hallowcross. But to do so, they must prevent her magic from immolating him after Vickie’s devil places a curse on them to keep them from touching until she repays her debt. As they race against the clock to find clever ways around their curse, they find it increasingly harder to deny that they’ve been hopelessly devoted to each other all along.
As the healer’s daughter, Malka has seen how the wood’s curse has plagued her village, but the Ozmini Church only comes to collect its tithe, not to protect heretics with false stories of monsters in the trees. So when a clergy girl wanders too close to the forest and Malka’s mother is accused of her murder, Malka strikes an impossible bargain with a zealot Ozmini priest. If she brings the monster out, he will spare her mother from execution.
When she ventures into the shadowed woods, Malka finds a monster, though not the one she expects: an inscrutable, disgraced golem who agrees to implicate herself, but only if Malka helps her fulfill a promise first and free the imprisoned rabbi who created her.
But a deal easily made is not easily kept. And as their bargain begins to unravel a much more sinister threat, protecting her people may force Malka to endanger the one person she left home to save―and face her growing feelings for the very creature she was taught to fear.
From the Boston Tea Party to the Capitol Crawl, inspire young activists in this bold nonfiction picture book that explores 25 moments of protest, resistance and revolution throughout American history. In a powerful celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday, teach kids how we campaign and vote. We challenge tradition. Protest is American by definition!
Dr. Ben Friedman’s mental health clinic, The Well Space, has helped hundreds of patients with mental health issues live better lives. But Ben doesn’t need any help for himself. He’s got it all under control, even though he suffers from worsening panic attacks and hasn’t been to the office in a month.
Florist delivery driver Nell uses her green thumb and sheer optimism to get by, but under the surface, her roots are withering. The rent is late, her son is sick, and to top it all off, she woke up to an eviction notice. When she knocks on the wrong door and drops her flower arrangement, it’s just one more mistake to smooth over with a smile. But the grumpy, formally dressed man at the door sees right through her cheerful front.
An unexpected connection sparks between them as Nell helps Ben through a panic attack on his porch. To thank her, Ben orders flowers for every patient in his practice. Nell agrees to deliver them—but only if he comes along for the ride. A blossoming attraction in the florist delivery van leads them to try a three-week trial run for dating. Three weeks to see if Ben can step out of his comfort zone, and if Nell can overcome her painful past and nourish her long-forgotten goals.
From lighting the menorah and spinning the dreidel, to eating latkes and frying sufganiyot in oil, this book would be the perfect holiday gift to teach kids about the many traditions of Hanukkah. It’s sure to be a latke fun for the whole family!
Welcome to the brain of Matt Check. Here you’ll find thoughts of bluegrass music, unrequited love, modern-day Nazis and uncircumcised penises. “Ugh, smegma,” as he likes to say.
Matt’s goal? To make a life for himself in New York City, land the perfect banjo lick, and find love along the way. Bonus points if he can succeed in making his father proud.
I love my Barbie’s and I love strong Jewish women, so I was excited to check out Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen . So excited, in fact, that I neglected to fully read the cover details and went in with a few mistaken assumptions about what would be between the pages. Whoops. Let’s discuss what happened to me, so that you can have an easier reading journey.
I’ve read my fair share of Barbie nonfiction, usually biographies of Barbie’s creator Ruth Handler (check out Barbie And Ruth for a fine example). Let’s Call Her Barbie was multi POV including Ruth, her husband Elliot, her daughter Barbara, and Mattel’s womanizing engineer Jack Ryan. This really worked for me because it allowed me to get a fuller picture of the goings-on at Mattel, however, it came at a cost. The character whose POV most fascinated me, young fashion designer Stevie Klein, was actually fictional. Which I did not realize. You see, Let’s Call Her Barbie, is actually billed as historical fiction! So I spent hours googling Stevie, wondering why I never hear of her before, only to finally realize she was invented.
Going in knowing this is a work of fiction will make your reading ride much smoother, but you might find yourself researching details, like whether Jack Ryan actually could not read (true). The author does address some of the whoppers in the afterward – if I’d read it in advance, it would have spared me the entire Stevie disaster, but I felt compelled to check a lot of other stuff. As a work of fiction, it’s certainly interesting, but the true story is so fascinating that I really didn’t need it to be fictionalized. Others might disagree.
I chose this book as an audio book for my commute, again because I mistakenly thought it was nonfiction. It would have read better for me on paper. I didn’t totally jibe with some of the voices narrator Abigail Reno uses, and I have trouble with multi POV in audio unless those POVS are separate voice actors or one very gifted voice actor that can completely change their narration from character to character (they exist, and I treasure them dearly).
Let’s Call Her Barbie is a worthy addition to the Barbie cannon, but in giving us fictional characters, it leaves off a lot of interesting stuff from Ruth Handler and her children’s lives. I’d recommend reading it in a pairing with some actual nonfiction. And maybe a watching of the Barbie movie to fully round out the experience.
Despite my textual Torah learning starting in first grade with Bereishit (Genesis), I somehow never seemed to make it past the first perek. (A perek is a smaller chunk of the parsha. You can think of it like a Chapter). English is my first spoken language, but I learned to read in Hebrew and Yiddish first, and I guess my school thought the whole reading, translating to two other languages, and then reciting was too much to do in any kind of volume at that age. Fair. But that omission means there are some delightful surprises every time I read Bereishit as an adult. There’s the fact that vegetation was created before the sun and moon (#TeamPlants), the very first named musician in history, not to mention the mysterious Nephilim, who are only mentioned once and yet capture my imagination every single time. But we’re going to leave those elusive giants to my future writing research, and instead focus on the worlds first romantic pairing, and one of my favorite romance novels, Rachel Lynn Solmon’s YA Masterpiece, Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, in which high school rivals Neil and Rowan must team up on an epic scavenger hunt across Seattle.
Adam and Eve by far do not necessarily resemble what I would think of as a paragon of romantic love. They don’t really choose each other, there’s simply nobody else around, and the minute things start to go wrong and God comes calling, they are each so fast to throw the other under the bus. That kind of blame game cannot be good for a marriage. Yet one of the blessings under the Jewish wedding canopy wishes the couple to rejoice just as the original couple did in Eden. Uhm, what? Did I miss something here?
There are some fascinating midrashim about whether there was in fact a different first woman, that the first human may have been an amalgam of both male and female, and don’t even get me started on what these two might have gotten up to during their over one hundred year separation. That is all good stuff – but it too will go to my writing research folder. I’ve always found comfort in the simple explanation that the joy is the very fact that there was nobody else to compare with. Keeping my eyes on my own paper has long been a struggle, and perhaps controlling jealousy is something I really should learn from Adam and Eve. In the same way, Neil and Rowan, must learn to stop comparing other people’s long distance relationships to their own, and do what works for them, in the sequel Past, Present, Future.
In any case, putting my petty jealousy issues aside as well, there are some unique aspects to Adam and Eve’s relationship that are wonderfully illustrated in Neil and Rowan’s enemies to lovers story. The phrase used for woman’s purpose “eizer kinegdo” is often translated in English as helpmate, but that is imprecise and incomplete. The first word – “eizer” – does indeed come from the root word for help, but “kinegdo” actually comes from the root word for opposition. While Rashi famously states that if the man is worthy, the woman will be a helper, but if he is unworthy she will be against him (note the emphasis on the partner needing to be righteous, not the woman being a natural shrew), I’d like to take it a step further. Sometimes opposition is exactly what is needed to help a person grow. In my favorite line, Neil tells Rowan that he attributes all his success in high school to her. Their rivalry is what pushed him to be better every day. He’s actually wondering what he’ll do in college without her. We should not live in the echo chambers of our minds, or even the tiny group of supporting friends we form around ourselves. It is healthy to engage with those who challenge us.
Before the creation of woman, the text states that it is not good for a human to exist alone without the stimulation and challenge provided by a partner. The description of Eve’s creation from Adam’s rib is often used by misguided people as proof that women are inferior. In fact, some Jewish commentators state that she was taken from the existing human to show that they are EQUAL (see above comment about them possibly originating as one single fused being). Otherwise, she could have been fashioned from dirt too, and they could have fought each other until the end of time for supremacy. Instead, we should know that neither will ever win that futile battle because we are all made of the exact same stuff, the same one body. Similarly, when Adam and Eve are cursed for eating from the Tree of Knowledge, fundamentalist misogynists the world over have used those phrases to claim that women should be subjugated to men, as it is divine will. They miss the point – THAT IS A CURSE for people who are not following God’s will. Not God’s desired state for humanity. In the ideal relationship, in which both parties are righteous, they are equal partners without anyone being subjugated to anyone else.
I don’t know about you, but I strive for the ideal, not the horrible cursed relationship. Neil and Rowan are a beautiful example of standing up for ones values while pushing your partner to achieve their full potential. We’ve come a long way to fixing labor pains and agriculture, let’s go ahead and try to work on relationship equality too. Which is what I believe God is really asking of us. To rebuild a better world, including better interpersonal relationships, so that the next time God comes calling it will not be to kick us out of Eden, but rather to welcome us back in since we finally demonstrate the ability to be the humans God knew all along we could be. Kind, respectful, generous partners who rejoice like the first couple in Eden.
The holiday of Simchat Torah is fast approaching, and with its arrival Jews around the world will rejoice that the yearly Torah cycle begins again this Shabbat. Every week, a Torah portion will be read out loud in Synagogue, starting with Parshat Bereishit in which the world is created. As each Torah portion unfolds, the story of the world, the Jewish people, and so much more is told. Every year the words are the same, and yet every year I find new meaning because I, and the world I live in, have changed.
Inspired by several of the wonderful works of nonfiction I’ve reviewed recently, (still glad we decided to expand the nonfiction section), BookishlyJewish would like to ask our readers to consider reading the original Jewish book – the Torah – with us. Each week we’ll post up a thought on the coming Torah portion, and a Jewish book that helps illustrate that point. Ideally, we’ll have those selections up by the Thursday the parsha is read, although thanks to holiday, the book pairing for Bereishit will post this Friday one day before we read it on Shabbat.
I am not a Torah scholar. I have no Rabbinic training, but I firmly believe every Jew can read and learn from the Torah if they wish, and share their thoughts and reactions with the wider world. Therefore, I’ll be reading each portion and choosing what I find meaningful to me – even if it’s just one sentence that struck a chord. I will be using a Stone edition Chumash, because while my biblical Hebrew is actually fairly facile, I’d still like the English translation handy, and it has both Rashi and Targum commentaries without crowding the page in tiny print. In depth learning with centuries of commentary is something I hope to inspire some readers to perform, but for this project, the goal is a reading of the pshat – or simple meaning of the words – with help from what most people consider the two most basic, necessary, explanatory commentaries. Readers can then go back and read the portions that most resonate with them and include all the commentators they wish.
Book selection is not be limited to nonfiction, or books sans sex and swearing. Everything from high heat romance to picture books is fair game if we feel it has a pertinent lesson to share. As always, we have to know a book exists to consider it, so please feel free to fill out our suggest a book form with Jewish books both new and old, for consideration. Similarly, if you would like to guest post a week, send in a pitch for us to consider. However, know that this project will have a much higher bar for guest posts than book reviews and round ups.
We are still a site that mostly focused of book reviews, round ups, publishing interviews, and lists, but this is a project dear to my personal heart. If it doesn’t speak to you, just skip the Thursday posts and focus on the reviews and gifting guides. I hope you’ll give it a chance though. I am a person of the book, and I’d love if you would read along with me.
by: Christina Matular with Erica Lyons, Illustrated by Tracy Subisak
September 10, 2024 Quill tree Books
32 pages
Half the fun of Sukkot is the way it always feels like a gamble. Sitting outside in temporary huts with limiting roofing can be a great way to enjoy the early Autumn breeze while soaking up those last rays of fading summer sun. Alternatively, the lack of weatherproofing on these structures can mean rainy days full of falling water-logged decorations and a mad dash towards the regular house as the skies open and everyone grabs their plates so the food won’t be ruined by the deluge. As an adult, this is decidedly less fun than it was a kid, but it is entirely symbolic of the holiday.
Sukkot commemorates our Jewish ancestors travel through the dessert in temporary homes. Reliance on God was complete – for food, water, protection from the elements and neighboring tribes. Sure, it didn’t rain all that much, but I’m sure there were other duck and cover situations. The most confusing thing about the holiday is its timing. Passover, which celebrates the exodus, is celebrated in Spring. So why is Sukkot celebrated in the Fall and not immediately after? One answer is that the unreliable weather is entirely the point. In the Spring we would likely not have the same extremes of temperature and precipitation as we do in the Fall, and thus it would be much easier to celebrate and forget about the crucial reliance on God. It also a time of last harvest before winter – another great time to rely on God or whatever supernatural forces a given culture reveres.
In Mixed-Up Mooncakes, a sweet picture book written by Chrstina Matula with Erica Lyons and illustrated by Tracy Subisak, a multicultural family family celebrates both Sukkot and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Little Ruby helps her Zayde and her Nainai pick out items for the celebrations, but the eponymous mooncakes – a mash up of both celebrated cultures – are her very own invention. Friends and family gather round in the Sukkah to eat the treats together, and from the illustration it appears they luck out and have beautiful weather.
Mixed-Up Mooncakes is a reminder that there are many cultures out there celebrating this Autumn, and that many in our communities are finding new ways to blend their families cultural heritage. Reliance on God for a good harvest, good weather, and enough to last us through the winter is just as universal as friendship and family.
To be a woman in this world is to walk a slippery tightrope for the entirety of your existence. You can’t be too much, too little, too sexy, too prudish, and forget about ownership of your own body and other peoples demands on it. Some female writers choose to publish under their initials to avoid that scrutiny, and the mis-shelving that comes along with it (just because a woman wrote a book does not automatically make it YA). This quest for an ever shifting and completely unattainable ideal of perfection is especially evident in the entertainment industry where women are commodified and discarded by the thousands. There’s been a spate of nonfiction books chronicling this phenomenon through biographies of the pop singers of the early aughts, but Jennifer Weiner’s The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits, uses this fertile ground in a work of fiction that manages to convey the complexity of simply existing as a female in the public eye.
Weiner is a bestseller, so many of you might be familiar with her other works, but this was the first one that I have read. As a person who has struggled with both my appearance and the idea that I might never be more than competent at my chosen form of art, I highly identified with every single character in this story of two sisters achieving fame and fortune before their band falls apart disastrously. The Griffin Sisters’ unfolds through a series of both present day and flashback multi POV narratives and is geared more towards an emotional read than a suspenseful one. The twists are not shocking, but rather layered with emotional depth.
Zoe, the “pretty” sister is determined to be a star no matter what it costs her and those around her. Unfortunately, she’s a whole lot less talented than her sister Cassie, who she drags along on the ride to fame since without her, Zoe wouldn’t be able to procure a ticket. I’m not going to sugar coat it. The things Zoe does are deplorable. Stating from the very first meeting with her producers when she suggests changing her last name to sound less Jewish, Zoe makes all the worst moves for all the wrong reasons (not judging anyone who has to do that, we live in an unfortunate world, but Zoe doesn’t show any self awareness that it’s a regrettable concession. She happily signs away her identity in exchange for a chance at a recording contract). Even her present day character doesn’t seem to have learned from her past mistakes. I did not like her. But I understood her.
I am not a writing prodigy born with the great American novel dripping off my pen in kindergarten. I’m a person that was good enough to get praised in school, and achieve a modicum of success as an adult in an art form few people read. I’m lucky in that craft work can seriously improve one’s writing if they are willing to put in the time, and that perseverance is half the battle. Enough sweat equity can give you a good story that will entertain at least some of the readers that consume it, which is all I’ve ever striven for, but it is no match for the miracle that happens when someone with an innate gift puts in that same work. Those books change lives, and I am not likely to ever write one. But I have had the honor to read for several individuals that have that gift, and I would be lying if that didn’t sometimes leave me wistful. The difference between me and Zoe? That person for her is her sister. Her socially awkward, overweight, and likely neurodivergent sister that she has had to look after for her whole life. I can feel happy for my talented friends and not see it as a reflection on myself, but it’s impossible for Zoe not to compare or to wonder why nobody wants her music if it doesn’t come along with her sister.
It is one of Weiner’s particular strengths that Cassie, the gifted sister, gets a similar treatment. We enter her head and feel what it is like to be fat, to be left out, to be so shy as to not be able to sing unless your sister sings with you despite having a voice that brings people to their knees. She is a woman of much smaller demands than Zoe, she does not need fame, nor does she desire fortune. Her biggest ask is something that is freely given to Zoe, and so clearly denied to her at every moment of their intertwined lives, that the here too the reader can’t help but feel the irony. Zoe has every guy in the band wrapped around her finger, meanwhile Cassie cannot even imagine what it would be like for someone to want to love her. Zoe might trade it all for fame, but Cassie would do the same to be loved, and desired, for even a fraction of the amount that Zoe inspires in the people who see her. Is it any wonder these two sisters end up using and betraying each other in such terrible ways?
Part of existing as female (in the U. S. at least) includes facing some unpleasantness that Weiner does not shy away from. Readers should go in knowing there are a lot of descriptions of Cassie’s weight, of how others view her, as well as dieting. It is not an easy read and I left a few of the male viewpoints, and some of Zoe’s too, convinced that all people are shallow and gross. Similarly, some of Zoe and her daughter’s experiences of sexual abuse were very visceral. Readers should take care when reading, but these depictions were essential to the plot, and they were nuanced enough to also include the myriad of ways women neglect to protect and support each other.
The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits drew me in much like Cassie’s music draws in the audience. I embodied each of these complicated women, their motivations, their sorrows, their desires. I left wanting to be more kind to myself, more generous to the people around me. We are all created in Gods image, and Zoe and Cassie reminded me of that. Plus there were Liz Phair and Veruca Salt references. That’s all I really need in life
When I was a teen, the holidays of Passover and Sukkot were my version of Spring Break that came twice a year. My Jewish day school went on vacation for the entire 8 day holiday, which somehow resulted in two weeks off from school. Yes, I know eight days is not two weeks. Yeshiva Day School administrators clearly use a different kind of math. Regardless, I was home for a long stretch of time and I didn’t mind in the least. I would walk myself to the library in preparation and emerge with two bags packed with books. Sometimes, they would last, sometimes they wouldn’t. I was a much faster reader back then. The key was to pick books that could hold my imagination long after I finished them. Which is why this Sukkot, I’m recommending The Art of Exile by Andrea Max.
The Art of Exile follows young Ada Castle as she tries to infiltrate a hidden, advanced, technological society known as The Makers, in order to help her family bring Maker technology into the wider world. Basically, Ada’s got a lot of secrets, not least of which is that she has the exact kind of genetic ability to manipulate life force that The Makers are looking for. She also has a great sense of humor, as evidenced by her hilarious comments on the map that accompanies the book, and an uncanny ability to get kidnapped. She’s always felt less worthy than her highly accomplished friends and relatives, but during her time with The Makers Ada slowly realizes she has gifts of her own, and becomes increasingly conflicted about her loyalties to her family vs. The Makers.
While everything is couched in science words like “genetic ability,” make no mistake. The Art of Exile is a magic school book. The science is extremely hand wavey, and all the trappings of a magic school book are present, including a wonky sport the main character is somehow naturally gifted at playing, a whimsical mode of transportation to and from school, students divided into houses or disciplines based on ability, and the mysterious yet sage headmaster who shows up to deliver cryptic advice. If you don’t like magic school books, this won’t be the book for you. But if you do – you, like me, will spend the next two weeks wondering what special projects you would present at your Gallerie so that you could be selected by a desirable discipline.
Along with all the spying intrigue, there is also a love triangle, but I’m hoping that a third option presents itself in the sequel since I didn’t feel either of these guys was right for Ada. The book is low heat for an adult reader, moderate for a YA reader, and while the main character is straight there are several queer side characters providing additional representation. There are many allusions to other characters having sex, and one character is portrayed as wildly promiscuous, but nothing other than kissing actually happens on the page. So don’t worry about reading on the train or in your living room with the entire assembled family who are also on extended holiday vacation. In terms of Jewish rep, Ada’s father is Jewish, one of the love interests is Jewish, and there are several Jewish mystical concepts (albeit with different twists in Maker society) that appear in the book. It’s billed as cross over, but I felt it was solidly in the YA camp, and adults who read YA will enjoy it too.
For those who care, the story of the first book does wrap itself up, and contains one genuine surprise you won’t see coming. It’s the last chapter, where we are setting up for the sequel, that ends on a cliffhanger that most readers will see coming from a mile away. I am usually annoyed when there’s a clear lead in to a second book that isn’t available yet, but in this case I was fine to wait for the sequel as the primary plot did have a full treatment. The Art of Exile is a world that will pull you in, make you wish you could visit, but mostly it’s just plain fun. Which is exactly what I need around a long holiday.
Note: BookishlyJewish received an e copy of this book from the author after we asked for one.
As A Jew: Reclaiming Our Story From Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try To Erase us.
by: Sarah Hurwitz
September 9, 2025 HarperOne
320 pages
Having greatly enjoyed Sarah Hurwitz’s first book, Here All Along, in which she rediscovers Jewish tradition after a life of mostly what she refers to as secular or cultural Judaism, I knew I had to read her latest book, As A Jew. I went in expecting the continuation of her Jewish Journey. I was unprepared for the breadth and depth to which she tackles some of the most difficult topics Jews face today.
As noted in my review of Here All Along, Hurwitz and I are from very different backgrounds. As A Jew opens with an honest discussion of the internalized antisemitism and shame many Jews who grow up in majority non-Jewish or secular Jewish communities face. As a minority, even within the Jewish minority (ultra orthodoxy, the Judaism that even other Jews often sneer at), I had a big advantage in that regard. I grew up immersed in the ‘iz gut tzu zein a Yid – it is good to be a Jew’ mentality. In fact, one could argue that Hassidism is the OG Jewish Joy movement. The very pride and joy that Hurwitz notes many Jews lost during the enlightenment and associated cultural assimilation that followed, was ever present in my community. Probably because while our communities may have lacked walls and gates, they were still self imposed ghettos. Shame wasn’t our problem (and I am honest enough to admit we have many problems that other branches of Judaism do not). However, I did grow up in a majority Christian country, and I couldn’t help but notice how the world at large treated us like sad relics. People toured our neighborhood as if it was a living history museum – except significantly less national pride inducing than colonial Williamsburg. I understood why Jews who grew up in more open communities seemed to regard our form of Jewishness as embarrassing, or something to be covered up when out in the larger world.
Hurwitz is extremely thorough in examining how the worlds stereotypes for Jews came into existence (this was my favorite part, as we don’t tend to learn history of Christianity and Islam in yeshiva, just the associated crusades, expulsions, and pogroms), as well as how they have infiltrated the Jewish psyche. She is measured, she is clear, and she is a joy to read. Sometimes I was terrified and in despair of the endless cycle of history repeating itself, but always there was hope. For Jewish readers, even those with firm grounding in Judaism and Jewish text and culture, As A Jew, will give you back a piece of yourself. For non-Jewish readers, it will ask you to rethink certain internalized prejudices you may not even realize you are carrying around and make you a more critical receiver of information.
I am sure every person will have their own favorite chapter, but mine was when Hurwitz proclaims that even secular Jews should study and access our textline. Scholarship and knowledge – even from people who have no intention of ever being Rabbi’s – is a hallmark of our tradition. Forging more connections with Jewish texts has been the highlight of my adult spiritual life. As you can probably tell from this blog, I consider myself a person of the book. We’re even going to be announcing a special new Torah relevant feature for BookishlyJewish next week, trying to get more of our readers to engage with both ancient and modern Jewish texts.
There’s too much in As A Jew to go over piece by piece, so instead I will assure you that if there is a topic in Judaism that makes you squirm, feel uncertain, or wish other people would not ask about – Hurwitz has tackled it and mapped out why you are uncomfortable and what you ought to be doing about it. I don’t know what ground she’s left for her next book, but believe me, I will be reading it.
Note: BookishlyJewish received an ARC of this book from the publisher after we asked for one.
