Mosaic: A Story of Friendship In Israel
by: Lisa Sanders & Jessica Setbon
Self Pub: November 27, 2024
175 Pages
Review By: Adina Moryosef
Poor Maya, the protagonist of Mosaic, has to contend with heat, dust, bugs, and various other creepy-crawlies when she moves into a rural Israeli farming community. I could definitely relate – not so long ago, I made my own transition to a moshav in Israel’s south and encountered my first “wolf” spider up close and personal. I could also sympathize with Maya’s initial dismay at
her radically new surroundings: no malls and no movie theaters, but plenty of dust, bugs, and vegetation.
Maya’s parents are both loving, but work long hours to stabilize their economic situation (this part rings especially true in today’s world), so Maya is left much to her own resources. All the moshav kids have grown up together and there are very definite cliques. She finds herself in the middle of a rivalry between two girls, both of whom she likes, but they are ex-best friends and each is competing for her friendship. These two rivals are Ashkenazi and Ethiopian Jews, respectively, but the conflict between them has nothing to do with their different ethnic backgrounds, just the differences in their personalities and temperaments. This acceptance of one another’s identities is my idea of a perfect world.
The setting of the rural community does feels authentic. This Israel, however, is completely normative – there is no war, looming or otherwise, no demonstrations, no hostages, and no strife. In other words, it’s the world of the average middle school student, and it’s average-ness is refreshing, and in my opinion, much needed. The only battles fought here are preserving integrity
to friends, family, and self. This Israel could be anywhere. There are school projects, malls, clothes, bus rides, and pop stars, and even non-Jewish readers can relate to the story.
I was charmed by the novel’s depiction of Maya’s experiences during the Rosh Hashanah holiday. Maya and her family are hosted for the holiday meal by the family of Melessa, an Ethiopian girl, whose great-aunt reminisces about Ethiopian Jewish culture and history and the great hardships her family endured to get to the Promised Land.
Maya is insecure in the way of all middle school girls, but she has a strong sense of self. As she figures out the new and complicated social network, she finds herself showing true leadership qualities as she orchestrates a big school event (think American Idol meets Crash Karaoke with a sprinkling of Dance Moms) that reconciles the strained friendships. There’s enough excitement and humor to keep a middle grade reader hooked. And a life-affirming message about personal responsibility, loyalty, and going the extra mile for friends and community.
The titular “mosaic” is reflected in the mosaic that Melessa and Maya construct for a school project. Melessa shows Maya how each piece, of different size and color, can be placed with care to create a beautiful and harmonious whole. In a sense, the mosaic reflects both the macrocosm of the different communities living in the moshav, and the microcosm of the circle of friends.
In Mosaic, Maya isn’t forced to confront the big issues of our time (unless you consider social media an issue, which I do); she undergoes a personal journey in which she summons inner resources that I wish we all could find. Would love to see a sequel with these same characters
Adina Moryosef is a semi-retired text editor who specializes in academic and other works by non-native speakers. She holds in MA in religious studies from UC Santa Barbara. She and her family made aliyah in 2003.