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A review by smalltownbookmom
Once More with Chutzpah by Haley Neil
4.0
A moving coming of age story featuring a young Jewish girl and her twin brother as they travel to Israel to spend a week learning more about their Jewish roots. I enjoyed the snippets of Jewish history sprinkled throughout the story and how the author explored the many different ways there are to be Jewish. Tally and her brother Max, for example were raised interfaith and their father is the Jewish parent (as opposed to the Orthodox viewpoint that to be Jewish you have to have a Jewish mother).
Other highlights for me included the Broadway play song titles as chapter titles, the cards against humanity scenes, the focus on grief, mental health and sexuality. Tally and Max lost a close friend because of drunk driving and both are struggling with their guilt and grief. On top of this, Tally has a lot of anxiety over her future and her brother's mental health AND she is grappling with her sexual identity and desire, learning she may be demisexual (on the asexuality/ACE spectrum).
This book honestly had a LOT going on (maybe almost too much?). That said there is amazing representation (Jewish faith and identity, mental health/anxiety, asexuality, etc). A great book for teens exploring their Jewish and sexual identity. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC!
CW: death of a friend from drunk driving, anxiety, asexuality
Other highlights for me included the Broadway play song titles as chapter titles, the cards against humanity scenes, the focus on grief, mental health and sexuality. Tally and Max lost a close friend because of drunk driving and both are struggling with their guilt and grief. On top of this, Tally has a lot of anxiety over her future and her brother's mental health AND she is grappling with her sexual identity and desire, learning she may be demisexual (on the asexuality/ACE spectrum).
This book honestly had a LOT going on (maybe almost too much?). That said there is amazing representation (Jewish faith and identity, mental health/anxiety, asexuality, etc). A great book for teens exploring their Jewish and sexual identity. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC!
CW: death of a friend from drunk driving, anxiety, asexuality