The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements - I *loved* this modern-day follow up to the 25-year-old Frindle. If you haven't read it, find a fifth grader and share it with them. And then read this one! Loved it. Great middle grade novel about the power of words and using them wisely. The House of Eve by Sadaqa Johnson - Historical fiction about black women in the 1950s. It was an interesting look at a piece of history that I haven't read about before. The "twist" seemed fairly obvious to me, but otherwise it was a pretty good story. Flunked by Jen Calonita - A fifth grader ran up to me at Hebre ..read more

  Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer - cute and timely, with a lot about antisemitism and living in a smaller town. I'm not sure how I felt about the whole "golem" idea but overall, I appreciated the love story in the end. The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins - I didn't know this was the third in a series when I picked it up. That said, I really liked this one. It reminded me of the Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (one of my favorites) and I do love a smidge of magical realism with my love stories.  Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomons - A sequel to ..read more

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center - Okay, I am so embarrassed to tell you that I read this book in 2009. And honestly? It was so forgettable that I read it again and never realized I'd read it before until I logged it in Goodreads. And I don't remember what I thought of it the first time, but this time I thought it was not my favorite of her books. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio - I'm pretty sure I didn't like this book. I couldn't quite understand the point of it. I liked the premise and it was interesting for the first 20-30 pages. But I couldn't see where it was going and I'm not s ..read more

Um...so this month I watched a lot of the Olympics. And a lot of the DNC. And apparently, I didn't read a lot!  But all of these books were REALLY good so there's that! The Briar Club by Kate Quinn - This was a great combo of two of my favorite kinds of books: about a "found family" and historical fiction. I really liked the look at McCarthy-era Washington, D.C. This book was a little long, but it was really wonderful and totally worth it! True Love Experimen tby Christina Lauren - I really enjoyed this one! I'm now on a hunt for the rest of Christina Lauren's books. A reality show, a s ..read more

Elul -- that wonderful and terrifying month that precedes the High Holy Days. A month of introspection and considering, a month of personal reflection and preparation. #BlogElul is a project that I started in 2010, although it wasn't until 2012 that I created the list of topics. Since then, I haven't always completed the whole month of blogging, although I know that many of you have. I also know that the online world has changed so much since 2010, when blogging was one of the only ways to publish your online content easily. Now we have Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, (some people are still on ..read more

Let's giggle about the THREE books this month all with "summer" in the title, shall we?  This Summer Will be Different by Carley Fortune - totally worked for me. Loved the Prince Edward Island/Anne of Green Gables references. A sweet romance, perfect for July. Reign by Katharine McGee - I just really had to finish this series! A satisfying ending to wrap it all up. The Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr - found family! a creative mystery! a quest to find oneself! I loved this one. A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva - I mean, of course. Gabriel Allon is my ..read more

Okay, we're halfway through the year! Rivals by Katharine McGee (#3) After the second of this series (American Royals), I thought I was done reading these, but somehow I got sucked into this one and I enjoyed it. I am actually curious to see how far they can take this one! And of course, it ended on a cliffhanger so I'm in for book #4. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto - As I've said before, I'm a big fan of the "found family" genre, usually surrouning an older, somewhat quirky, woman. In this case, they're solving a mystery together. I liked this one a lo ..read more

  May was a weird month. I feel like I hardly read anything and there were a couple of books that I actually started and didn't finish. (And one of those I've returned to, so I might have something to report on in June). But I also think that Family Family is one of my top books of the year. So if for nothing else, May was great! Family Family by Laurie Frankel - I loved this one so much, I didn't want it to end. I adored the way the story came together and the different ideas about how families are created. Breathtaking, emotional, beautiful. One of my top reads of the year, I'm sure ..read more

  Hmm, most of this month was a little bit meh for reading. I'll have to work on some better choices for May! One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I did like this one. Apparently, it's also a movie, which I should find and watch. A really lovely inspection of how we find love, how we grow through and with love, and how we change.  Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall - I really like magic stories, but this one was just trying to be a few too many things for me. I wanted to love it, since it was advertised as "gilmore girls meets magic" but ..read more

  Rosh Chodesh Nisan is Tuesday, April 9th. This year is so different. Since October 7th, nothing has felt quite right. And of all the holidays we've observed since Simchat Torah, Pesach is the one that feels...off. I was able to celebrate Chanukah and Purim, but Pesach...how?  And yet - we will. We must. We are told, each year, that we should see ourselves as though we came out of Egypt. That ability to imagine freedom kept our ancestors going through so many hardships of our history. That ability to hold a vision of a better future...and we will get through this dark time too ..read more