The Shiksa Syndrome

Be careful what you wish for, your dreams (literally) may come true. Aimee Albert, New York City publicist, who is Jewish to the core, is treated to a makeover, which leaves her hair red, straight, and looking very non-Jewish. Hillary Huber reads this story of mistaken identities with lots of energy and enthusiasm. In her new 'do, Aimee attends a kosher wine-tasting with her Gentile co-worker and meets Josh Hirsch, who is handsome and Jewish. He thinks both women are shiksas, and neither corrects him. From there the plot becomes even more tangled in self-deception and outright lies. Huber pronounces Yiddish and Hebrew like a goy, which is jarring when the words come from the Jewish characters. This weakness adds an additional problem to Graff's humorous yet offensive love story. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

June 16, 2008
In the winning latest from chick lit–ster Graff (Looking for Mr. Goodfrog
), Manhattan publicist Aimee Albert, who is Jewish and whose first love, Sam, died during 9/11, has just split with her goy boyfriend Peter McKnight. Desperate for a Jewish husband and children reared in the faith, Aimee, relying on an imagined Jewish male penchant for non-Jewish women (shiksas), loses mega poundage on a “Depression Diet,” straightens and dyes her dark hair red, pops in green contacts and becomes a Shiksa Barbie. Gentile co-worker Krista Dowd drags the new Aimee to a Jewish mixer, where Krista hooks up with Matt Goldman, a Jewish CPA, and Aimee meets GQ-cute Josh Hirsch, who runs LoveLoaves, a lucrative family business, and who only dates shiksas. For her part, Aimee soon discovers how lies can escalate into self-destruction and self-enlightenment. Graff's prose crackles with winning wit, making her potentially annoying conceit go down like a chocolate-covered macaroon.

Starred review from December 15, 2008
Writer/actress Graff ("Looking for Mr. Goodfrog") writes here about New Yorker Aimee Albert, a thirtysomething single Jewish woman who, wanting to find "a nice Jewish boy," attempts to pass for a shiksa (non-Jewish woman). When a handsome, eligible, Jewish man takes the bait, Aimee attempts to hide her religion and true self to hilarious consequence. Audie® Award nominee Hillary Huber (www.hillaryhuber.com; "A Field of Darkness") brings Aimee, her family, and her friends to life, capturing each character's distinct dialect, accent, and tone of voice. Recommended for fiction collections in public libraries. [With tracks every three minutes for bookmarking; audio clip available through www.blackstoneaudio.com; the Broadway hc was recommended "for all fiction collections," "LJ" 8/08.Ed.]Ilka Gordon, Siegal Coll. of Judaic Studies Lib., Cleveland

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.