Gravity

April 1, 2009
Gr 8-10-Ellisheva "Ellie" Gold is an Orthodox Jewish teen growing up in Toronto. When she falls for daring, sexy, non-Jewish Lindsay, she begins a struggle with her own homosexuality, worrying that she will be seen as an abomination by her family and community. First denying her urges and then giving in to them, she ultimately realizes that Lindsay is not a good match for her, but that a nice Jewish girl would be just right. Ellie learns that both love and God are like gravity, forces that she can believe in without seeing them. Much of the story concerns her lustful feelings toward Lindsay, and there are some sexual scenes. Her decision to dump Lindsay but embrace her lesbian identity is abrupt after all the angst of the earlier chapters. It makes for a happy ending, but one that is not completely believable. Ellie's struggle with Judaism is complicated by her sister Neshama's disgust with patriarchal traditions and by her nonobservant grandmother's puzzlement with her granddaughter's lifestyle. With no sympathetic representative, traditional Judaism itself comes off as something of a villain, redeemed only when Ellie begins to adapt it to her own needs. A bit slow in plot, a bit conflicted in its portrayal of Judaism, and a bit titillating in its descriptions of Ellie's growing sexual awareness, this novel is a mixed bag. It may offend some readers and be embraced by others, and would certainly make for an interesting discussion."Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2008
Grades 10-1 Fifteen-year-old Ellie comes from an Orthodox Jewish family that is straining at the edges. Her older sister is planningher escape; her mothers commitment is frayed byher need forself-expression. Ellie herself discovers a different world when she spends the summer with herliberal Bubbe learning to swim and developing a crush on a neighbor, Lindsay. When Ellie returns to Toronto, she tries to contact Lindsay, who ignores her at first, but soon their afternoons togetherturn sexual. Liebermans involving story would have plenty of plot even without the lesbian angle (the sexuality is more than suggestive, though hardly graphic). The individual characters are so interesting thatmore about each would be welcome. But Ellies strong first-person narration, authentic in its wondering, carries the day as she strugglesto fit this new piece of herself into a religion that doesnt accept who she is at hercore. One caveat: the girl on the cover in the sexy school uniform is apparently Lindsay, but those not reading closely will assume its what Orthodox students wear. Hardly.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)