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mousereads 's review for:

4.0

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book encapsulates something that I think is an experience that should be addressed more in middle-grade books. That in-between state of wanting to maintain tradition, and wanting to break it to be yourself. The concept of a family not loving you the same as the family that's more like them, or not being enough for that family, is also a really specific feeling that I don't think I've ever seen in a book. While not Jewish, I know the feeling of being less than your cousins for a particular grandmother, and how jarring that is growing up. Additionally, as someone who isn't Jewish, this book educated me a lot on it both from a religious and cultural standpoint. There are some traditions I'd never heard of, that were explained in a way that made sense but didn't feel too "tell not show". The emotional pull mixed in with the sense of stress that Ruby is experiencing to try and save Sarah really rounded this book out, and made it quick-paced and enjoyable.