Betsy Aldredge

Jewish New Yorker "Order Muppet" high school senior Hannah is confronted with chaos during her reluctant winter vacation visit to her Nana in Texas. Hannah wanted to celebrate her last Hanukkah at home with parents and friends, but instead endures a messy plane trip, literal horse manure, small town friendliness, and the "Chaos Muppet" that is Noah Rosenblum, grandson of the town's only Jewish deli. Noah is struggling to keep the place running, and Hannah jumps in to help. Noah promises to make her Hanukkah "magical," despite her skepticism, and the two form a fast bond, despite the fact that their lives appear to be on completely different tracks. Judaism is important to them both, though, and Hannah learns to live with uncertainty and spontaneity, while Noah attempts to plan an eighth-night miracle.

Hannah and Noah's chemistry is believable, as is Noah's commitment to his grandfather's deli, and keeping the Jewish tradition in Rosenblum alive. On the other hand, Hannah's whole personality is "Jewish New Yorker." There's no explanation or back story as to why she needs to stick to her plan, or even how she came up with it or why it's important to her. The family rift, too, between Hannah's dad and (now deceased) grandfather seems like it should not be affecting the family's relationship with her grandmother, who had good relationships with them both individually. However, I can't think of any other whirlwind Hanukkah romances for teens, and this one is fun.

Quotes

I never thought about what happens to a town when people move away. (18)

"Blum where you're planted." (40)

Unlike people, pickles are praised when they become more sour and a little salty. I should have been a pickle. Then I would be appreciated for who I truly am. (40)

"Part of getting older is learning to accept things that are out of our control. Only you can make the situation better for yourself." (Hannah's dad, 94)

In New York....You can't be open, because open is vulnerable. (110)

I always hate cliff-hangers or ambiguous endings, but now I'm stuck in the middle of one. (135)

"He needs everyone to love him but has problems trusting." (Nana re: Noah, 157)… (altro)

One of the most unique premises for a Pride and Prejudice retelling.

Samantha (a.k.a. Elizabeth Bennett) and her family take part in a reality show competition versus three students from a prep school, including Devon (a.k.a. Mr. Darcy), each attempting to prove that Sasquatches exist. Sam’s family need the prize money to pay their bills, while the students are under pressure from their school to make their institution look good.

This book is mostly on the fluffier side (which suited the story) but I liked that the authors sprinkled in a little more depth here and there, Devon talks about what it’s like to be one of the few students with brown skin at his school while Sam shares a similar experience with being Jewish, and it was good to see the mom called out for shaming her daughter. Plus, while the role in the story is very small, one of my favorite characters in the book ended up being an employee of the reality show who is on the autism spectrum and is willing to lose her job to stand up for what’s right.

If you’re considering this book as a Pride and Prejudice fan, for me, the sparks didn’t fly as naturally for Samantha and Devon as they do for Elizabeth and Mr.Darcy, though to be fair that’s far too high of a bar for any characters to match. But this is a satisfying retelling in the sense that it hasn’t left out any of the major characters or plot points, you get the fun of identifying favorite P&P moments and experiencing a different take on them.

While I liked Sam well enough, her sister Sophie’s romance had a sweeter vibe and the youngest sister seemed to be experiencing more story-wise with her mom, with her choice of crush, with her desire to be reality show famous, it felt like Lyssa had more emotional stuff to go through than Sam did, more growing to do than Sam who pretty much already had a solid handle on life.

With Sam not having much of an arc beyond her family caretaker role and falling for Devon, her sisters’ stories held my interest more and since they were merely secondary characters whereas the book is entirely from Sam’s point of view, that’s probably why I never felt quite as engaged with this one as I’d hoped to be.… (altro)