Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. No Chillul Hashem here, but gemilut hasadim and tikun olam: serving the dead in lovingkindness, repairing the world. This painful, respectful story of redemption is well worth delving into Yiddish-laden prose. The shameful cover-up is only one of the aspects of Gittel's community condemned, but just as many are portrayed lovingly: the joy in God, in music, in family. The community had lied to the police about the abuse, believing that negative attention is a Chillul Hashem, a transgression of God's name. But if Gittel lives in accordance with God's law, why can't she forget what happened when she was ten years old? Interleaved chapters of Gittel at ten and 17 reveal two heartbreaking stories: the sexual abuse and subsequent suicide of ten-year-old Gittel's best friend, and Gittel's wholly believable breakdown seven years later. It's 2009 in this Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood, where Yiddish is a first language and women work so men can study Torah all day.

Seventeen-year-old Gittel is preparing for marriage, and she hopes the shadchen, the matchmaker, picks a good husband.

Hush by Eishes Chayil