Truth about My Bat Mitzvah Book

One of the blurbs called this a modern Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, but other than having a main character who's entering puberty and uncertain about her religious identity, there's not much that the two have in common. Baskin's verision of twelve-going-on-thirteen doesn't have the news flashes that made Are You There, God? required reading for my generation so that we could find out everything the adults weren't telling us about feminine hygeine. (Baskin mentions bras, but not periods.)

The Truth About My Bat Mitzvah is really about the main character's warm relationship with her grandmother and how she handles her grandmother's death. The description of grief is well done and realistic. The story just doesn't add up to much. While part of the story involves long-standing family grudges - lots of people aren't talking to lots of people - as soon as the narrator finds out about them, they seem to evaporate. In the end, there's very little for the main character to do. This one is only for kids who appreciate character-driven stories and denouments that are all about a moment of realization.