Truth about My Bat Mitzvah Book

I put my fingers up to my throat and touched the pointy Star of David, my grandmother's necklace, a delicate chain made up of countless tiny links. If I wear this, will people think I am Jewish?

Is that what I want to be?

Seventh-grader Caroline Weeks has a Jewish mom and a non-Jewish dad. When Caroline's nana dies around the same time that Caroline's best friend, Rachel, is having her bat mitzvah, Caroline starts to become more interested in her Jewish identity.

Children's Literature

Faced with the death of her beloved nana and the upcoming bat mitzvah of her best friend Rachel, Caroline must come to terms with what it means to be half Jewish and how this can affect her family. Meeting new family and hearing of troubles faced by her mother and her mother's family as they came to terms with being Jewish in the New World, Caroline also deals with the general trials and tribulations any eleven to twelve year old might face in school. Deciding when to and whom to admit her Jewishness, facing up to the admissions, and realizing that she has put more weight on this than any of her friends, Caroline realizes that it is what is inside that truly matters. A lovely coming of age story, almost a modern Are You There God, It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume, this work helps a young teen determine who she is, while also demonstrating how to deal with the loss of a beloved grandparent. Reviewer: Sara Rofofsky Marcus