book review | Heidi Slowinski

[Book Review] Wolf Catcher by Anne Montgomery

Posted on February 9, 2022 Leave a Comment

By Anne Montgomery Kate Butler maintains her investigative journalism career by freelancing. Her latest project, focused on the discovery of a tomb in the Arizona desert, is near Flagstaff. Artifacts found at the site indicate the individual buried was a magician. When inconsistencies in the magician’s appearance raise questions about his origins, Butler is carried […]

January 2022 Wrap Up

Posted on February 2, 2022 2 Comments

Welcome to my January Wrap-Up! I managed to cross twenty-five titles off my reading list and am already one third of the way to my reading goal for the year. I’ve had the opportunity to review three wonderful books this month and have included links to my weekly reading lists as well. Join the conversation. […]

[Book Review] Hands of Gold: One Man’s Quest to find the Silver Lining in Misfortune by Roni Robbins

Posted on February 2, 2022 Leave a Comment

By Roni Robbins Based in part on real events, Roni Robbins’ novel follows the life of Sam Fox, a character based on a Hungarian grandfather as he navigates a tumultuous life in the early 20th century. Sam and his wife Hannah’s lives a filled with secrets from their past which they’ve kept from their children. […]

[Book Review] Asylum: A Memoir of Family Secrets by Judy Bolton-Fasman

Posted on January 26, 2022 Leave a Comment

By Judy Bolton-Fasman Judy Bolton-Fasman’s memoir details her investigation into her family’s past, in an effort to uncover answers to her long-held questions about her parents, including their unlikely union. Separated by a seventeen year age gap, Bolton-Fasman’s father, an Ashkenazi, was 40-years-old when he married his Spanish and Ladino speaking, Sephardic 24-year-old bride. After […]

[Book Review] Escape Route by Elan Barnehama

Posted on January 19, 2022 Leave a Comment

By Elan Barnehama Escape Route, set is 1960s New York, opens with Zach’s Bar Mitzvah. As the Vietnam War reaches it’s peak, Zach becomes fixated with the war. As the son of first generation Holocaust survivors, Zach is fearful of history repeating itself and his family being rounded up. So, with the help of his […]

The Next Generation of Matriarch: Feminism in Jewish Literature

Posted on January 17, 2022 2 Comments

In the Jewish tradition, we honor and remember our Matriarchs: Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah in our daily prayers as well as in our study of the Torah. But as the narrative of the Torah tends to center more on the Patriarchs of our tradition, our Matriarchs play largely supporting roles. For example, Rivkah encourages […]

[Book Review] The Fruit of her Hands by Michelle Cameron

Posted on January 12, 2022 Leave a Comment

By Michelle Cameron Based on the author’s own ancestor, The Fruit of Her Hands is the story of Rebbetzin Shira, wife of Rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg. Shira was the daughter of a widowed rabbi, raised in Paris in the thirteenth century. A rebellious child, she shirked the conventions of her gender, favoring the […]

December 2021 Wrap Up

Posted on January 5, 2022 Leave a Comment

Welcome to my December Wrap-Up! I’ve exceeded my 2021 Goodreads reading goal and discovered some wonderful new authors. If you’ve missed any of my weekly reading lists or reviews, here is your chance to catch up. I’ve continued to make progress on my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ list, although, a few new titles have been […]

[Book Review] #ShalomBayis by Penina Shtauber

Posted on December 29, 2021 Leave a Comment

By Penina Shtauber Shalom Bayis is the Jewish religious concept of peace and harmony between husband and wife in the home. #ShalomBayis is a collection of short stories about married couples trying to practice this concept with varying degrees of success and failure. This is the second book is Shtauber’s #ShidduchCrisis series. Shtauber is a […]

[Book Review] History: Global Citizen, Remarkable Life by Kyra Kaptzan Robinov

Posted on December 22, 2021 Leave a Comment

By Kyra Kaptzan Robinov This is the second book in the RUSSIAN ROOTS: A Global Generational Saga. This is the story of the author’s father, Michael Kaptzan. He was born in Siberia. In his early childhood, his family’s remote village was overrun by the Bolsheviks, who murdered his father. Along with his mother and siblings, […]