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141 reviews for:
It's a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories
Katherine Locke, Laura Silverman
3.84 AVERAGE
141 reviews for:
It's a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories
Katherine Locke, Laura Silverman
3.84 AVERAGE
I LOVED THIS COLLECTION SO MUCH!!!! It gets all the stars, all the love and all the good thoughts. What a great diverse collection of Jewish short stories. There was something for everyone and I definitely had my favorites. There were stories about being "too Jewish" "not Jewish enough" and really anything in between. I felt like I could see myself in several of these stories and I enjoyed reflecting back on my own Jewish experiences while I was reading. It was really special to see pieces of myself in some of these various stories whether it was my first time in Israel for Birthright, going to youth group retreats, volunteering at my own synagogue or finding my place in my own Jewish communities. This was the perfect start to the Jewish new year and if you want light hearted feel-good contemporary Jewish stories, this book is PERFECT.
That. Was. Excruciating.
(And I mean that in the best possible way.)
If (like me) you're prone to second-hand embarrassment or stress, you might need to read It's a Whole Spiel with a blanket pulled over your head--which is a lot to say about a book with no horror, no action, and no smut. 100% of the intensity comes from the unbridled, unfiltered teenage emotion wafting off the page in a cloud of hormones. I know that might sound like a drag, but I think that's high praise for young adult! It's especially difficult to pull off those extremes of joy, humiliation, fear, love, boredom, confusion, and pure fun in short stories when we have so little time to become invested in the characters.
But this one did it. It’s a Whole Spiel boasts a spectacular lineup of YA authors who use every paragraph they have for maximum impact. It can be a little exhausting; I was glad I left myself time to read these stories at the pace of one or two a day. But mostly, it’s exhilarating–everything YA fiction should be.
The anthology sets out to examine what it means to be a Jewish teenager in 2019. Because none of these authors are responsible for a single answer that describes an entire community, they're freed up to go in the opposite direction: hyper-specificity. It all adds up to an incredibly nuanced, intersectional picture of a complicated–sometimes contradictory–label.
If you want to give the book at try, the very first story (the adorable, thought-provoking "Indoor Kids" by Alex London) is a great place to start.
My other favorites:
You can find my full review on my blog, The Tin Kitchen.
I received a review copy of this title from the publisher in expectation of an honest review. No money changed hands for this review and all opinions are my own.
(And I mean that in the best possible way.)
If (like me) you're prone to second-hand embarrassment or stress, you might need to read It's a Whole Spiel with a blanket pulled over your head--which is a lot to say about a book with no horror, no action, and no smut. 100% of the intensity comes from the unbridled, unfiltered teenage emotion wafting off the page in a cloud of hormones. I know that might sound like a drag, but I think that's high praise for young adult! It's especially difficult to pull off those extremes of joy, humiliation, fear, love, boredom, confusion, and pure fun in short stories when we have so little time to become invested in the characters.
But this one did it. It’s a Whole Spiel boasts a spectacular lineup of YA authors who use every paragraph they have for maximum impact. It can be a little exhausting; I was glad I left myself time to read these stories at the pace of one or two a day. But mostly, it’s exhilarating–everything YA fiction should be.
The anthology sets out to examine what it means to be a Jewish teenager in 2019. Because none of these authors are responsible for a single answer that describes an entire community, they're freed up to go in the opposite direction: hyper-specificity. It all adds up to an incredibly nuanced, intersectional picture of a complicated–sometimes contradictory–label.
If you want to give the book at try, the very first story (the adorable, thought-provoking "Indoor Kids" by Alex London) is a great place to start.
My other favorites:
◘“Jewbacca,” Lance Rubin.
◘“Two Truths and an Oy,” Dahlia Adler
◘“He Who Revives the Dead,” Elie Lichtshein
◘“Be Brave and All,” Laura Silverman,
◘“Neilah,” Hannah Moskowitz
You can find my full review on my blog, The Tin Kitchen.
I received a review copy of this title from the publisher in expectation of an honest review. No money changed hands for this review and all opinions are my own.
2.5 stars.
Still don’t like short stories. But some of these were fun—and it was nice to read stories with so much Jewish representation.
Still don’t like short stories. But some of these were fun—and it was nice to read stories with so much Jewish representation.
LIKE HANGING OUT WITH 14 FRIENDS OH WAIT THAT’S BECAUSE IT BASICALLY WAS
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This was a fun collection of short stories that covered a lot of topics! I appreciated learning more about Jewish culture and identities.
I'm glad something like this exists (FINALLY), and I would say every story entertained me in some way, but I wasn't in *love* with anything.
Riddle me this: why was every Jewish character super anxious and neurotic? Why wasn't there anyone who didn't feel insecure in their Judaism or lack thereof? Like, give me Dahlia Adler's story rewritten to have a main character who doesn't want to abandon Orthodoxy when she gets to NYU and also doesn't awkwardly drop weird comments about her Judaism as the first line in every conversation. What I was gathering here is that all of these vaguely Jewish authors think that Jews are socially inept creatures who are embarrassed by their religion/culture. NOPE.
I didn't see a ton of myself here (observant Modern Orthodox Jew who's *gasp* not ashamed or insecure about it), but there were some fun ones. I did like Adler's story because it was the most "relatable." Goldy Moldavsky's was truly a party, that was so fun to read. And the footnotes! I love comedic footnotes!
When that kid was trying to tell the Chanukah story, I wanted out of my misery. LOTS of secondhand embarrassment in a bunch of these.
A lot of Birthright, a lot of youth groups, a lot of strange character names.
The table of contents was off, like the page numbers weren't accurate at one point and that made me sad. That is all.
All in all, a solid experience. Usually when I read an anthology, I want full book version of some of the stories, and others I had passionately, but I didn't feel uber strongly about any of these in either of those ways. Still, like I said, glad this exists. Three cheers for representation!
Riddle me this: why was every Jewish character super anxious and neurotic? Why wasn't there anyone who didn't feel insecure in their Judaism or lack thereof? Like, give me Dahlia Adler's story rewritten to have a main character who doesn't want to abandon Orthodoxy when she gets to NYU and also doesn't awkwardly drop weird comments about her Judaism as the first line in every conversation. What I was gathering here is that all of these vaguely Jewish authors think that Jews are socially inept creatures who are embarrassed by their religion/culture. NOPE.
I didn't see a ton of myself here (observant Modern Orthodox Jew who's *gasp* not ashamed or insecure about it), but there were some fun ones. I did like Adler's story because it was the most "relatable." Goldy Moldavsky's was truly a party, that was so fun to read. And the footnotes! I love comedic footnotes!
When that kid was trying to tell the Chanukah story, I wanted out of my misery. LOTS of secondhand embarrassment in a bunch of these.
A lot of Birthright, a lot of youth groups, a lot of strange character names.
The table of contents was off, like the page numbers weren't accurate at one point and that made me sad. That is all.
All in all, a solid experience. Usually when I read an anthology, I want full book version of some of the stories, and others I had passionately, but I didn't feel uber strongly about any of these in either of those ways. Still, like I said, glad this exists. Three cheers for representation!
Average Rating: 3.1 stars
And in the math world, we round that down.
While there were a lot of stories that didn't quite work for me, as a whole collection, it's pretty great. From kids who are Orthodox, to kids who are Jewish by blood only, and everyone in between, the diversity within Judaism was greatly explored, and I have to give brownie points for that. Always appreciative of stories that can fit any demographic, and are applied to minorities just because. I'd be curious to check out some of the authors here. And of course, it never hurts to have more unapologetically Jewish YA.
The Breakdown
"Indoor Kids" by Alex London
A science-obsessed camp counselor bonds with a fellow Jewish counselor while tracking updates on a catastrophic spacecraft explosion. 3 stars.
"Two Truths and an Oy" by Dahlia Adler
A Modern Orthodox girl attends freshman orientation at NYU and worries about coming off too religious. 2 stars. Maybe cuz I'm not Orthodox.
"The Hold" by David Levithan
A man recounts his first relationship with another man as a teenager. 4 stars.
"Aftershocks" by Rachel Lynn Solomon
A girl meets her (more religious) boyfriend's family over Shabbat dinner. 4 stars.
"Good Shabbos" by Goldy Moldavsky
Two best friends abandon their Shabbaton to track down a party one of their crushes is attending. 2.5 stars.
"Jewbacca" by Lance Rubin
A boy who is Jewish by blood only and knows nothing of the culture dates a Jewish girl and attends her family's Hanukkah party. 3 stars.
"El Al 328" by Dana Schwartz
On layover from her Birthright trip, a girl regrets not getting more sexual gratification. This was wallowing in self-pity at its finest. 1 star.
"Some Days You're the Sidekick; Some Days You're the Superhero" by Katherine Locke
A boy attempts to apologize to a friend he wronged through fanfiction. Extremely predictable, and the reason why they had a falling out felt lackluster to me. But this was probably the least cringey integration of fanfiction lingo in a published work I've seen yet. 2.5 stars.
"He Who Revives the Dead" by Elie Litchtschein
After a near death experience, a woman tries to overcome her fears while on Birthright. 5 stars.
"Be Brave and All" by Laura Silverman
An introvert ditches a youth group convention to attend a protest. 4 stars.
"Neilah" by Hannah Moskowitz
A girl battles her eating disorder on Yom Kippur. 5 stars.
"Find the River" by Matthue Roth
A boy joins his friend's youth group and has a religious awakening. But also a knife fight? 2 stars.
"Ajshara" by Adi Alsaid
A young man who is able to communicate with ghosts takes a gap year to travel the world with his friends. 2 stars.
"Twelve Frames" by Nova Ren Suma
A girl with a unique fashion sense in a new town attempts to sell her great-grandfather's camera at a flea market. 3.5 stars.
And in the math world, we round that down.
While there were a lot of stories that didn't quite work for me, as a whole collection, it's pretty great. From kids who are Orthodox, to kids who are Jewish by blood only, and everyone in between, the diversity within Judaism was greatly explored, and I have to give brownie points for that. Always appreciative of stories that can fit any demographic, and are applied to minorities just because. I'd be curious to check out some of the authors here. And of course, it never hurts to have more unapologetically Jewish YA.
The Breakdown
"Indoor Kids" by Alex London
A science-obsessed camp counselor bonds with a fellow Jewish counselor while tracking updates on a catastrophic spacecraft explosion. 3 stars.
"Two Truths and an Oy" by Dahlia Adler
A Modern Orthodox girl attends freshman orientation at NYU and worries about coming off too religious. 2 stars. Maybe cuz I'm not Orthodox.
"The Hold" by David Levithan
A man recounts his first relationship with another man as a teenager. 4 stars.
"Aftershocks" by Rachel Lynn Solomon
A girl meets her (more religious) boyfriend's family over Shabbat dinner. 4 stars.
"Good Shabbos" by Goldy Moldavsky
Two best friends abandon their Shabbaton to track down a party one of their crushes is attending. 2.5 stars.
"Jewbacca" by Lance Rubin
A boy who is Jewish by blood only and knows nothing of the culture dates a Jewish girl and attends her family's Hanukkah party. 3 stars.
"El Al 328" by Dana Schwartz
On layover from her Birthright trip, a girl regrets not getting more sexual gratification. This was wallowing in self-pity at its finest. 1 star.
"Some Days You're the Sidekick; Some Days You're the Superhero" by Katherine Locke
A boy attempts to apologize to a friend he wronged through fanfiction. Extremely predictable, and the reason why they had a falling out felt lackluster to me. But this was probably the least cringey integration of fanfiction lingo in a published work I've seen yet. 2.5 stars.
"He Who Revives the Dead" by Elie Litchtschein
After a near death experience, a woman tries to overcome her fears while on Birthright. 5 stars.
"Be Brave and All" by Laura Silverman
An introvert ditches a youth group convention to attend a protest. 4 stars.
"Neilah" by Hannah Moskowitz
A girl battles her eating disorder on Yom Kippur. 5 stars.
"Find the River" by Matthue Roth
A boy joins his friend's youth group and has a religious awakening. But also a knife fight? 2 stars.
"Ajshara" by Adi Alsaid
A young man who is able to communicate with ghosts takes a gap year to travel the world with his friends. 2 stars.
"Twelve Frames" by Nova Ren Suma
A girl with a unique fashion sense in a new town attempts to sell her great-grandfather's camera at a flea market. 3.5 stars.
I found this to be a great collection of Jewish stories. In a month I mostly spent reading Christmas novels, it was very nice to read and learn about Jewish traditions.
I enjoyed this anthology a lot. It offered a different view of teenaged years in America than people generally get to see. Very well worth the read.
This is the first book I have finished in a LONG time! In this collection of short stories written by contemporary Jewish YA writers, I believe there is something for everyone on the Jewish spectrum. There are stories about girls, stories about boys, LGBTQ+ representation, disability representation, body image, and an overarching message that each story ultimately answers— What does it mean to be Jewish? The beautiful thing is that this question is answered differently by the narrator of each story. Ultimately about half of the stories really wowed me, while half fell flat. The idea behind this book is beautiful, though.