Leah and Yaakov are marrying in the orthodox Jewish community of Boro Park, a borough of Brooklyn. It’s a beautiful start for the novel celebrating the love between these two and the joy of being surrounded by friends and family. This book is the sequel to An Unorthodox Match where Leah, a California girl looking to immerse herself in her spirituality, meets Yaakov, a widower with five children.
Now that the couple is married the test of living in a strict religious community confronts them. Yaakov must leave his beloved Yeshiva and go to work as an accountant. Leah works from home and cares for the two youngest children and their seventeen-year-old daughter, Shaindele. Much as she wants to be part of the community, Leah is finding the restrictions difficult. The adjustment of the young couple is not helped when Shairdele, exploring boundaries, starts an inappropriate relationship.
This story is a beautiful love story, but it is also about becoming part of a constrictive community. The author doesn’t sugar coat the problems of people who have embraced the constraints of the community and resent outsiders. They are often not welcoming and are looking for things to criticize about someone like Leah who they consider an outsider.
Although the book is about an orthodox Jewish community many other restrictive religious communities share the same problems and attract the same type of people The author pulls you into the community so that you can feel the joys and problems faced by Leah and Yaakov. I recommend this book. It’s worth reading whether you are Jewish or not. However, I think it would be helpful to read the previous book first because it contains important parts of the backstory.
I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.
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