Maybe I'm holding it to too high of a standard since it's about all my favorite things (Judaism LGBTQ representation Northampton and adoption) but I hated all of the characters so much and nothing really happened for the majority of the story and it felt like an excuse for Frank to share her POV on the Israel-Palestine conflict, in which case I think she should have just written an op-ed. It wasn't terrible but it took me ridiculously long to get through the first quarter alone and I didn't really enjoy reading this. I kept checking to see how much I had left in the book. ( )

This novel has a lot of interesting elements. Daniel's brother and sister-in-law are killed in a terrorist bombing in Israel and leave their 2 small children to the care of Daniel and his gay, non-Jewish partner, Matt, who live in New England. The story deals with grief and how it touches the lives of everyone involved.
The book also revolves around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The issue is complicated and Judith Frank acknowledges that. Daniel and Matt are educated American liberals, and can sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians. Daniel's brother's in-laws are Holocaust survivors, so the need for a Jewish homeland is also presented. As I said, the issue is complicated, and I feel that the author made it simpler than it should have been. Even after staying in Israel, Daniel and Matt liken the Israeli "occupation" to Apartheid. They are intellectuals and think about the situation constantly. Yet there is no consideration of the fact that the Palestinians stayed in Israel because they were not welcome in neighboring Arab nations. Palestinians were treated in Israeli hospitals alongside Jews, attended Israeli Universities, etc. In short, not Apartheid. Daniel and Matt should have been able to understand the intricacies of the situation, especially when they lived there for several months and could see things first hand. When Daniel later gives a human interest interview in New England and expresses sympathy for the Palestinians, he is inundated with hate mail from many racist Jews. There is not one letter of support from anyone, Jew or non-Jew. This does not seem likely to me. There is mention of a joint group of Palestinian and Jewish victims of violence, but even with that, Judith Frank's telling seems a little over-simplified. This part of the novel irritated me.
All in all, however, I enjoyed the book. Little Gal was spunky and Frank dealt with the little girl's grief in a convincing manner. Daniel and Matt's relationship also went through the rough waters of grief in a convincing manner. ( )

This was a well written, character driven book that touches on multiple themes (gay relationships, grief, terrorism, family dynamics, etc.). I found that I enjoyed the book and found it less realistic as it went on. I appreciated that for the most part there were no quick fixes or pretty solutions. I think that's what disappointed me the most about the ending. It seemed a bit rushed and pat. I would have liked to have seen the author go more in-depth into the relationship of the two partners. ( )

This author was unknown to me and the book had numerous aspects of books that I don't usually choose, such as not based in the United States, and historical characters. The depth of character development drew me in and I was delighted with story which largely takes place in Israel. Lots of people have reviewed this book with the details of the story, I want to just say that I think the characters are spot on and lovable in their flaws. Give this one a try. ( )

This book starts out with a complicated premise, and it doesn't let up throughout the story. Matt and Daniel are a gay couple living in Massachusetts. Daniel is Jewish and Matt is not. The book starts with them on a plane heading to Israel with Daniel's parents to identify the body of Daniel's twin brother Joel. Joel and his wife Ilana lived in Israel with their 2 children Gal, age 6, and Noam, age 11 months. The couple were killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Through the process of identifying the body, sitting shiva, and the reading of the will, Matt feels like an outsider. Both sets of grandparents expect to take custody of the grandchildren and are shocked when the will specifies that the children will go to Daniel, and a court case ensues when the maternal grandparents contest the will. Eventually custody is awarded to Daniel, and despite misgivings on his part about making the children leave their home, they do bring them to the U.S. The grief process has changed all of them, affecting not only the relationship between Matt and Daniel but also causing developmental delays for the baby and emotional and behavioral problems in his sister. The story addresses themes of the Israeli/Palestinian relations, Holocaust survivors, gay rights, family conflict, grief and mourning, relationship difficulties, infidelity, and more. It was in some ways a very realistic portrayal of family life, and in other respects a little too stereotypical. ( )