“An Invaluable Text”: FOREWORD REVIEWS on MY JEWISH YEAR
January 30, 2017
“My Jewish Year is an invaluable text, both for learning about Jewish holidays and for understanding how contemporary people work to find personal meaning in inherited traditions.”
A “Frank Reckoning” and Much More: BOOKLIST on MY JEWISH YEAR
January 26, 2017
“[My Jewish Year] is a frank reckoning with the author’s own heart, but it’s also about the myriad ways Jews relate to each other. Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike will appreciate this thoughtful and intimate journey….”
LIBRARY JOURNAL Lauds MY JEWISH YEAR
January 12, 2017
“Verdict: A modern take on a pilgrim’s journal, this account will offer insight for Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike. Readers who are interested in becoming more observant will find it especially worthwhile.”
Lovely LILITH Review for MY JEWISH YEAR
January 11, 2017
“Ultimately, and movingly, [Pogrebin] finds herself at the end of the year reawakened to ‘klal Israel, the whole of Israel: a shared inheritance, and reverence for a calendar that has kept us intact.’”
KIRKUS on MY JEWISH YEAR’s “Deep Faith” and “Rich Vitality”
January 10, 2017
“The graceful value of Pogrebin’s tract is the deep faith and rich vitality evident in her up-close and personal Jewish year.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY’s Praise for MY JEWISH YEAR
January 9, 2017
“Can a 50-something neophyte glean meaning about herself and the world from observing all 18 annual Jewish holidays in a year of personal exploration? Pogrebin (Stars of David) provides a vigorous and moving affirmative answer in this insightful, clever, funny, and compulsively readable volume that will lead newcomers to seek out her other writings.”
NYPL Librarian “Really Loved” SAFEKEEPING
March 3, 2016
“I really loved it.” Part of librarian Gwen Glazer’s rave for Jessamyn Hope’s Safekeeping on an episode of the NYPL podcast, “The Librarian Is In” (if you’re in a hurry, you can listen in at the 6:50 mark).
THE PAWNBROKER in the CHICAGO JEWISH STAR
February 15, 2016
“Although actor Rod Steiger played opposite such Hollywood greats as Marlon Brando, Jack Palance and Humphrey Bogart, he considered his best work was in Sidney Lumet’s 1964 film ‘The Pawnbroker,’ where he played Holocaust survivor Sol Nazerman, the pawnbroker of the title.”
The Jerusalem Report Reviews SAFEKEEPING
January 6, 2016
“‘Safekeeping,’ a debut novel by Jessamyn Hope, offers a compelling example of how the lives of American Jews, no matter how alienated from their religion, retain roots that reach back into a past they can scarcely imagine.”
“A Novel to Savor”: THE SEA BEACH LINE
December 17, 2015
“It’s a novel to savor slowly, like fine wine, and perhaps be savored again and again.”