Bibliographic info
Chayil, E. (2010). Hush. New York: Walker Childrens. ISBN: 9780802720887
Genre
Realistic Fiction, Bildungsroman, Jewish Literature
Sub-Genre
Child Abuse, Suicide
Reading Level/Interest Age*
Ages 15+
Reader’s Annotation
When young Gittel learns her best friend’s deepest secret, her entire world begins to unravel around her.
Plot Summary
The book takes place in a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. The main character is 13 year-old Gittel who is preparing for her marriage. She has not gotten over the death of her best friend, Devory, when they were nine. Now she can’t help but wonder who Devory would be marrying. As the pieces of the puzzle regarding Devory’s death come together, Gittel is appaled. When she tries to bring her discovery to the adults in charge of the community she is told to keep quiet and act as if nothing happened. Gittel is forced to question her entire way of life and whether she really believes she can keep her secret.
Critical Evaluation
The author, Eishes Chayil, is a psyudonym for Judy Brown. She wrote this story based on actual events she witnessed in her community and was told to keep quiet about (just as Gittel is told in Hush). To read more about Judy’s recent (2011) “coming out” about her story click here. In a way this makes, Hush closer to a memoir than a book of fiction.
This author did an excellent job at hiding what was really happened to her friend Devory when they were younger. In a way this makes the book start out slowly, but I feel it is representative of Gittel’s naivete about what was happening in the world around her. As she begins to discover the secrets of her community we see and feel her shock and horror that anyone (especially a family member) could do something so horrible to a young girl. To make matters worse, in their community not being a virgin upon marriage is highly shameful. Brown does such an amazing job at presenting this story in a way that makes us stop to think about what we turn a blind eye to in our own society. Certainly not incest, but how many other horrors are there on our own doorsteps that we choose to ignore?
About the Author
“Eishes Chayil is a pseudonym for a descendant of some of the main founders and leaders of Chassidut in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Poland. She was raised in a world of Chassidic schools, synagogues, and summer camps. She works as a journalist for two international orthodox papers located in Brooklyn, New York.” (GoodReads, 2012)
Curriculum Ties
Psychology, Sociology
Book-talking Ideas
In what ways are adhering to the old tradition good here? In what ways are they bad?
Why is Gittel forced to remain silent?
Challenge Issues
This book contains the themes of child abuse, incest, and suicide.
If a challenge were to arise in my library I would:
- Refer to the Library Bill of Rights (Items I, II, and III). http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
- Refer to the library’s current collection policy.
- Refer to the many positive reviews found on Amazon and GoodReads.
- Have an easy to access copy of the library’s Reconsideration Form if a challenge is inevitable.
- Show the numerous awards and positive reviews for the book.
Why was this included?
References
GoodReads. (2012). Eishes Chayil. Retrieved December 9, 2012 from http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3430680.Eishes_Chayil
Renaissance Learning, Inc. (2012). Hush. Retrieved December 9, 2012 from http://www.arbookfind.com/bookdetail.aspx?q=139530&l=EN&slid=334670715
*Lexile did not have a reading level for this title.
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