![]() ![]() On both occasions, the Goodreads page for the book was inundated with dozens of one-star ratings calling out its subject matter - before the book was published, so before anyone had read it. In February of 2021, Neil shared the cover of the book (gorgeously illustrated by Leni Kauffman), and faced another round of backlash. When the book’s publication was first announced, many criticized its framing as “ Becky Albertalli meets Birthright,” and accused it of pinkwashing. Yet, while “Once More With Chutzpah” doesn’t have an agenda when it comes to Israeli politics, long before it came out, the book faced a barrage of online hate and criticism. Tally’s journey touches on so many charged topics - grief, anxiety, asexuality, the Holocaust, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jewish identity, and internal tensions in the Jewish state between liberalism and religion. Just like a Birthright trip, Haley Neil’s “Once More With Chutzpah,” a young adult novel that follows a high school senior as she goes on an organized temple youth trip to Israel with her twin brother Max, packs in a lot in one experience. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |