Confessions of a Closet Catholic

I really enjoyed reading Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Darer Littman. From the various characters to the life-changing events, I think the story's sense of reality is what attracted me so much. I loved the character of Justine. She was dramatic, obsessive, humorous and most of all, confused--everything 12 year old girls are! I also really appreciated the relationship between Bubbe and Justine. When Bubbe died, I felt like crying because I truly believed in their relationship and understood their connection. Although Justine's mom, Mrs. Silver, did not portray the ideal mother, she did represent a real-life, typical mom just trying to figuring things out for her family. All of Justine's relationships with family and friends influenced her during this exciting and scary time of her life, the pre-teen years.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was its portrayal of diversity within Judaism. Each side of Justine's family represented great diversity within Jewish culture and religion. For one set of grandparents, being Jewish was more about community than spirituality. They did not keep kosher or regularly observed Sabbath, but they still strongly identified as Jewish. Justine's other grandparents were much more traditional and followed the spirituality of Judaism as a religion. Justine was able to draw on both these backgrounds and experiences while searching for her own religious understanding. The inclusion of characters who identify as Jewish in different ways is an important element of the story. It helps break over-generalizations and stereotypes by showing how even people who identify similarly can still be very different.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend it. I found a lot I could identify and connect to even though I'm not Jewish or Catholic. Confessions of a Closet Catholic is a humorous coming of age story that offers readers a lot to think about without coming across as too "teachy" or unnaturally informative.