The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor

by Amanda Panitch

Overview

Funny and poignant, Amanda Panitch's new middle-grade novel The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor is an exploration of mixed families, identity, hundred-year-old curses, and the terrifying challenge of standing up for yourself against your loved ones.

Of her two granddaughters, Grandma Yvette clearly prefers Ruby Taylor's perfect—and perfectly Jewish—cousin, Sarah. They do everything together, including bake cookies and have secret sleep overs that Ruby isn't invited to. Twelve-year-old Ruby suspects Grandma Yvette doesn't think she's Jewish enough. The Jewish religion is matrilineal, which means it's passed down from mother to child, and unlike Sarah, Ruby’s mother isn’t Jewish.

But when Sarah starts acting out--trading in her skirts and cardigans for ripped jeans and stained t-shirts, getting in trouble at school--Ruby can’t help but be somewhat pleased. Then Sarah suddenly takes things too far, and Ruby is convinced Sarah is possessed by a dybbuk, an evil spirit... that Ruby may or may not have accidentally released from Grandma Yvette's basement. Ruby is determined to save her cousin, but a dybbuk can only be expelled by a "pious Jew." If Ruby isn't Jewish enough for her own grandmother, how can she possibly be Jewish enough to fight a dybbuk?

Amanda Panitch writes with a humorous, irresistible, and authentic voice. This character-driven story with a magic twist about speaking up and finding your place in the world is for fans of Erin Entrada Kelly, Stacey McAnulty, and Greg Howard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250245144
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Amanda Panitch spent most of her childhood telling stories to her four younger siblings, trying both to make them laugh and scare them too much to sleep. Now she lives in New York City, where she writes dark, funny stories for teens, kids, and the pigeons that nest on her apartment balcony. Her books for kids include The Trouble with Good Ideas and The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor.

Editorial Reviews

06/27/2022

A science-minded 12-year-old inadvertently releases a dybbuk in Panitch’s (The Trouble with Good Ideas) contemporary novel of familial rivalry and Jewish lore. Patrilineal Jew Ruby Taylor, whose mother is Catholic, enjoys Hebrew school and desires her Jewish grandmother’s affection and approval. But between dropping Grandma Yvette’s matzah balls down the stairs and being compared to Ruby’s seemingly perfect cousin Sarah, who has two Jewish parents and whom their grandmother adores, Ruby feels like she’s not “Jewish enough.” When Ruby accidentally opens a chest from the old country that’s in Grandma Yvette’s basement, she releases a dybbuk into the world. The event aligns with the arrival of the synagogue’s first female rabbi, and as the dybbuk seems to possess Sarah, resulting in out-of-the-ordinary behavior—including Sarah asking for the “non-kosher trifecta” of a bacon double cheeseburger with fried shrimp—Ruby feels responsible to stop it, something that can only be handled by a “pious Jew.” Through Ruby’s bluntly funny narration, which includes plentiful references to Jewish history, the novel deftly takes up themes of antisemitism, gender roles, feminism, and religious identity. Characters read as white; a secondary character is Jewish and of Chinese descent. Ages 8–12. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"This exciting story sensitively explores questions of identity and belonging in a Jewish context. A fun, thoughtful page-turner about exorcising the expectations of others to achieve self-acceptance." —Kirkus Reviews

“The dybbuk adds new interest to a familiar theme, and readers who privately seethe over their own “second best” status will feel Ruby’s pain and approve her reconciliation.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

"Through Ruby’s bluntly funny narration, which includes plentiful references to Jewish history, the novel deftly takes up themes of antisemitism, gender roles, feminism, and religious identity." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2021-10-13
A 12-year-old confronts doubts about her Jewish identity to defeat the evil spirit she accidentally unleashes on her cousin.

Ruby yearns to be the favorite of Grandma Yvette, her paternal grandmother, but she drops matzah balls down the stairs and enjoys science more than cooking. Because Ruby’s mom is Catholic, Grandma Yvette prefers sharing Jewish traditions with Ruby’s overachieving cousin Sarah, who has two Jewish parents. For her part, Sarah is annoyingly eager to please. While this favoritism doesn’t read as harshly as the overt antisemitism Ruby encounters from her maternal grandparents, it’s all hard for Ruby, who, as a patrilineal Jew, painfully longs for acceptance. Resentful of seemingly perfect Sarah, Ruby picks a fight that winds up with them accidentally opening the forbidden box in Grandma Yvette’s basement that contains a dybbuk, releasing a rebellious streak in Sarah. When Sarah acts out—eating a nonkosher cheeseburger and attempting a dangerous crime—Ruby realizes Sarah might be possessed by the dybbuk. Since only a pious Jew can dispel one, Ruby pushes through questions of faith in her quest to save her cousin. This exciting story sensitively explores questions of identity and belonging in a Jewish context. Ruby is Ashkenazi Jewish and White. Her Hebrew school includes Jewish students of color, and a biracial Chinese Jewish friend helps Ruby reframe her struggles with identity.

A fun, thoughtful page-turner about exorcising the expectations of others to achieve self-acceptance. (Paranormal. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews