hush

1. I just randomly picked up Hush because I thought it looked interesting...And when I skimmed the inside cover, for some reason I thought it'd be something like Delirium. But it wasn't. Not even close.

2. Hush is the story of Gittel, an Orthodox Jewish girl who lives in a modern day Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. When Gittel was 9, her friend Devory died under less than pleasant circumstances. Actually, the circumstances were downright TERRIBLE but I won't give it away. Gittel has to learn to cope with Devory's death, even so many years later (she's 17), especially since she isn't supposed to talk about it.

3. I really liked Gittel. She was very strong under the circumstances and SO SO SOOOOOOOOO cute as a nine year old. I did find it very hard to relate to her, however. I honestly had no idea how different it is to leave in an Orthodox Jewish community. I mean, I knew it was different, but this was really intense. Obviously I found it a little hard to relate to a girl who lives in a community that think I'm going to hell because I'm not one of them. With that said though, she was pretty cool and much more open minded than some of the characters in the book.

4. I loveddddd Devory. She was just as cute as Gittel, if not more. But my heart did break for her. It really did. I would rant about that whole thing, but again, I don't want to give anything away. I also loved Yankel, after a while. At first he was EH but he got much better. He did some really CUTE things, though Gittel freaked out because she didn't know better. But I won't say anything more on THAT subject. The book was EXTREMELY well written and really fascinating too, which also made it great.

So I just thought I should say now that I was really amazed at how life is for the Orthodox Jewish people. Especially that it's THIS COUNTRY in PRESENT DAY. It was just so confining. I mean, they have arranged marriage! And I won't even get into details about married life! It was just really mind blowing. That's all I have to say. But definitely read this book, because it was awesome.