Miriam is not pleased to leave her beloved New York City home after her parents’ take on the job of running the Jewel Motor Inn, a shabby motel in a small upstate town. Miriam and her whole family, which includes her parents and her little brother, make the journey to their new home. Once there, Miriam meets her new neighbors and learns about the community. She strikes up a special friendship with Maria who works as a maid at the Jewel. Miriam befriends other local residents, as well, including a girl named Kate, and Kate’s grandmother, Mrs. Whitley, who often enlists Miriam to help make her famous grape pies at the local diner. Miriam enjoys spending time with her Uncle Mordy who comes to visit, and encourages his niece to face her fear of swimming. Although Miriam begins to acclimate to her new home, tensions grow as the Jewel’s business remains slow.
After she and Kate come up with a tricky, disingenuous plan in hopes of attracting new guests to the Jewel, Miriam must face the consequences of her decisions and realizes the impact of her choices on her community, her peers, and her family. Religion plays a key role in Miriam’s personal growth. The family is observant, her uncle more so, and a variety of details about Jewish life are peppered throughout the story. Maria and Kate are Catholic. Through their friendships, Miriam learns about religious beliefs outside of her own, ultimately discovering the joy that exists in celebrating their differences.
The author introduces some difficult topics, such as antisemitism, in an engaging way for middle grade audiences.
Jillian Bietz studied library technology and research skills and currently works in the library system. She is a book reviewer for the Jewish Book Council and Kirkus Review Indie. Jillian lives in Southern California.
Discussion Questions
Courtesy of Tziporah Cohen
- Miriam has a fear of water. Have you been afraid of something? Write about this experience and if or how you overcame your fear.
- Kate’s grandmother owns the diner beside the Jewel Motor Inn and is famous for her grape pies and Kate’s grandfather is famous for his grilled cheese sandwiches. Bake a pie of your choice or experiment with alternative ingredients for the best grilled cheese sandwich ever.
- Miriam and her family have many rituals/traditions/customs. Think about rituals/traditions/customs that you and your family follow or celebrate then interview someone about their family rituals/traditions/customs. How are their practices different or the same as yours? Create a Venn diagram using your findings.
- Miriam learns some Spanish from Maria. Do you know anyone in your life who speaks more than one language? What new words can you learn from them? What ten words would you want to teach someone who didn’t speak your language?
- Moving to the Jewel Motel is a huge change in Miriam’s life. Write about a big change that happened in your life.
- Miriam’s conscience bothers her as she struggles with the idea that while she knows tricking people is wrong, she wonders if it is truly wrong if the trick helps and makes people happy. Discuss/debate whether tricking people for a greater good is ever right.
- Use a family recipe or one you find online to make challah and, with an adult’s help, make two loaves — the customary number used at the Shabbat meal. Or you could learn how to make a grape pie. Share your challah or pie with others, just like Miriam and Mrs. Whitley did.
- Read an interview with author Tziporah Cohen.
