Whirlpool is a glatt kosher story of family turmoil for the most frum of adolescent readers. During what should be an exciting final year of high school, twin sisters Tamar and Leah Lieder worry that their “Ta” has become more casual about his observance of the mitzvos. And then he drops the bomb on their happy family — he and Ma are separating. Tamar’s world spins out of control as her twin sister chooses to live a non-observant life with her father, leaving their frum community for public school, makeup, ripped jeans, trayf, and boyfriends. Whirlpool chronicles the experiences of Tamar, her many siblings and their mother, as they struggle with their new family situation.
While the intended audience is not secular, Whirlpool gives this reader a glimpse into the traditions and mores of the frum life. Tamar is a well-written, sympathetic character. The reader worries, will Tamar’s parents’ separation prevent her from a good shidduch (match)? Will she ever reconcile with her sister? Can she forgive her father? A glossary would have been helpful for less observant readers to define all the colloquialisms used— bashert, mashgiach, off the derech—but they were mostly decipherable from context.
For the frum reader, Whirlpool highlights the rarely considered problem of marital strife in the ultra-religious world. This book would be very helpful for young adults in this situation and their peers to read.
For readers ages 12 – 15.
