"Eliza Naumann, a seemingly unremarkable nine-year-old, expects never to fit into her gifted family: her autodidact father, Saul, absorbed in his study of Jewish mysticism; her brother, Aaron, the vessel of his father's spiritual ambitions; and her brilliant but distant lawyer-mom, Miriam. But when Eliza sweeps her school and district spelling bees in quick succession, Saul takes it as a sign that she is destined for greatness. In this altered reality, Saul inducts her into his hallowed study and lavishes upon her the attention previously reserved for Aaron, who in his displacement embarks upon a lone quest for spiritual fulfillment. When Miriam's secret life triggers a familial explosion, it is Eliza who must order the chaos."

Obtained through PBS. (Unabridged on 10 CD's; Read by the author)

This is the story of a fairly unspectacular young girl (Eliza) -- unspectactular that is, until she wins her school's spelling bee, then goes on to compete in larger bees. Up to this point, her brother & father have had a fairly close relationship, but once she wins the bee, her father's attentions shift entirely toward her. Thus begins the change in the dynamics of the entire family: father, mother, son, & daughter. Eliza's world is centered solely on expanding her knowledge & achieving greater success, nurtured by her father's "grooming." Her brother, meanwhile, is left out in the cold and begins a journey of self-discovery, ending up in the world of the Hare Krishna. And her mother's hidden obsession begins to take control of her own life. However, all of these events happen independently of each other, with each member of the family oblivious to what's going on with the other family members. Eventually it all comes to a head, but will it destroy the family or make them more real?

I thought this was an especially well-written book. I liked the writing style -- it really clicked with me. Sometimes the spiritual stuff got a little "out there", but it was a very thought-provoking story. I did the audio version, read by the author, who I thought did an exceptional job reading her own work (which is not always the case when authors do their own reading). I look forward to other books by Myla Goldberg.

Moving this one along via BigJohnLefty's audio bookbox.

This book enjoyed a brief visit in San Jose, CA before continuing its journey in BigJohnLefty's "Another CD Only Bookbox!"

Not the kind of bees I thought of when I first saw the title!

Taken from BigJohnLefty's Another Audiobookbox with thanks.

Headed out in booklady331's CD audio box.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This book was set free to find a new reader; I'm so glad you've found it!

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taking this book from booklady331's CD only bookbox

Eliza Naumann is just an ordinary child, not drawing too much attention to herself, until she wins the school spelling bee. Saul, her father, becomes excited at the prospect of his daughter's exceptional skill and nearly drops everything to coach her to prepare her for the National Bee. One of the things Saul drops is the time he used to spend with his son Aaron. With the new found time on his hands, Aaron finds himself on a path toward self-discovery and find solace in Hare Krishna. Miriam, the mother and kleptomaniac, starts taking more and more risks with her bad habit which keeps her away from the family. As the events in the family unfold, the Eliza longs for the way the family used to be.

I very much enjoyed the book. Some of the religious themes, especially those with Saul & Eliza seemed a bit odd and over-the-top. The book left a lot of questions unanswered at the end (what happens with Aaron? what happens with Miriam?) but overall I thought the very ending (last paragraph) was very appropriate.

sending to dabercro

Arrived in the mail today. Thank Aberpeter!

An interesting book. I was surprised at the length and extent of Miriam's deception. I liked the ending but would like to know what happens to this family in the future.

Reserved for the booklady331 CD audio VBB.

Chosen from the VBB. Sending to rebekkila in MI.

I caught this in the audio book box.

I released this tonight at dinner.

There was a mini meet up here when Rebekkila came to visit. This went home with me. I've read this before so will probably just release it somewhere. I like first novels of authors, but can't remember my exact reaction to this, except that there was a lot of hype when it came out.

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