She’s Up to No Good by Sara Goodman Confino

This was a really good book.  First of all there are two stories going on - Jenna’s in the present and Evelyn’s (Jenna’s grandmother) beginning in 1950 when she was 17.  The chapters alternate between the past and present as both stories unfold.

Evelyn was in a traditional Jewish family so her father would not allow her to marry a man that wasn’t Jewish.  It wouldn’t be much of a story if she found a Jewish boy to fall in love with.  But, Evelyn is strong willed and a romantic and expects love to conquer all.

Jenna’s husband asks her for a divorce because he met someone else setting off a six month funk Jenna slogs through living in her childhood bedroom.

What changes for them both is Evelyn (now 89) decides to go back to the summer cottages she used to bring the family to every summer.  Jenna volunteers to go, too.

So Evelyn’s purpose in returning to Hereford is a mystery and through her actions, the story of her past, and Jenna’s present meeting Joe, we watch the story unfold.  The question becomes about what it means to love someone romantically and what must often be sacrificed in the name of love.