Queen of Secrets

Meyerhoff based this modern-day novel on the Book of Esther, and though the parallels are apparent, this is a powerful story in its own right. Essie is excited to be starting her sophomore year now that she's a cheerleader and her football-player crush, Austin, knows her name. To preserve her newfound popularity, she doesn't tell anyone that the football team's "weird" kicker, Micah, is her cousin. Unlike Essie, an orphan raised without a sense of religion by her grandparents, Micah is an observant Jew. He wears a kippah and walks home from Friday night games so as to not drive on Shabbat. Essie reluctantly keeps quiet when other players ridicule him—until the harassment gets extreme and one boy, Harrison (the novel's wicked Haman), commits a shocking act of anti-Semitism. Meyerhoff captures the melodrama of adolescence (Essie on Austin: "It would be easier to stop breathing than to stop liking him") with ease, and readers will readily recognize Essie's desire to fit in. They'll understand the courage it takes for her to tell the truth, knowing she risks ruining her social position and a relationship with a guy she really likes. Growing up isn't easy for Essie, but she does learn more about her roots and becomes closer to her extended family. Perhaps best of all she discovers that "I was starting to understand, in a small way, who I was." A worthy reward, indeed. RACHEL L. SMITH