Matthue Roth

I want to give this more than 3-stars, but just can't. The urge to up the stars comes from my happiness that this book exists. A book coming from the perspective of a 21st Century Modern Orthodox Jewish teen is something I have not seen before, and had not realized I was missing. I liked Hava a great deal, and thought the book was at its best when in focused on her inner thoughts and her relationships with her best friends Ian and Moish. But there was a lot here that did not work, and some of it was so clunky and immature it kind of ruined the rest. The unacknowledged creepiness of Hava's relationship with Charles, the weirdly contrived live action sex tape scene (why on Earth would Charles have done that, and did he get the show crew to set it up?), the absurd and cloying "osser" baby (this was not a book that needed a Greek chorus of any kind, let alone a baby.) The whole ending with the producers was absurd and just bad, and played into the Elders of Zion myth that behind the curtain there are a bunch of Jews controlling everything. I was baffled by the eventual centrality of Hava's fractured relationship with her mother which was not even mentioned for the first half of the book, and not ever properly set up (unless you count a sudden exposition on how bad the relationship is as a set up.) I went and read some of Roth's later online stuff and its better. This is a man in need of a workshop, but there is a lot of raw talent and as a secular Jew who has chosen to join an orthodox community Roth brings an interesting perspective. I hope he writes more.… (more)

A memoir about pursuing poetry, punk rock and Orthodox Judaism. I really liked this book, and Matthue, to begin with, but as time went on I get a bit bothered by his dealings with girls. Specifically, his desire to have relationships without touching—even hand holding is supposed to be out. He’s a cool guy—articulate, passionate and clearly a deep thinker—and I liked his friends and their oddities. In the end, though, I was still uncomfortable with his faith, and sad that he put so much effort into praying every day and so little in convincing the more conservative members of his synagogue that being queer was ok.… (more)