One Summary

Fifteen-year-old Ellie and her seventeen-year-old sister, Nashama, are preparing for their summers. Ellie is going to stay with their grandmother, Bubbie, while Nashama goes to camp. Their mother, Ima, and their father, Abba, are going to Israel. It is the summer of 1987, and Ellie can't wait to get away from her home in Toronto and head to Lake Missisagagon where Bubbie has rented a cabin. She is also happy to be away from the Orthodox Jewish household her father runs, and with her lenient grandmother. Ellie, when she gets to Bubbie's, especially enjoys praying outside.

Ellie also gives little thought to her faith. She does what she does because she is supposed to. God is the Creator and Ellie doesn't think much more about Him than that. She enjoys parts of Orthodox Judaism, including the quiet on Saturdays, the day of rest.

At...