Esty Adelstein

Esty Adelstein, who is about thirteen or fourteen years old, is Rebecca's older cousin. Her name was formerly Erica, but after her mother became an Orthodox Jew, Erica's name was changed to Esther, a change that seemed to affect her personality. As Erica, she was a mischievous girl, talking back to her mother and doing naughty things such as throwing bits of paper at old ladies in the synagogue. But when her mother took her to Israel, Esther repented her former ways and became pious. She spends a lot of her time praying and studying the Torah and telling her cousin Rebecca that she and her mother should be more observant of Jewish religious rituals and customs. But ironically, it is Esty, in her willingness to read the book Essence of Persimmon: Eastern Sexual Secrets for Western Lives and in her boldness in making a nocturnal appointment...