REVIEW: Waiting for a Miracle by Jennifer Wilck
Book Reviews / C ReviewsHanukkah / holiday novella / Jewish characters / Jewish-faith / New York City / novella / teacher heroine / widowerNo Comments
Benjamin Cohen, widowed father of six-year-old Jessie, is doing his best to hold it together through order and routine. The last thing he needs is his matchmaker mother to set him up with her next door neighbor, no matter how attractive she is.
Rachel Schaecter’s dream of becoming a foster mother is right within her grasp, until her meddlesome neighbor tries to set her up with her handsome son. What’s worse? He’s the father of her favorite kindergarten student! She can’t afford to let anything come between her and her dream, no matter how gorgeous he may be.
Can these two determined people trust in the miracle of Hanukkah to let love and light into their lives?
Dear Ms. Wilck,
I was happy to see one more Hanukkah novella for this year but from my point of view, it’s well titled. It really did seem as if it would take a miracle for this heroine and hero to get together and even after they had, I wasn’t sure it was a good thing.
Rachel is a lovely heroine. She loves her teaching job and early in the school year when one of her favorite students, bubbly Jessie, draws Rachel in a family picture along with her father, Rachel does the correct thing and brings it to the father’s attention. She doesn’t see Benjamin again until the evening her neighbor/his mother invites her over for the first night of Hanukkah.
Benjamin lost his wife a few years ago and since then he’s managed to bring up his little girl by sticking to strict schedules and routines. When his daughter’s teacher walks into his mother’s apartment, Benny (as mom calls him) doesn’t react well. In fact he acts so badly that Rachel walks out and his own daughter gets upset. Benny begins what turns out to be a continuing series of apologies.
Each time he and Rachel are in the same vicinity, Benny acts like an ass, upsets Rachel and ends by saying “sorry” yet again. I understand that he gets nervous and upset when faced with things that trigger his feelings from when his wife got sick but after the first “foot in his mouth” tantrum, his repeated actions got tiresome. Thank God Rachel stands up to him and doesn’t cut him much slack but after the first time – or two – or three – when he shows his ass and issues strict directives (what he calls it)/bosses (what Rachel and I call it) Rachel (he says as a single parent he’s just used to being firm with Jessie which Rachel calls him on again) but I agree with her.
Rachel is delightful, Jessie is sweet, but Benjamin is a piece of work up until almost the end of this novella with little to get me on his side. C
~Jayne
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