Giving Up America by Pearl Abraham: I am a huge fan of Abraham's book The Romance Reader, and I was quite surprised at the turn of this book. The story follows the disintegration of a couple's marriage, she a formerly Hasidic girl, him a modern Orthodox Jew. The secondary characters who help propel the story along are not well fleshed out, but Deena was a remarkable character whose progression was both sad but realistic. The religion is a large, but quiet, part of this book as the characters go through their own realizations about what it means to them. Deena's relationship with her family was a lovely one--not the traditional "you've strayed; we sit shiva for you" one that you'd expect. It didn't have the punch of her first novel, but I also felt drawn to it and it's simple way.