I picked it up only knowing that it was about a girl who was growing up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish culture. I would love to tell you all about HUSH however, I think this book is best appreciated if you don't really know too much about it. It has already been very well received by critics and has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and BCCB. It is a story that deserves to stay in our thoughts for a very long time. Having said that, HUSH is an amazing story and one that needed to be told.

However, I found HUSH to be so disturbing, and it made me so uncomfortable, that I'm not sure that I want to keep thinking about it. I usually think it's a positive thing when I can't stop thinking about a book, and I still do because it's really a credit to the author to have a story stay with the reader. I finished it a few days ago and I admit that the story is still stuck in the forefront of my mind. HUSH by Eishes Chayil is one incredibly moving book. Forced to remain silent, Gittel begins to question everything she was raised to believe.Ī richly detailed and nuanced book, one of both humor and depth, understanding and horror, this story explains a complex world that remains an echo of its past, and illuminates the conflict between yesterday's traditions and today's reality. But when thirteen-year-old Gittel learns of the abuse her best friend has suffered at the hands of her own family member, the adults in her community try to persuade Gittel, and themselves, that nothing happened.

Inside the closed community of Borough Park, where most Chassidim live, the rules of life are very clear, determined by an ancient script written thousands of years before down to the last detail-and abuse has never been a part of it. Summary: A lyrically written, powerful exploration of a girl's struggle within a hidden society

Hush by eishes chayil