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Jewish books deserve space—in our homes, in our conversations, and on our shelves. But in today’s publishing landscape, these books need champions. Nu Reads is a curated, reader-powered book subscription series that builds community, strengthens the Jewish literary market, and ensures Jewish voices are heard—and read.
Nu: A classic Jewish expression that means “So?” “Well?” “What’s new?” or “Tell me already!” It’s a question, a nudge, an invitation to begin. At Nu Reads, it’s all of the above. Because when it comes to Jewish books, we’re always asking: “Nu—what should I read next?”
Sonia is a Hungarian immigrant who is raising her daughter, Mila—her beloved Milosh—on her own in sunny Los Angeles. Her days are a blur of not-quite-illegal business activities, dodging PTA moms, and baking birthday cakes laced with rum—minor mistakes that nevertheless continually remind her of everything she doesn’t understand about America and parenthood. Mila, meanwhile, is juggling violin and swimming lessons and navigating the treacherous social politics of school with the help of a less-than-helpful guidebook on how to be cool in the sixth grade—all the while trying to get her secretive mother to share something, anything, about her past.
Sonia is sure that their bond, stitched from drive-through dinners, extracurricular activities, and a lot of exasperated affection for each other—will be enough to satisfy her daughter. But her guarded lifestyle has left Mila lonely, isolated, and ready to write herself into a bigger story. When she stumbles across emails between her mother and a man she’s never met, Mila decides to take matters into her own hands and forms a plan that will implode their carefully constructed lives.
Moving between Budapest before the fall of the Berlin Wall; Washington, DC, in the tense years of the Cold War; and the bright sunshine of early aughts Los Angeles, Porcupines is an irresistible novel about mothers and daughters, secrecy and loneliness, belonging and reinvention—and what happens when the truth can’t be held back any longer.
In Porcupines, a Hungarian
Jewish immigrant single mother gets roped into
chaperoning her daughter’s youth orchestra
school trip. Along the way, the book becomes a
powerful exploration of mothers and daughters
who struggle to understand one another; sisters
who choose different religious paths; and families
in which Jewish legacies might not be overtly
discussed but are present nonetheless. Funny,
moving, and surprising, Porcupines is about
what it means to cast off and reclaim different
identities—Hungarian, American, and Jewish—
and to try to start over in a new place. Ultimately,
it’s about the universal longing to find the people
with whom we can feel at home