This new publication of the CCAR Press, the publication arm of the professional association of Reform rabbis, touches on a range of issues, from the philosophical, such as why morality is needed in addition to law in order to have a functional society, to the specific, like addressing issues ranging from reproductive technology and artificial intelligence. In probing these issues through the lens of what it means to be human, this book includes a particularly challenging essay regarding the traditional hierarchy of human life over animal life, and how people can avoid, or at least minimize, the exploitation of animals in their daily lives—something that seems more feasible in an age when there are so many alternatives to animal-based products. One of the most intriguing and hopeful works in this collection includes one on artificial intelligence, which both demystifies and lays out what AI’s real hazards are (“We have already ceded much of our agency to artificial intelligence, and we haven’t even noticed,” writes rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman), and another on changing communications technologies, which lays out their rewards, as well as their risks. This book features many thought-provoking essays, and most do a skillful job of making abstruse issues intelligible, although some work better than others. One essay, for instance, uses queer theory to reinterpret the biblical ben sorer u’moreh (wayward and rebellious son); it makes a good effort to address a troubling biblical passage, but ends up sounding forced in its conclusions. Also, the afterword seems like odd placement for the summary of the book’s chapters, which would have worked better as an introduction.

Rosalie Solis is tired of being part of an influencer family and having all her private moments shared publicly. Her parents constantly film her and her little sister, Gennie, crafting storylines for their lives that include Rosalie pretending to date her best friend, Diego, even though neither of them is attracted to people of the other’s gender. Rosalie and Gennie are home-schooled in order to provide more opportunities for their parents to film them; when Stella, a non-influencer girl, joins their community because her fibromyalgia makes a regular school schedule difficult, Rosalie is taken with her. A scary run-in with a fan brings to a head Rosalie’s concerns about the effects of her parents’ prioritizing content over the emotional needs of their children, and she decides to take drastic action to reclaim their lives. This accessible novel in verse about the dark, sometimes dangerous effects of influencing will appeal to readers who consume social media, including those who may not have considered who’s harmed in its creation. While watching Rosalie come to terms with the damage her parents have done is difficult, the story’s heavier elements are offset by the sweetness of her developing romance with Stella. Rosalie and Gennie are white, Stella is of Chinese and Italian descent, and Diego was transracially adopted from Panama.

Readers first meet Eve Kelly in 1883, when she’s 3 years old, living in upstate New York. She has begun to show signs that she possesses mystical abilities, which erupt suddenly and result in the death of her father. Her mother, Moira, takes Eve to an Irish spiritualist, who locks the child’s powers away in a magical pearl. In 1899, 18-year-old Eve and her mother are housekeepers in the Tarrytown Inn, north of New York City. Facing discrimination because they’re Irish, they’ve moved from job to job and place to place. Now, Eve must contend with the lascivious advances of the men of the Tarrytown Inn. She convinces her mother to apply for work with the ultrawealthy Rennard family, owners of the massive Greythorne Mansion, just outside Poughkeepsie. To Eve’s delight, their applications are accepted, and within a few days the Rennard coach arrives to pick them up. Inside the coach are the beautiful heiress, Saskia Rennard, and her aunt, Winifred Price, who are on their way home following a year in Europe. Much to her displeasure, Saskia has returned at her father’s command because it’s time for her to find a husband. She’s immediately intrigued by Eve, and soon Eve’s powers begin to break loose as Bergman pulls readers into a tale that combines a chronicle of a developing passionate relationship between two women and a graphically dark horror story, filled with malevolence. The profound wickedness that lurks within the stone walls of the massive estate emerges gradually. Alternately narrated by Eve and Saskia, the plot unfolds in a fashion that offers vivid lifestyle descriptions (“My attention drifted to the exquisite gold Lalique bracelet I had acquired from my Parisian admirer, the Marquis d’Limousin”) and well-developed portraits of the two vastly different women. When Saskia’s father hosts the Rennard family’s annual Ambrose Hunt, the sinister plot that is hiding behind upper-class graces and accoutrements unfolds in gripping detail.

Shelby Montgomery, from an extremely influential white family in Memphis, loves summertime, when the Montgomerys travel to their country estate in Tupelo, Mississippi. Rare for the time, the teen’s best friend is an African American girl named Liberty Chestnut, who brings Shelby down to the local pond for swimming on hot summer days. On one of these days, Shelby spies River Martin, a handsome, brooding, local boy she doesn’t know much about, and when their eyes meet, she’s thoroughly smitten. Liberty tells Shelby that River, who’s white, is a blues musician, and she knows just how to sneak in to his upcoming gig. As Shelby and River connect, Shelby also learns the disturbing news that her own father is much despised by many locals because he’s been scheming to purchase their land to make way for a new highway. When a tragic accident befalls another member of the town, Shelby must decide how far she’s willing to go to prevent the wrong person from taking the blame. As she attempts to navigate her relationships and simultaneously save the town from her father’s “improvement” plans, it seems it might just be too much for one young woman. Told in a close third person, the book primarily follows Shelby. Tupelo provides the perfect backdrop for this coming-of-age story; both the socioeconomic battles and Shelby’s increasingly rebellious behavior contrast well with the charming southern town. While the setting details are rich, with descriptions of blackberry pies, fireflies, and lakeside bluffs in abundance, physical descriptions of most characters are sparse, making it difficult to keep identities straight. Similarly, the plot-heavy story is full of action and drama, but the characters’ emotions often feel underdeveloped. Even so, the author does an admirable job of exposing issues related to loss of innocence and artificial social boundaries.

Atlanta singletons Sameera Malik and Tom Cooke are navigating professional turbulence while nursing wounds from relationship rifts. When their paths cross at Sameera’s firm’s holiday party, chemistry sparks—but it’s professional synergy that prompts their connection. Layoffs are coming at the boutique law firm where Sameera works as an associate, putting her job and independence in jeopardy. Tom is a chef who uses YouTube to drum up catering business while dreaming of hosting his own TV cooking show. A decline in his online engagement jeopardizes both sides of his livelihood. So after some motherly intervention places Tom in Sameera’s path a second time—sensing the barest whiff of a secret romance, Tahsin Malik hires him to cater her party for Eid—Tom captures the spunky attorney in a video, and it’s a hit. Recognizing that he got “more attention from that candid video…than any others in the past six months,” he and Sameera negotiate a deal. She’ll fake date him for two months and record six videos, and Tom will smooth the way for his wealthy best friend Andy Shaikh to become Sameera’s prospective client. Precarity also stokes Sameera’s insecurity, since she’s already feeling like the black sheep of her successful Muslim Desi family—with a sister pursuing a Ph.D. at Oxford and a father retired as head of neurosurgery at Emory, “if she wasn’t an associate at the [law firm], who was she? Nobody.” Just when you might worry that the book is so realistic as to lack the fun and froth of a great holiday rom-com, Jalaluddin ups the family shenanigans to 11 as Sameera’s mother and Tom’s stepmom hijack the proceedings like matchmaking mamas from the Regency era. Soon, the entire Malik family embarks on a meet-the-parents holiday jaunt at Tom’s fabulous family estate in Alaska, where they’re practically royalty, and hijinks and culture clashes and shady side deals ensue.