Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Dec. 1, 2004 (Vol. 101, No. 7))
Maya, 20, blames herself for the death of her boyfriend, who is killed by a suicide bomber in a Tel Aviv restaurant. Haunted by grief and guilt, she leaves Israel for college in the U.S., but although she makes friends, studies, and even begins to fall in love and have sex again, she can't forget. The first-person narrative moves eloquently back and forth between Maya's American present and her Israeli past: growing up in Israel, serving in the army, working in a Tel Aviv office, falling in love, and finally, losing someone in a shocking bombing. Most characters in this novel, one of the first about a contemporary Israeli young woman in a high-tech, secular world, are drawn with some complexity. Maya's "healing" seems a little preachy, but there's depth to her character: she's needy and angry, sarcastic and warm. She also loves her country, yet she doesn't talk politics. Though she considers the Palestinians as "those" people over the border ("They hated us"), she doesn't always focus on herself as living in a war-torn place. Of course, one book isn't enough to tell the whole story of the Middle East, so recommend this with books listed in the accompanying Read-alikes column, which speak from the diverse viewpoints of young Arabs and Jews caught up in the violence. Category: Books for Older Readers--Fiction. 2005, Knopf, $15.95, $17.99. Gr. 8-12.

Gilda R. Daniels (Children's Literature)
Maya Laor, an Israeli, decides to go to college in America. She has been admitted to the University of Virginia. Tragedy strikes before she can tell her boyfriend of her decision. The guilt and grief surrounding the tragedy shape her thoughts and actions. This well-written book will intrigue young adult readers. It provides interesting and descriptive accounts of Maya’s life in Israel and Virginia. The book is full of real life situations, including trying to fit into a new environment, having a crush on someone else’s boyfriend, sorority rushes, frat parties and, oh yeah, class. It is a coming of age book that everyone should enjoy. This would be a great book for a high school library. 2005, Alfred A Knopf/Random House Children’s Books, $15.95. Ages 13 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2006)
Maya, a twenty-year-old Israeli woman who has recently finished her service in the Israeli army, is now studying astronomy at the University of Virginia. Haunted by the recent death of her boyfriend in a pipe bombing attack in Tel Aviv, her grief is compounded by her belief that she was the intended victim, and by the fact that he was opposed to her going to school in America. Now she has come not only to study but to heal. Tammar Stein’s novel moves between Maya’s current challenges to fit into college and a new culture (which include a sexy TA and a seemingly superficial roommate) and her memories of life in Israel, where the fear of bombs and threat of war were constant. Maya feels light years away from any one place and from most of the people around her. Metaphors that heighten distortion of time and space run throughout this compelling narrative. Things at a distance are not what they appear to be, and Maya’s struggle to heal her heart and confront her own feelings about herself and the people around her, as well as community and identity, is powerful and moving. CCBC Category: Fiction for Young Adults. 2005, Alfred A. Knopf, 263 pages, $15.95 and $17.99 HR. Age 15 and older.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 24))
Caught between two vastly different worlds, Maya seeks balance between her tragic past in Israel and her present in Virginia as an astronomy student. Before leaving Israel to study abroad, Maya learns that a suicide bomber attacked the cafT where her boyfriend, Dov, was waiting for her. She later realizes that the bomber was none other than an angry Palestinian waiter she helped fire a year earlier. Grief-stricken, she arrives in the US only to feel out of place and numb amid fraternity parties, a sorority-rushing roommate, and a couple of one-night stands. Eventually she finds solace in Justin, a graduate student who encourages her to share her past and convinces her that Dov's death was not her fault. This author's debut rests on a fish-out-of-water theme with which teens will identify. The story, however, reaches real depth when Maya reminisces about Israel. Although passages dealing with Maya's American life seem less than genuine, those illustrating the everyday fears of people living in Israel, as well as the beauty of the region, ring true. 2005, Knopf, 240p, $15.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Michele Winship (KLIATT Review, January 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 1))
Maya Laor is a young woman living in modern-day Israel. She loves her country, her family, and her boyfriend Dov. Like all Israeli youth, she serves in her country’s army before moving on to college. And like all Israeli youth, she lives surrounded by violence in a land divided by politics, religion, and manmade barriers. When a young suicide bomber destroys her future, she leaves Israel to study astronomy at the University of Virginia, packing up the shattered pieces of her life and saying goodbye to family and familiarity. As an American college student, Maya is acutely aware of her inability to fit into the normalcy of parties and football games. Stein sensitively tells the story of Maya’s struggle to move beyond her past and start her life over among people who are unable to understand her suffering. For Americans who only experience the terror of living in a war-torn country through sound bites and headlines, this novel takes us inside a daily life not so different from our own--except for the undercurrent of fear that any restaurant meal, any bus ride, any shopping trip could end in tragedy. Particularly relevant in today’s world climate, Stein’s work provides insight that builds compassion and leaves readers with a message of hope and healing. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, Random House, Knopf, 240p., $17.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Heather Loy (Library Media Connection, March 2005)
Twenty-year-old Maya's life was dramatically changed after her boyfriend, Dov, was killed in a cafT by a Palestinian suicide bomber. Reeling over Dov's death, Maya is racked with guilt believing it was her fault Dov and so many others died that day. Told in chapters alternating between the past in Tel Aviv and the present in Virginia, Tammar Stein creates an interesting story with a unique perspective. However, Stein's frequent use of profanity and Maya's indiscriminate sexual relations and alcohol use, while plausible parts of the story, limit the use of the novel in a school library. Additional Selection. 2005, Alfred A. Knopf (Random House), 263pp., $15.95 hc. Ages 15 up.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 7))
For Maya Laor, a twenty-year-old veteran of the Israeli army, her first year at the University of Virginia is not the happy adventure she had anticipated. Between application and matriculation, her boyfriend, Dov, is killed in a suicide bombing at a Tel Aviv cafe as he waits for her to meet him. Stricken not only with grief but with self-blame--she is convinced the bomber was a Palestinian cafe worker she had gotten fired for his openly anti-Israeli opinions--she now finds the American university little more than a hoped-for refuge as far away from Israel as she can easily get. She expects little understanding from American students, whom she initially dismisses as shallow and pampered, but her bubbly roommate Payton turns out to be surprisingly supportive, and a new love interest, graduate assistant Justin, insinuates himself into her life. Stein spends little time examining the complexities of the Palestinian/Israeli struggles, but her focus is, admittedly, exploration of emotional rather than political terrain. Although Maya's circumstances are occasionally a bit stage-managed (who but the temporarily spurned Justin would ride to her rescue when she breaks her ankle on a deserted road at night?), the personal devastation that impels her to crave support and push it away when offered rings painfully true. Love, tragedy, healing, a romantic campus setting, and a dishy grad student--Stein's debut novel should win her a cadre of YA fans. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Knopf, 263p, $17.99 and $15.95. Grades 8-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2005)
At a university in Virginia, Maya Laor, a twenty-year-old Israeli woman, restores joy and meaning to her life as she recovers from her boyfriend's death in a Tel Aviv suicide bombing. Although the dialogue is sometimes forced and the interior monologues can be repetitive, this first novel features engaging characters and maintains narrative tension throughout. Category: Older Fiction. 2005, Knopf, 266pp, 15.95, 17.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Donna Bode (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 18, No. 3))
Maya, aged twenty, feels that she is guilty for her boyfriend’s (Dov) death at the hand of a suicide bomber at a Tel Aviv restaurant. Because she needs a change, she goes to college in the U.S. Maya adjusts to college in Virginia and makes friends but still remembers home and the guilt that she has. The story, told in flashback, tells of Maya growing up in Israel, joining the army, and falling in love with Dov, a fellow soldier. With the help of Justin, Maya eventually realizes that Dov’s death was not her fault but was a result of circumstances beyond her control. Teens will be able to identify with this theme as a part of the world situations today. Fiction. Grades 9-12. 2005, Knopf, 263p., $15.95. Ages 14 to 18.

Ed Goldberg (VOYA, June 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 2))
With her first sentence, "He went to school to learn how to kill me," Stein begins a psychological story about the emotional toll of terrorism, which never materializes. Rather it is a dry story of eighteen-year-old Maya coming to terms with the death of her boyfriend, Dov, from a suicide bomber in an Israeli cafT. Maya blames herself, and partially to escape her pain, continues with her plan to attend college in America. Through Maya's first-person narrative with chapters alternating between present college life and her life leading up to the bombing, readers follow Maya as she arrives in America, meets Southern-belle roommate Payton, encounters a potential boyfriend, and engages with several less-significant characters. Through them, Maya must realize that Dov's death was not her fault, learn to let people back into her heart, and finally decide whether to return to Israel or distance herself from the pain that lies there. First-time author Stein recounts a readable although not overly absorbing story. Other than the bomber, all characters are positive, supportive people. Predictably Maya learns that Payton is more than a pretty face, that people care about her, and that she can reciprocate these emotions. The language is straightforward and at times stilted. The book is about healing, but for a compelling story about the emotional devastation of war and Arab terrorism, Real Time by Pnina Moed Kass (Houghton Mifflin 2004/VOYA February 2005) is the choice. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P J S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Knopf, 240p., $15.95. Ages 12 to 18.

Abbe Goldberg, Teen Reviewer (VOYA, June 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 2))
This book puts readers into the mind of an Israeli soldier who has had to experience tragedy everyday. Israel is constantly mentioned in the news regarding suicide bombings and the danger of visiting there, and it is easy to become jaded about the situation. Kids will like this book because hearing Maya's thoughts will bring them back into reality, making them understand the emotions that the war causes to Israelis. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Knopf, 240p., $15.95. Ages 12 to 18.