By Sarah Goodman Confino — Lake Union Publishing, 2023
Never-married Great Aunt Ada works as a matchmaker in Philadelphia. When Marilyn, her sassy 20-year-old niece, gets kicked out of the house for kissing the rabbi’s son in an embarrassingly public way, 77-year-old Ada takes her in, just as she took in Marilyn’s mother decades ago. Marilyn’s parents hope Ada will find a suitable husband for their daughter while she’s in Ada’s care. Instead, Marilyn realizes newfound freedom and sees firsthand how a woman can support herself and be fulfilled without a man. It’s the ‘60s, and Marilyn doesn’t want to go to college to find a husband—she wants to become an author and is thrilled when Ada gives her a typewriter. Ada herself is a gem—feisty, entrepreneurial, seemingly hard as nails, but with quite a loving heart underneath her tough exterior. The intergenerational bond between Marilyn and Ada deepens over time, filled with moments that are both funny and touching. As Marilyn’s choices become clearer, we wonder right up to the end what she’ll choose, and we’re rooting for her.
