THE DUBIOUS PRANKS OF SHAINDY GOODMAN

Shaindy and Gayil are neighbors and classmates, but they have never been friends.

It’s the beginning of sixth grade, and Shaindy and Gayil attend an Orthodox Jewish girls’ school that prizes both education and kindness. Awkward, chubby Shaindy feels invisible, while smart, popular Gayil is considered the perfect student. Their community is celebrating the High Holidays, with their particular emphasis on repentance (teshuva) and atonement. Ironically, Gayil chooses to begin a series of “harmless” pranks at this time, and she enlists Shaindy as her partner-in-crime. Shaindy craves a friend so much that she eagerly participates, but Gayil’s schemes soon escalate from putting slime on a good friend’s hairbrush to unleashing bees in the classroom (despite the potential danger to an allergic student) to faking another girl’s handwriting to get her in trouble with the teacher. Shaindy’s conscience starts to bother her until it finally all comes to a head and Gayil reveals the secret behind her unusual behavior. This is a nuanced exploration of the intricacies of friendship, and the fully realized setting, a close-knit development for Orthodox Jews, offers a very specific picture of Shaindy’s home and school life. Transliterated Hebrew words will be familiar to some (there is no glossary), but the universal themes of desiring friendship and popularity will resonate with many. Characters are cued as Jewish and white.

Engrossing and deeply relatable.