Romance, Contemporary Romance

It is a truth universally acknowledged, in Orthodox Jewish circles, that a single young man possessed of aptitude for Torah learning must be in want of a wife. Every family in town will have its eyes set on him, hoping to appropriate him for their daughters.

To her great dismay, Mrs. Baila Sara Bennett of Flatbush hasn't been blessed with a single son - only five lovely daughters. How will she and her husband, a struggling chinuch family, manage to find prestigious shidduchim for their daughters when they lack the means to support a young couple in style?

As Shaina and Aliza, the oldest of these daughters, struggle to maintain their good spirits despite the pitifully few marriage suggestions they receive, they wonder if their mazal will ever change. Matters come to a head when a promising shidduch for Shaina is derailed and a family scandal nearly destroys any hopes for the girls' future. Will the Bennetts ever marry off their daughters?

Talented author Barbara Bensoussan has penned a winning novel in Pride and Preference, the frum community's take on the Jane Austen classic. Read with a chuckle and a sigh about the foibles of our society... and join the Bennett sisters as they hold on to their emunah during the roller-coaster ride of shidduchim.

This collection of books featuring Jewish main characters is decidedly non-comprehensive. As we come across books that are described as having Jewish main characters, we add them to this database. The creators of the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge have not read all (or even most) of the books in this database. We have gathered information from many sources and not all may be accurate. Inclusion of a book in our database does not imply endorsement or approval. There is always the possibility that antisemitism may be present in a book, either written into a character's experience or through malicious or ignorant caricature or stereotypical portrayal of Jewish characters and culture. Please take care of yourselves as you read.

PLEASE let us know if you encounter a book in this database that does not have a Jewish main character, if you have corrections or additions for a book's genre categories, or if you have any other concerns about the inclusion of a particular book in this database.