National Jewish Book Awards Finalist

In the vein of The Chosen, Catcher in the Rye, and The Kite Runner comes Adam Unrehearsed, a “hilarious, deeply moving, coming-of-age comedy” (Yossi Klein Halevi).

From the moment he’s mugged on the subway home from Bat Day at Yankee Stadium, things go wrong for twelve-year-old Adam Miller. He is in the Special Program for brainy kids, but his new junior high is out of control. When he gets on the wrong side of several gangs and needs his friends most, they abandon him. As if that’s not enough, Adam discovers that his older brother has become a Zionist militant, his synagogue is repeatedly vandalized, and despite Adam’s “skinny voice,” his crazy new Cantor has grandiose plans for his Bar Mitzvah. Meanwhile, Adam dreams of his summer camp girlfriend in far off New Rochelle, but he’s too shy to pick up the phone. He even fails at shoplifting.

Bewildered and alone, Adam finds his only solace onstage, where he discovers the power of theater to bridge social divides. As he learns to stand out and stand up for himself, friends appear in the most unexpected places and Adam Miller discovers his own voice.

Adam Unrehearsed is a story of friendship, betrayal, life, death, and acting.

Adam Unrehearsed is “comical…lyrical… menacing… gritty… tender… compassionate and propulsive” (Colum McCann), it’s “funny, wise, heartbreaking and heart-healing…” (Pamela Schoenewaldt, Historical Novel Society). Set in New York in 1970, just as American Jewry is coming of age, this coming-of-age story is the next generation of great American Jewish fiction.