Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Knopf Books for Young Readers (2012), Hardcover, 272 pages
Description
Mystery. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: Rachel thought she was grown up enough to accept that no one is perfect. Her parents argue, her grandmother has been acting strangely, and her best friend doesn't want to talk to her. But none of that could have prepared her for what she overheard in her synagogue's sanctuary. Now Rachel's trust in the people she loves is shattered, and her newfound cynicism leads to reckless rebellion. Her friends and family hardly recognize her, and worse, she can hardly recognize herself. But how can the adults in her life lecture her about acting with kavanah, intention, when they are constantly making such horribly wrong decisions themselves? This is a witty, honest account of navigating the daunting line between losing innocence and entering adulthood--all while figuring out who you really want to be. From the Hardcover edition..… (more)
Awards
Sydney Taylor Book Award (Winner — 2013)
CCBC Choices (2013)
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member MartyAllen
Everything in Rachel's life seems to be going wrong. Yet, rather than being a depressing story, it is one readers will be able to sympathize with, and the flashes of joy interspersed throughout keep the reader hopeful. Chapter titles are brilliant metaphors, such as "Going Backwards," referring to
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Rachel's attempts to back out of the driveway as well as the step backwards her life takes. Rachel's problems are some many teens will relate to, and her frustration and helplessness in the face of them are extremely true to life. The climax will make readers weep in sympathy and the finale, positive but not saccharine, keeping to the true-to-life feel throughout the book, is extremely satisfying. Show Less
LibraryThing member AngelaFristoe
Intentions started off really strong and I thought the initial conflict Rachel had was an interesting way for her to start questioning her faith not just in her religion, but also her faith in the people around her. That said I think it was a bit of a stretch to think that this one incident that
Rachel comes across as a typical high school girl. She's worried about her friends and her family. She thinks she may finally get a date with the good neighbor boy. Very quickly she starts to rebel first out of anger at the adults in her life, and then also from anger at her former best friend. She risks the good things in her life, only to do self-destructive things. What keeps her relateable is that she feels anger and guilt over what she does and confusion on how to fix things, and best of all there is a sense that she's grown by the end of the story, regardless of the outcome.
There is a heavy focus on Rachel's Jewish faith, but is done in a way that is more informative than preachy. Heiligman manages to incorporate aspects of the Jewish faith into the story naturally and it was interesting to see how Rachel's religion impacts her expectations and choices.
Overall, Intentions was a nice read, engaging enough that I finished in one sitting, and fast paced enough that I never had a chance to get bored. But sometimes it felt like the fast pace was due more to the constant adding of drama, as opposed to the natural flow. It's just not a book that's going to stick with me.
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she observes serves as the catalyst for every choice she makes throughout the book. Yes, aspects of her life do start to break down and she does some stupid things, but even when she realizes she's done something stupid, she doesn't stop.Rachel comes across as a typical high school girl. She's worried about her friends and her family. She thinks she may finally get a date with the good neighbor boy. Very quickly she starts to rebel first out of anger at the adults in her life, and then also from anger at her former best friend. She risks the good things in her life, only to do self-destructive things. What keeps her relateable is that she feels anger and guilt over what she does and confusion on how to fix things, and best of all there is a sense that she's grown by the end of the story, regardless of the outcome.
There is a heavy focus on Rachel's Jewish faith, but is done in a way that is more informative than preachy. Heiligman manages to incorporate aspects of the Jewish faith into the story naturally and it was interesting to see how Rachel's religion impacts her expectations and choices.
Overall, Intentions was a nice read, engaging enough that I finished in one sitting, and fast paced enough that I never had a chance to get bored. But sometimes it felt like the fast pace was due more to the constant adding of drama, as opposed to the natural flow. It's just not a book that's going to stick with me.
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LibraryThing member STBA
When Rachel overhears an encounter between her rabbi and a female congregant in the synagogue sanctuary, her world starts unraveling as she questions whom she can trust. She evaluates her relationships with parents, friends, and the rabbi, and learns about her own motivations in the process.
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Well-developed characters and authentic voice emphasize the many nuances of the title. Show Less
LibraryThing member superducky
I just couldn't finish this one. Basically, Rachel goes from sweet innocent good girl to naughty delinquent practically over night after witnessing something she shouldn't have seen. After witnessing aforementioned thing, she suddenly started misbehaving during ceremonies, speaking out, and
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Stealing The character 180 was so drastic and overdone, that it was unbelievable. I decided to kind of skip ahead to the end because I just wanted to see how it ended, and from what I read, Rachel apparently did another character 180 and went back to being sweet, good, truth-telling Rachel. Show Less
LibraryThing member scote23
I have been thinking about this book for a while. What would happen if you found out one of your idols was not who you thought they were? Rachel discovers this about her rabbi at a moment when the rest of her life is in a state of upheaval. Rachel makes mistakes which ring true, which is both good
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and bad; good, because they are realistic and bad because you may be shaking your head and telling her not to do those things at the same time. I admit that contemporary Jewish life is not something that I am familiar with, so there were times when I was a little confused about the rituals but I think overall it would be clear for anyone to read. Show Less
ISBN
0375868615 / 9780375868610