From Booklist

"If the entire planet was a face, the settlements were the brow and Jerusalem was the eye," reflects Tova, a resident of the West Bank apartment complex that is the setting of Risa Miller's remarkable first novel. With such observations, Miller's American Jewish characters remind themselves why they have come to Israel, and she relates their stories with delicacy and bittersweet humor. Tova struggles with flashes of homesickness and worries about the changes this new life has wrought in her daughter. Nathan and Sandy argue over how to discipline their boisterous and impulsive son, Yossi. Mr. Stanetsky, a Holocaust survivor, carries a dog-eared photograph of his parents and sister with him as he collects rent from his tenants. In the background, the threat of violence and political upheaval are a constant rumble. Miller uses small catastrophes--a vandalized water pipe, a shattered windshield--to underscore the precariousness of life in Heavenly Heights and the bonds that connect its residents. This is a sensitive and clear-eyed portrayal of a much-debated and misunderstood way of life. Meredith Parets

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