Hanukkah can officially begin with Hannah Reynolds’ Eight Nights of Flirting. This is a delightful teen romance that’s about love, family, and the perils of growing up. In a holiday season dominated by Christmas, it’s always nice to have some Hanukkah to shine a light in darkness. It never hurts when the Hanukkah story revolves around a very fun teenager who is just trying her best to find her way.
Festival of Lights, Ramped Up:
Readers are immediately introduced to Shira, a bundle of chaos who jumps off the page. She is figuring out her Jewish identity. It’s a journey we love for her. She’s able to approach her community with open curiosity and, of course, a million questions. The fact that her Hanukkah festivities get derailed by the quest to find love is just par for the course.
Who wouldn’t want to spend the eight-day Festival of Lights on an epic quest to find love? It sounds like what the Maccabees would have wanted, to be honest. Enter Tyler. At first, he seems like your typical insufferable popular kid. We also understand Shira holding on to an embarrassing moment from childhood. In fact, Tyler proves he has a lot of heart and is mostly redeemable. He’s an enemy turned love interest who proves himself worth cheering for.
Teenage Hanukkah Woes:
Eight Nights of Flirting captures how massive teenage concerns seem, without diminishing them. Reynolds makes a rivalry between two high schoolers seem like a high-stakes drama. It makes for compelling and easy reading, which is apropos for this time of year. Being in the deep heart of winter makes readers better able to relate to Shira and her seemingly larger-than-life concerns about presenting the best version of herself and finding true love.
At its core, Reynolds’ story is about all kinds of love, including the familial variety. There is a poignant realization that holidays don’t simply need to be spent with blood relations just for tradition’s sake. Rather, at their best, the holidays are a time to reflect on who we consider our real family. Sometimes, it includes blood relatives; sometimes, it includes friends. And sometimes, it’s a massive combination. Shira is so obviously well-loved by so many, and we should all be so fortunate.
A Jewish Winter Wonderland:
In a season dominated by Christmas, Reynolds makes sure Hanukkah gets the love it deserves. Rather than showing the holiday as a “Jewish Christmas” as it’s so often erroneously referred to, this story doubles down on the chance to reflect on the idea of miracles. They exist all around us. Hanukkah is the perfect time to recognize everyday miracles, even if they aren’t necessarily oil based. This minor liturgical holiday is so meaningful to so many.
Reynolds so effectively captures the magic of winter. Snowball fights, sledding, skating, and other seasonal delights make this a cozy love story worth sinking into. The setting just makes it easier to focus on the story, as well as on the protagonist who is coming into her own. Sometimes, a setting can be used to distract from a story’s weakness. Happily, that is not the case here. Reynolds embraces the season for everything it is to set her love story against a picturesque backdrop worthy of Hallmark.
Eight Nights of Flirting is such a delightful love story that’s about so much more. If you are looking for a book to curl up with in the heart of winter, look no further. You’ll also be treated to a sweet and miraculous coming-of-age story that reminds us of what it means to grow up. You’ll walk away feeling just a little bit happier. We all need that this holiday season.
Eight Nights of Flirting is available now.
