Ain't It Funny

September 1, 2024
Maya Greenspan, a sixth grader living in New Jersey, finds herself navigating her parents' separation and school pressures, all while helping at her family's deli and grocery store. Maya's dad has moved to New York City to work on his stand-up comedy career, while Maya, her mother, and Baba (her grandmother) live together above the Russian Gourmet, selling traditional Russian dishes. Driven to reunite her parents, Maya devises a plan: She'll perform a stand-up routine at the school talent show in hopes that it will draw her father to reconnect with her and her mom. A sprinkling of Russian phrases and words throughout the text, as well as descriptions of the preparation of foods like piroshki, pelmeni, sufganiyot, and fried mashed potatoes, add to the cultural experience and immersion in Maya's world. Themes of bullying, friendship difficulties, and mental health support are handled with sensitivity and authenticity. Budding comedians will also enjoy the humor and the useful sections that explain the process of creating a joke, along with tips for performing stand-up routines. There's no unrealistically tidy resolution, but after a panic attack at school, Maya has an honest talk with her dad and starts seeing a therapist, where she begins receiving essential support for generalized anxiety and "OCD tendencies." Maya's family is Jewish. Pages from a notebook with a few family recipes follow the final chapter. A culturally textured, heartfelt story of dislocation and growth. (mental health resources)(Fiction. 9-12)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2024
Grades 4-6 Lately, life has been a cruel joke for Maya, 11, as she navigates her parents' recent separation, helps out at the family's Russian deli, and manages her increasing anxiety and obsession with germs. Maya's dad, an aspiring stand-up comedian, isn't around often, so when the sixth-grade talent show is announced, Maya believes that performing her own stand-up routine is the perfect opportunity to reunite her family. The text blends helpful joke-crafting tips with Maya's anxious descent (described as "hot-hot-hot" and "whoosh and tingle" feelings), embodying the adage, comedy is tragedy plus time. When Maya's teacher has an OCD-induced breakdown that goes viral, they bond, especially after Maya's own panic attack leads to a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with OCD tendencies. Beyond mental health representation, Gurevich imbues the narrative with Russian Jewish heritage by featuring some traditional Russian dishes, Chanukah, and Russian cultural beliefs, such as adhering firmly to reserved displays of emotions. Gurevich has created an earnest but nervous protagonist in Maya, reflective of anxious adolescents today. Back matter includes family recipes.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2025
Sixth grader Maya doesn't know when the anxious thoughts and the "hot-hot-hot" feeling started, but ever since her dad moved out, they seem to have gotten worse. Her germaphobia makes school a challenge and makes working in her family's deli, the Russian Gourmet, nearly unbearable. Maya tries explaining her discomfort to her family but is met by her babushka's unsympathetic reminder: "Slozi goryu ne pomozhet," or "tears won't help sorrow." When Maya's standup-comedian father is asked to emcee her school's talent show, Maya decides to perform her own comedy routine in hopes that the hours spent rehearsing with her dad, plus a successful performance, will bring her family back together again, thereby curing the hot-hot-hot. Gurevich balances the seriousness of Maya's anxiety with laugh-out-loud humor. Alongside writing jokes and learning about comedy from her father, Maya witnesses a beloved teacher's distressing emotional episode and is taught coping strategies by a school nurse and therapist. Maya's story speaks directly to the stigma of mental health and the ways those attitudes can harm people of all ages. Readers familiar with Russian dishes may find their stomachs growling; luckily, the author includes recipes in the back matter. Hill Saxton

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