Brand-New Bubbe

♦ "A skeptical girl overcomes hesitations to connect a blended family in Brand-New Bubbe, an interfaith celebration of open-mindedness and the unifying power of a good bowl of soup.
Jillian, happy with her theater-loving Noni and adventurous Gram, greets her new "really nice" stepdad's mother, the boisterous bubbe (Yiddish for grandmother), with outright hostility. "She didn't want [Noni and Gram] to feel left out. Or, even worse, replaced." Eventually Jillian's mom scolds her for her unwelcoming behavior and forces her into a matzo ball soup-making lesson. The delicious broth Bubbe cooks…

— Shelf Awareness, starred review

"Jillian likes her new stepfather but isn’t sure about her new grandmother.
Bubbe, Yiddish for grandmother, is very loving, but Jillian does not appreciate this affection. She already has two grandmas—Gram and Noni—and a great-grandma. She doesn’t need a person who gives lipstick-laden kisses and introduces new holidays and words (kvelling and kvetching) she doesn’t understand. When her mom insists that Jillian “give Bubbe a chance,” Jillian, tan-skinned with brown hair, reluctantly agrees to join her “brand-new” grandmother as Bubbe prepares soup and teaches Jillian to make perfect matzah…

"When her mom remar­ries, Jil­lian gets a new step­dad and a new bubbe. Since she already has a Noni and a Gram, Jil­lian is not inter­est­ed in adding any­one else new to her fam­i­ly. Bubbe can’t seem to win Jillian’s affec­tions no mat­ter what she tries. But when she brings over the ingre­di­ents to make mat­zo ball soup, Jil­lian can’t resist.
After slurp­ing down a few bowls, she has an idea. Jil­lian invites all three of her grand­moth­ers — plus her dad and her great-grand­moth­er —for a ​'Super Soup Cel­e­bra­tion.' Noni makes Ital­ian meat­ball soup, Gram makes gaz­pa­cho and of…

—Rachel Kamin, Jewish Book Council