Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Book of Trees
    The Book of Trees
    The Book of Trees
    Ebook217 pages18 hours

    The Book of Trees

    By Leanne Lieberman

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    When Mia, a Jewish teenager from Ontario, goes to Israel to spend the summer studying at a yeshiva, or seminary, she wants to connect with the land and deepen her understanding of Judaism. However, Mia's summer plans go astray when she falls in love with a non-Jewish tourist, Andrew. Through him, Mia learns about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and starts to questions her Zionist aspirations. In particular, Mia is disturbed by the Palestinian's loss of their olive trees, and the state of Israel's planting of pine trees, symbolizing the setting down of new roots. After narrowly escaping a bus bombing, Mia decides that being a peace activist is more important than being religious.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateNov 1, 2010
    ISBN9781554694471
    The Book of Trees
    Author

    Leanne Lieberman

    LEANNE LIEBERMAN is the author of five young adult novels, including The Most Dangerous Thing, Gravity (Sydney Taylor Notable), The Book of Trees and Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust (Sydney Taylor Notable and Bank Street Best Book). Her adult fiction has been published in New Quarterly, Descant, Fireweed, the Antigonish Review and Grain. She’s a schoolteacher in Kingston, Ontario.

    Read more from Leanne Lieberman

    Related to The Book of Trees

    Related ebooks

    YA Religious For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Descent

      Jun 14, 2022

      People got out in strange ways. No stranger, I suppose, than the ways they got in. One year an American military helicopter flew too low over an Italian ski village, killing two families headed up the lift. A woman at Hillcrest had Italian citizenshi

      22 min read

    • Article

      On Za'atar

      Oct 15, 2021

      On Za'atar
      14 min read

    • Article

      Too Much, Magic Bus

      Dec 9, 2019

      Too Much, Magic Bus
      8 min read

    • Article

      Along Forgotten Paths

      Jun 5, 2019

      Along Forgotten Paths
      7 min read

    • Article

      Are You Lonesome Tonight?

      Oct 14, 2019

      Are You Lonesome Tonight?
      7 min read

    • Article

      Away From It All

      Oct 29, 2021

      Away From It All
      4 min read

    • Article

      In This Place

      Feb 27, 2020

      In This Place
      3 min read

    • Article

      Forgotten Land

      Jul 14, 2023

      Forgotten Land
      7 min read

    • Article

      It Happened to Me…

      Jan 28, 2021

      Regarding the Aintree Spectres [FT399:38-42], I feel compelled to share an experience I had at Woolley Edge near J38 on the M1 near Wakefield on 20 November 2020. Because of the COVID 19 situation, I was working from home at Hall Green in Wakefield,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Classic Read

      Mar 16, 2020

      There’s an old story about a centipede who was asked which particular set of legs he used to start walking. The question took him by surprise. What had seemed a perfectly normal means of progression became a wholly perplexing problem. He could scarce

      2 min read

    • Article

      Taking a Walk

      Jun 30, 2021

      Taking a Walk
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Inner Light

      Apr 15, 2022

      The Inner Light
      7 min read

    • Article

      Finding My Family

      Oct 7, 2020

      Finding My Family
      7 min read

    • Article

      River Of A Mother’s Love

      Apr 18, 2023

      River Of A Mother’s Love
      7 min read

    • Article

      Hardback To Backpack

      Dec 30, 2020

      Hardback To Backpack
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Way Back Home

      Apr 30, 2022

      Morning light in Sydney has a quality of powdered gold, spilt celestial talcum. It gets up the nose. The streets seem to have nothing to think about other than parking and shopping, violence a concept from another hemisphere. The calm seems deliberat

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Tiny House In Zimbabwe

      Oct 4, 2020

      A Tiny House In Zimbabwe
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Parsonage in New Hope

      Dec 4, 2023

      A Parsonage in New Hope
      12 min read

    • Article

      Found In Guatemala

      Jun 19, 2018

      Found In Guatemala
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Book of Trees

    3.5/5

    6 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      The Book of Trees is a story about a teenager named Mia who decides to deepen her understanding of Judaism and learn more about her Jewish Heritage. She decides to spend her summer in Israel, studying at yeshiva (a seminary) for girls who want to gain more knowledge about their Jewish culture. When I first stumbled upon this book last year on LibraryThing, I was really interested due to what it was about. I don't recall reading many books that take place in Israel or set during the mid 90's, so this definitely appealed to me as a reader.Unfortunately, I didn't like the book as much as I hoped to. The story did have some good things in it but I don't feel as if the author executed her ideas well. This felt more like a personal rant then a real story. The detail in this book was also over done. There were moments where I honestly wanted to stop reading this book and leave it alone. I was constantly reminded of how hot or dry it was in Jerusalem and I found that irritating.On another note, what I did like about this book though was the background information about the Jewish culture. I really found the history and traditions of the Jews very interesting but other then that, I didn't enjoy this book. Mia was such a distant protagonist, there was no connection with her. All she did was explore the area of where her yeshiva was located and randomly describe memories of her father.It was also obvious that Mia's heart was never really into her studies or commitment at the yeshiva. Her need of spiritual understanding wasn't believable and she seemed more a nuisance in Jerusalem then a long lost daughter returning to her Motherland. In short, I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone but if you would like to give this book a chance, then by all means go for it. Perhaps another reader might enjoy this book more then I did.
    • 4/5
      The Book of Trees was an insightful book into the life of a teen trying to understand herself and her religion.The main character, Mia, is very realistic. At first she is excited to be studying in Jeruselum for the summer. As her studies wear on, she begins to ask questions that none of the teachers seem willing to answer. As Mia uncovers histories of the Palestinians and begins questioning her beliefs. Mia wants to see the world in black and white, good and bad - that quality is quite relatable to.The author is quite successful in describing the setting. The book is easy to read and the characters are real. I enjoyed reading The Book of Trees.
    • 3/5
      Warning: most of these reviews include plot spoilers, including this one. I looked forward to reading The Book of Trees - I'm not particularly familiar with Jewish culture in Canada, but was intrigued by the content and the approach. I find that the author has a good grasp of setting and characterisation, and the depictions of places are incredibly compelling. That said, my sympathy for the main character just kept eroding thorughout the book, which was rather discouraging! The author depicts her as a teenager who seems to be tugged about by various forces/desires/circumstances, and longs for clear guidance and direct black/white situations, and seems to be tugged about by her impressions without actually sticking with her decisions OR realizing that black/white situations aren't likely to happen. I sympathize with that in real life, as it's a difficult realization to come to, but my sympathy for fictional characters is somewhat lower. That said, despite my impatience with the main character, the book is well-written, the imagery and depictions of place are very well written, and the main character is realistic, if not particularly sympathetic to me. The political situation in Israel/Palestine is depicted in a fairly elementary and straightforward way, but it a good general overview - I am curious to read more.
    • 3/5
      Seventeen year-old Mia, a product of an Irish Catholic father and a Jewish mother, travels to Jerusalem to study at the seminary to reconnect with spirituality and Judaism. At first, she is intrigued and confident with her new-found devotion, but as time goes on and studies become irrelevant and confusing in a war torn, hostile environment, Mia begins to doubt some teachings. The Book of Trees is an odd juxtaposition of religion and purity with sexual activity, foul language, drugs, and alcohol. Mia professes her desire to seek religious understanding, yet easily slips into vulgarity in the name of righteous do-gooding. I am not sure I totally got the point of the book, other than the author needed ranting time to absolve herself of confusion. That said, I did find the terminology, history, and Judaic facts fascinating. Thank you to Orca Publishers, Leslie Bootle, Leanne Lieberman, and LibraryThing early reviews for this ARC book.
    • 3/5
      Mia is a Jewish teenager from Toronto searching for her life to make sense. She decides at the last minute to spend the summer studying at a girl’s yeshiva in Jerusalem. It is there she expects to bond with the land, the Israeli people and her religion. Mia believes that becoming more religious will put her life at peace. Only things don’t go as she expects and she learns more about the land of Israel from the Palestinian perspective and becomes angry at Israel. This is a story that touches upon some of the truths and non-truths of the Palestinian/ Israeli conflict. But things change when Mia meets Andrew, who isn’t Jewish. Andrew talks to her about the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land and Mia starts to question it. She is not only disturbed by Israel’s decisions to kick out the Palestinians but also realizes that maybe becoming a peace activist is much more important than becoming a religious Jew. The author uses trees as a major symbol in the story. Mia learns from Andrew that the Israel’s pine trees replace the Palestinians olive trees. The symbol of these trees mean settling down new roots, but whose roots are they? The Book of Trees is written more from the perspective of a non-Israeli and is also a great coming of age story that really speaks to the teenager. This is recommended reading for grades 7th and up. The author includes a glossary of terms in the back of the book with an authors note explaining why she wrote the story and her personal thoughts on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
    • 5/5
      This was a very moving book about a young Jewish woman,Mia, trying to find herself and still be Jewish. She goes to Israel to a yeshiva and discovers that what she thinks she wants isn't what she feels being Jewish is all about. She meets Andrew who teaches her about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and Mia decides that being a peace activist is more important than religion. I loved the book and loved how Mia didn't take everything as "gospel", but strove to understand what she wanted her life to be and how she could still be Jewish as well.

    Book preview

    The Book of Trees - Leanne Lieberman

    2^book_preview_excerpt.html}[rF /f6EڲeVAQTD*H]U Lћb"7S%sν(TQ6EV8ϟ!nyxqq<:}k\ͅyqu˿W7]L}͛k^%˞~M5_71o:g֮p]i\Mpх{WKozfhhjߙLpq|9\i|0C]laugl3kZ~UϏ 1kݪ6 ܶjƲ6W8XA+buu?qn>/qjwowqpG'xݻ\m=T~L1r1}O[N+N͑Ea'> wќΖ Ka3 EMɷߝ.{5u}O9o9yw?q^U0[, մ&$O7,9|٘˱`&( <7?=^fl[,3c!x:+6h6^c*XCtyN=ș6Ekdo#?m? n76u{s󫰲 }6M,MJD{f7Gja«Ctq5~w0+z]K eUpkT)zlʊظrCqb8M=Ĭ}qgˍofoy {pGwAHCPGM%dF}$gPb=ѭA}\ <@k{?|bu8:{\ f/跻p-?Yuiiy z5źY&77?Vy[vA9$~6On?a:ۋxf>ܜOoN]xnO=L|?Ȧ>;Qxj;[;O0׾8z~~[lzU+xzΏ SzĢ'tQ +4mgn⪿x9dl@Hoq-TW33ۏWǟ#9Շ㏖;fO.vqyۣ.7Ʒ_X}xpW77g׿}|׍=^˫o/^~PU!7@%z 5a 0[ H5`J>"lDXs":){:Ħsڴ@VJH7bEm!t@nAG\AƦ'{\4ģofCw,w F.#cuxt0s1@'V{yeK< zhVIG`Z%KbցA\ZG+s~TXrġLCݒZ ylf.Th?0FvHѹ{7Ь, #=&Z k_NJhU"Q#:%bz@1w f}"Y.H`N5 LniDX<}aţn!<":U+  Um82 8ve4pfp \Ub}THfb>yiA90'dK4%<L0*g)x;v*PW磹+$@DW/B0t[֫hMW2m`!rV}%2[Hu>BZc{7}ɨ0Kln ' ^uÌATlN}𑒮4D $$_Ľ= p3bd,!;HeSΑ|%RD T#nTv+7 X@K]wP[usSO!,f?Oo<^5Ş!]؂)|Nrrh#+[t5)Vd-Rw4!Gb4ň΅_S$b]tbQO(0v8.!aptx@ +6RXA&,bj" D~wDHsOs!-pb@≝E$O:jU~YȄ@},YфO~QdSgQ,ID s@Hʠȑ3 ('./% ~FUŏHH3AQ[28ar+2+J<^Bwmϴ>ƙ5$>d| #; 8\Mkbվ(! b.8 ` "3ZB A1Y@rw)M\>R"ŚA:ہId< 9p-lUg+RS۾ovðuwLE` ]I[޹DZHLܸdd}G)!l!x➱),e'RC@ތ@霚_!"t\~Tݭk#1sCMr+F5v~fJJx%}OCu+jB20U-$j< Jw5K,|!~ĝ;[Vy]bb#]Im7 x(XC4%a<.7k!Ce-ir5$?IUOU II$ٌKۓea tȫ l'/IɣXrNF `4QDwp*/|XQvS &Q&Y g I;MᬰOX9[WÚSLHqSӅGO~ۂ:_\')(g/|[WOKٙ\~gLAYFZ.~m汚qh(jkFH1f'QZ֣S&{#Y1~z`}D0Z78`')]2xE:E}X]eF'_ ٧:Kݍ۾Zл: j^J%rrhDB 8jbh7# NJD:>Uu: >YzK{1(߭;HȂ$z"tñ'> KDW2^17LT[`x߼va9;~,kd_vnSb8vOړ ,JB_3 ]{l9}}E8Ji1e ̈d6KE)e#NJ [P"!!\sM.Rcnv3BCbWeٸqz:j nyDPUck3 ~8F[)OZjnx !0)CeQNiDnkB90#*)`/!A唁i0QSc)Agg&cSn_-sAp:A݃`$X-.Z$Js/ȣA) wUj8eĔbLξ(|XK9`Db3/>&:UD Aaj=I~ѥ 8z@@wpaeTuZ^"5$jGZ&^kPUcȄt M\.!XEƏ-nؒ5ܤ#ߦBz'm\,O~7XoVi,\dvt\ai~ d_4EE#eA AԾo'uhYL(Բ9NmpAU [!-yR0/@r'`μtCjpt%T%,%>YŒࣷCg2q"}ۺy%ZvXؖYJ,ǹ[nm]IMZQI~g'Z°ʾĮDy 9Tm(iJr0Iy)njY!J4Kne9g6bj#whBF\t4A7|M&Cl^ ^r+)n_݁j(a[ $921J#m ŧa?zDȀFi|{ HfitxQѦ/-+ɽ7L6FNf -g={fY[/#])W*VNSv2tL sIieYᵘ )0Yν\6\O5# j_Zƶs6+PM:9IlXKc Sz "y)8i~_ Lq?BoӲrx,̏izde&#dz3ED`3gU1{Jdt:+_KS,-upȐ 8{ -rd)m`3:q;ECK#%!̩pFөZ]Lx͌]-úz4\0#=p+'i2t>N2)Fe͖à K^7c#<д@/FYF6'W0o_22)h~[&NV9Bwr ϟX-)XE6>J"(I.OEԬu(KRvi9*CH@p3qcI'3?&GO^ZR4Z.))\iN~-;Ql7 '?"#z͡eSey &6z ."?9~c,VM7O _\x(!1B;HIv- AYg%e,308SrF$8NbܞVȇeLF%.8t:b2S3 qZ}m^~`~q]B'qUz?7Y~*3Ŋ"!h҃4ً5$&] ѩϢ @(i2äBOk04 xHSʟ "^'cuަ!$=3m7ctܱo9;X{Sg+稼}OiҮAJ4ޥ >a9dT*Sº\T> Mɓ3'!\vn8Sdi֓MO7Koӵ$}'fVdYםخ_?̯{HVH / ptGښqucV!%z0M--bo8rcE3rNHNy[ 5jDvN){^T\K|?10Tv *,"{%L %knCetkJA7ɔ yy(UhCIJH SBZTpvC;IxGT:3)x&T>Ҍ Wg:z_^Ia7YozP@qNxNHE6?,4Fۃ>@*J;P[U5+u+ Mw Id(ͩԂ`?Z}#Oî<˥rk(ym$($@Fݬ\ILbt \Qq&GνÔmz]^QL%IVuSg?jB6^AXyi4Ks.f$k->K಴ě u<ڽbou9$(s{oD&ç\@ߠW6/ *mĪvٓ/I +M V&* ;D2(P qLvWT_v9x7{8V>(K}]ݳae~ENDT>yW`3zmgTK Js܆U_/ұ7ZEi|Lʢ|AY;qPa%f)ǚ(M#-~$W9xtŤf6S__sm3ϓ'ė2N'˃I6 Q?|5 cu,h#WtBBSĻuteuc *t:3b9:+0@ǥNG :2V)f=xkrd=Gɛkmg-3=ȁb4 gk_a*/L>e(ym~r4w9$1ЁxˁqB
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1