A Shot in the Dark

4 stars for Ely's personal arc, 3 stars for the romance.

Elisheva Cohen was raised as an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn, but her teen substance abuse issues led to a tragedy and subsequent banishment from her family and community. After eight years in Los Angeles, four of which have been sober, she is back in New York for an art school summer photography course, taught by the celebrated Wyatt Cole.

When Ely has a one-night stand with a handsome transmasculine guy she meets at a club, it's no surprise that he ends up being the one and only Wyatt Cole. The “I can't sleep with my professor/student” plot is predictable. Wyatt, whose family kicked him out when he was dishonorably discharged from the Marines for being queer, is also in recovery. Unfortunately, his voice never distinguishes itself from Ely's in the chapters that he narrates, and the love story is meh.

But the real heart of the novel is Ely's tentative steps back towards her religion, after realizing that there are many ways to be Jewish, and her fragile but realistic efforts to reestablish contact with her family. The suspense regarding whether Ely's favorite sister would forgive her was more engaging than the amount of groveling Wyatt would do to win her back. The true happy ending for me was Ely finding a queer-friendly community that welcomes her every Friday evening for Shabbos dinner.