Wavelengths

A Novel

The figure follows me, a haunting smile on her face, one that sends shivers spinning up my spine. My heart stutters in my chest, blood thumping in my ears as I move back. But she follows. Why won’t she leave me alone?

And then a wave rises behind me, overtaking me in its raging entirety. I can’t breathe, I’m drowning, and the last thing I see before I go under is the terrifying smile on that face—
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Atara Halpern has been having nightmares. But they’re the least of her worries right now. Her mother, diagnosed years ago with lupus, suffers a devastating stroke, and suddenly Atara’s firm grip on her organized life begins slipping. 

Her father, consumed with work, just doesn’t seem to get it; Chaviva, her best friend, is struggling with her own family issues; and chessed-project-obsessed Rochie Pearlstein can’t seem to leave them alone. And then, when her closest brother, Yo, begins shidduchim, Atara is afraid she’ll lose him forever.

Though her circumstances have set her on an entirely different wavelength than that of her peers, Atara is determined to still keep things under control. But when her defenses become battered by one storm after another, Atara begins to realize that control is the one thing she never had. And if she’s to survive these storms, that’s something she must learn to accept.

Wavelengths is a heartfelt, captivating novel by debut author Adina Kagan.