Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers An Intimate Journey among Hasidic Girls [Paperback]

Follows the journeys of Hasidic teenagers as they grow up and grapple with culture, family, and religion
From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls.
Lubavitcher Hasidim are famous for their efforts to inspire secular Jews to become more observant and for their messianic fervor. Strict followers of Orthodox Judaism, they maintain sharp gender-role distinctions.
Levine spent a year living in the Lubavitch community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, participating in the rhythms of Hasidic girlhood. Drawing on many intimate hours among Hasidim and over 30 in-depth interviews,Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakersoffers rich portraits of individual Hasidic young women and how they deal with the conflicts between the regimented society in which they live and the pull of mainstream American life.
This superbly crafted book offers intimate stories from Hasidic teenagers' lives, providing an intriguing twist to a universal theme: the struggle to grow up and define who we are within the context of culture, family, and life-driving beliefs.

A look at young Jewish women who are typecast as pious and reserved but have as much imagination and similar desires as other young women. At all times, Levine's genuine respect for the community shines through. The book is eminently readable and undoubtedly fascinating. Stephanie Levine's book is full of surprises. Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers presents a comprehensive snapshot of women's experience in Crown Heights . . . Levine's personal response to the Lubavitcher way of life weaves itself into each chapter and is one of the book's most engaging aspects. Lively tales of girls who long for the lives of mallB