This is a beautiful story of a family relocating to a small town. The characters are so loveable yet realistic, and the motel setting keeps the pace of the story moving quickly. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any middle grade student.

No Vacancy follows Miriam, whose family has moved from Manhattan to a small town to manage a run-down hotel. This book is on the younger side of middle grade, and centers on a primary theme of inclusion. Miriam's family is Jewish and throughout the book, we are introduced to a variety of characters from diverse backgrounds and identities - Catholic/Christian, kids with disabilities, families struggling with poverty, and Spanish-speaking. She models what it looks like to learn about each of her new friends and neighbors through curiosity and individual relationships, rather than assumptions based on group identity or affiliation.

Miriam's family are conservative Jews (her uncle is closer to orthodox), celebrating Shabbat each week and eating kosher (no bacon, but they do make an exception for cheeseburgers!). This is very close to the way that I was raised, and the traditions and practices, as well as anxieties around what other people think of their religious practices was deftly told and instantly recognizable. Miriam's natural curiosity only increases when her plan to make the small town and bankrupt motel more successful attracts a number of new visitors to town with strong beliefs. Overall, this was a quick read that does a good job covering the topic of inclusion from a religious perspective, and I'm always happy to see new literature with Jewish children's protagonists that doesn't take place or center around the holocaust (there is a mention of a hate crime later though, as a trigger warning).

Pick this up if you have a kid that would like to learn more about Jewish practices, what modeling inclusion looks like, and would like a quick read.

This story moved me in positively a good way. It’s about community and learning that differences make people scared but it can be used to learn. Miriam learns much in one summer. She learns about friendship and family. It’s a book that can teach others that loving one another is the best way to be.

E ARC provided by Netgalley.com



Miriam Brockman is not thrilled when her family moves from New York City to a small town in upstate New York to run the Jewell Motor Inn. Since her father lost his job, the family thinks it is a good idea. There are some things that are interesting about the experience, like living in two adjoining motel rooms and having her Uncle Mordy spend the summer with them fixing the place up, but Miriam misses her friends. There are also so few Jewish people in town that the family would have to travel twenty minutes away for a congregation. Miriam manages to make friends with Kate, whose grandmother runs the diner next door, and even helps peel the grapes for the famous pie at the diner. She also enjoys helping out the one maid, Maria, who is worried that if business doesn't improve, she may be out of a job. Even though the Brockmans are making huge strides in fixing up the outdated business, there are still very few customers. When she and Kate are fooling around at the local abandoned drive in, they talk about how some communities had a lot of tourism when a picture of the Virgin Mary appeared-- it's not that hard to take a couple of swift knife strokes to the screen to get a reasonable apparition of their own. And it works... soon, the hotel is booked solid, the diner is doing well, and the Brockmans might be able to survive after all. Miriam feels somewhat guilty when she meets a boy her age, Anton, whose mother has brought him some distance to perhaps be cured. Anton is fairly comfortable with his disability, and doubts that the apparition will have any effect, but Miriam is bothered by the fact that many people do have faith in the fake image. There is also an incident where they hotel sign that Miriam has just repainted has a slur against Jews painted on it. Will Miriam and Kate come clean, and if they do, will the motel and diner survive?

Strengths: Summer vacation, kids working, a new residence that isn't haunted-- I love all of these things! The best part is that although Miriam isn't the biggest fan of moving and leaving her friends, she doesn't complain. She rolls up her sleeves and helps out with making beds, cleaning, and doing things to help her family and not add to her parents' burden. I also liked the bits of Jewish culture, including Uncle Mordy, who keeps kosher and won't eat in the diner, and also won't pursue a relationship with Maria because she is Catholic. The fact that the girls manufactured the picture of the Virgin Mary and let the ruse go on longer than it should have was interesting; on the one hand, it benefits their families and doesn't really hurt anyone, but on the other, it's lying. Since I file all religions under fiction, I was okay with this-- the girls have just added one more fictional story to a canon of fictional stories!
Weaknesses: This isn't currently available from Follett, which is disappointing! Also, I would have like the sign damage to have been followed up more completely.
What I really think: There have been a number of books iwth families running motels and hotels recently, including Swinarski's What Happens Next, Hurwitz's Hello from Renn Lake, Grabenstein's Welcome to Wonderland series, and I will buy this if I can get a copy.

I was excited for this middle-grade read, as the synopsis reads close to "Front Desk" by Kelly Yang.

Miriam is struggling to leave behind her life in NYC as she finds herself a member of one of the only Jewish families in upstate NY. As her parents decide to buy the Jewel Motor Inn to save up for a nicer house, struggles over income, varying mindsets, and a battle of acceptance of Maria, staying on as a expert to the ins and outs of the motel, make tensions rise higher.

At the beginning, I heard the voice of many of my middle school students in Miriam, admiring her inquisitive nature and teenage mood swings. But towards the middle of the book, I noticed a change in pace of plot, slowing down to end too abruptly. I was hoping Cohen would tie loose ends a bit better to develop the theme of the story by the end of this book. However, it does have the sweet tones of a solid middle-grade novel, and I would still recommend purchasing this title for middle school classroom libraries. Thank you for the opportunity to review, #NetGalley

I really enjoyed Tziporah Cohen's book No Vacancy. It is a story of a Jewish family that purchases a rundown hotel in search of the chance to start their lives over again. The dynamics of the family, especially the oldest daughter, was beautifully crafted. My biggest complaint about this book is that the ending didn't seem to live up to the rest of the book. Without giving anything away, a lot comes to head in the last couple chapters of the book. I think all that was included really muddied up the whole book. I think one of the conflicts in the ending would have been plenty and it actually would have strengthened the entire story in the end.

No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen is a lovely tale of a Jewish girl learning how religion isn't something that needs to come between people. Miriam is a middle school student whose parents just bought the Jewel Motel Inn. Through some adventures during the summer she finds out that the community loves her and her family, it just takes a miracle for her to see that.

This was an absolute delight to read. I can't wait for publication day in September when I am able to get a phycial copy to add to my library cart in my office. I know there are students who will love this story, and some who should read this story.

As an adult, I’d imagine living in a motel as a kid would have been mind-blowing. Not so for Miriam Brockman in Tziporah Cohen's new middle-grade novel, No Vacancy. When her father loses his job, Miriam's family pulls together the money to buy a motel in Greenvale, New York. The Jewel Motor Inn and Greenvale are completely unlike anything Miriam had in New York City, but she still manages to make friends over the course of the summer. However, new bonds are stretched thin when an apparition of the Virgin Mary is faked and religious prejudices come to light.

No Vacancy is a beautiful coming of age story in which Miriam, who is Jewish, struggles to understand what it means to be brave and kind despite religious differences. Miriam is a thoughtful character who is at the perfect age to be making discoveries about herself and others around her. The character’s personality allows Cohen to masterfully weave together a plot with themes of intolerance, friendship, and faith that addresses them in a compact and tidy way. Most prominently featured is the concept that prejudice can go both ways and not just the direction that seems most prevalent in popular culture. We see Miriam’s mother struggle with her dislike of Catholics while also witnessing a hate crime directed at Miriam’s family. Perhaps the most impactful note is that Cohen addresses these problems within a diverse cast of characters, including characters of different races and abilities.

Cohen's prose comes across as smooth and will easily let a reader tear through multiple chapters at a time. The chapters are of a good length, and make it easy for discussion to be held afterwards. All in all, Cohen sets up a situation that is just begging to be discussed; this is for sure a novel that will make a reader reflect on their own life and choices.

Inconsistent pacing and an at time uneven plot reduced the enjoyment of what might have otherwise been a pleasant, almost fun coming of age/fish out of water story. There's some real humor here, as well as some thoughtful reflection, but it felt ill suited to a YA book about moving to upstate New York.

No Vacancy is a spectacularly crafted story of a young girl struggling with new situations in her life. She must help shoulder the burden of financial troubles of her family by assisting in the new family business – running a motel. Through the efforts of her family and her new community she learns valuable lessons about life – not all things are as they seem. Cohen skillfully and with age appropriateness address the issues of bigotry, hatred, and small mindedness. Cohen also allows us to see inside the mind of a middle school girl and understand the struggles she feels between what she is being taught and what she feels to be right. The sense of community that is created in this book is a refreshing difference to the hardness we have come to expect from the world. We can all learn a valuable lesson about how to treat others and that we are really not all that different!

This is so cute!! I have really been enjoying this! I love that the characters are Jewish and that that plays an important part in the story!!

A BIG Thank You to Netgalley and Groundwood Books for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of “No Vacancy” for my review.

What I really liked about this story was how positive the characters were. I enjoyed reading about most of them, whether it be Maria, Father Donovan, Mrs. Whitley or Anton. Most of the characters are written very well. I also liked Miriam as the main character. She has many questions about life and notices that nothing is simple. But, she tries to make the best of the situation and help people when needed. I also liked Anton’s character and thought it was good talk about a strong character in a wheel-chair. Moreover, the story also sends out a positive message about how we are all one, irrespective of our cultures and religions. It is a very important message these days when there is so much racism and hatred in the world. On a side note, I also enjoyed the Spanish phases Maria teaches Miriam.

However, I felt like the author could have paced the novel better. The book picks up initially when they move in and get adjusted to the motel. It maintains the same momentum till they find the cut-out of Virgin Mary. But then it feels like nothing much happens, and the book takes a different turn to look at various religions. The book then suddenly picks up towards the end with what happens to Sammy. While I understand what the author was trying to achieve, I thought they could have paced it better. I also felt the author left some of the plots open ended. For instance, we never find out who painted the message in the motel sign.

Apart from that I enjoyed reading this story. I think the author has done a very nice job for a debut novel and hope to see more releases in the future.

A story of a girl whose family has some financial difficulty and moves into a run down motel to run it. It reminded me a bit of "Front Desk" (which I loved). The story shows the importance of acceptance, community, friendship and prejudice. It goes into a bit of the struggles between Christians and Jewish people, but not a religious book, in my opinion. I loved this book and will definitely be purchasing it for my library.