Miracles and Menorahs

Agdern (Icing the Puck) offers up a cozy Hanukkah romance set in small-town New York. When bookstore event planner Sarah Goldman takes over vice chair duties for Hollowville’s annual Hanukkah festival, she meets swift resistance from a newly elected official who threatens to turn the event into a generic holiday celebration, complete with a “holiday tree” and Santa Claus. Sarah’s struggle to preserve the festival’s Jewishness puts her on the hunt for a large menorah sculpture. Hollowville local Elsa Lieberman suggests Sarah commission her grandson, New York City sculptor Isaac. But during their first meeting, Sarah accidentally spills iced tea on him and accuses him of snobbery when he declines to participate in the event. Despite this disastrous encounter, Sarah and Isaac see each other periodically over the following months and grow closer, though both are too shy to push their relationship toward anything romantic. Besides, Sarah hopes to stage a spectacular Hanukkah celebration while Isaac believes in keeping the holiday simple. This slight conflict, together with the requisite small-town gossip, propels the story without excessive drama. This low-stakes romance is a Hanukkah treat. Agent: Lynnette Novak, the Seymour Agency. (Oct.)