Rebecca and Ana

Most girls probably long for a twin. Well, Rebecca gets her wish! Her cousin Ana has arrived from Russia, and since Rebecca can speak Yiddish and has hand-me-down clothing from her older twin sisters, she and her cousin make a perfect pair. Or do they? Ana can't speak English fluently, yet the teacher assigns her a part in a school show. Rebecca is worried that her cousin will humiliate her by making mistakes. This second volume in the series has an hilarious scene with Rebecca and Ana haggling with a peddler. It helps set up Rebecca's flair for dramatic acting, which comes into play later on in the series. Author Jacqueline Dembar Greene has done an excellent job of setting up Rebecca as a believable character, with events taking place that are consistent with later ones. I was disappointed that Ana's character shows up in this book as Rebecca's long-awaited cousin and closest and dearest friend, but then really doesn't appear again much until the fifth book in the series. It seems Ana's and Rebecca's families would be in a lot of contact when time allows. That being said, the time Rebecca and Ana get to spend together here is short but sweet.