Published: August 29, 2025; Aithor: Julia Sonrisa
Address: 743 Church Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11218, United States
Phone: +1 347-240-3816
Web: https://www.loftypigeonbooks.com/Join us for the launch of Esther Chehebar’s debut novel, Sisters of Fortune, a heartwarming, witty story about three sisters chasing love and seeking their place within and beyond their Syrian Jewish Brooklyn community.
Author Esther Chehebar will be joined by writer Ruthie Ackerman for a reading, conversation, and reception.
Preorder your copy of Sisters of Fortune here!
Can’t make it to the event? Preorder at the link above to receive a signed copy for store pickup or shipping. Indicate any personalization requests in the “instructions and comments” field during checkout.
The Cohen sisters are at a crossroads. And not just because the obedient middle sister, Fortune, has secretly started to question her engagement and impending wedding, even as her family scrambles to prepare for the big day. Nina, the rebellious eldest sister, is single at 26 (and growing cobwebs by her community’s standards) when she runs into an old friend who offers her a chance to choose a different path. Meanwhile, Lucy, the youngest, a senior in high school, has started sneaking around with a charming older bachelor.
As Fortune inches ever closer to the chuppah, the sisters find themselves in a tug of war between tradition and modernity, reckoning with what their tight-knit community wants — and with what they want for themselves.
Sisters of Fortune is a sister story about dating, ambition, and coming-of-age within an immigrant community whose affection is endearing, maddening, and never boring. This novel reckons with the roots that entwine our lives to the ones who love us best, the dreams we hold for our daughters, and the winding paths we take to our own happy endings.
“Syrian Jewish culture gets the Jane Austen treatment, with sisters Nina, Fortune, and Lucy — the rebel, the good gir,l and the baby of the family, respectively — all on the marriage market. What’s Mama Cohen to do? Chehebar’s witty debut dives deep into Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community.” — PEOPLE, Best of July
“Three sisters coming of age in Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community navigate tradition, love, and self-discovery within the constraints of a tight-knit religious world. . . . This plot-driven novel deftly examines weighty themes like generational pressure, sisterhood, and quiet rebellion, creating an intimate, tender, and insightful portrait of women carving space for themselves in a world that offers them little room to breathe. A vibrant celebration of identity and the push-pull between heritage and autonomy.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Sisters of Fortune is part coming-of-age story, part slice-of-life exploration of conservative Syrian Jewish life in America. The family dynamics are compelling, with each character offering a different perspective, from grandmother Sitto, who immigrated from Aleppo, to Sally, their mother, who wasn’t raised in the community, to the three sisters, each navigating the tension between tradition and modern American values. This debut is fun and engaging, featuring alternating points of view among the sisters. It will especially appeal to readers interested in culture, family, and Jewish traditions.” — Booklist
“Esther Chehebar writes with an open heart and a curiosity about seeing where she is from — a place so much bigger than her — that can help us access the same kind of courage to narrate and have fun with our own stories.” — Leandra Medine, author of Man Repeller
Esther Chehebar is a contributing writer at Tablet magazine, where she covers Sephardic Jewish tradition and community, and a member of Sephardic Bikur Holim, a non-profit supporting the growing Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn. She holds an MFA from the New School and has had her work featured in Glamour and Man Repeller. Chehebar’s first book, I Share My Name, was an illustrated children’s book explaining the Sephardic tradition of naming children for their grandparents. She lives in New York with her husband, their kids, their Ori-Pei named Jude, and a couple of fish. Sisters of Fortune is her debut novel.
Ruthie Ackerman’s writing has been published in Vogue, Glamour, O Magazine, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Salon, Slate, and Newsweek. She launched the Ignite Writers Collective in 2019 and has since worked with hundreds of writers to publish their own stories. Her client wins include a USA Today bestseller, book deals with Big 5 publishers, representation by buzzy book agents, and essays in prestigious outlets. Ruthie Ackerman has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Time: 6:30 pm EDT
Free!
Detailed information and discussion of the event.