From Publishers Weekly
If, round about page 40, you want to tell Miriam Kaminsky to stuff it up her aura, you're in good company. Her pharmacist husband, Rory, has had it with her well-meant new-age meddling in his business. As for their daughter, Cara, she figures no teen ever had a more embarrassing mom than this phone psychic with her flowing clothes and herbal remedies. Miriam could help support her family if she expanded her psychic business, but Cara certainly doesn't want her to. Yet first-time novelist Shapiro has a gift of her own; even the skeptical reader can't help believing that Miriam is wired differently from the rest of us. She sees her dead grandmother and her husband's deceased parents, hears sounds beyond the normal range of hearing and perceives the love her daughter feels for bad boy Lance Stark as a "pink haze." Poor, sweet Miriam! Why isn't life easier? Things will work out, of course, but only after Miriam must use her gifts to save Cara from freezing in the woods after she runs off with Lance. When Cara discovers her dead grandmother's sewing machine, it seems that she, too, has a gift: all she has to do is look at a piece of fabric to know what it should become. In addition to delivering touching wisdom about mothers and daughters, Shapiro also offers a sharp portrait of fastidious, appearance-obsessed Great Neck, N.Y. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The mother of teenage Cara, wife of hardworking pharmacist Rory, Miriam Calhoun seems utterly ordinary. Actually, she's anything but. Not only can she foresee the future (she works from home as a telephone psychic), she also sees ghosts! Unlike her embarrassed daughter, her husband accepts her gifts, but he has always drawn the line when it comes to interfering in family business, causing Miriam to doubt herself. Now, however, money is tight, and Cara, in full teen meltdown, has run away with a sexy "bad boy." It's time for Miriam to be a little more proactive. Comic relief comes in the shape of Miriam's scandalized neighbors and batty phone customers as well as her own self-deprecating voice, but emotions ring surprisingly serious and true. And even the ghosts seem acceptable within the careful construct of Miriam's daily life. After all, as Miriam muses early on, "the Old Testament was full of visionaries and dreamers like Joseph and Isaiah," so what's the big deal? Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Marcie Hershman, author of SPEAK TO ME: GRIEF, LOVE, AND WHAT ENDURES, and TALES OF THE MASTER RACE
MIRIAM THE MEDIUM is absolutely full of life. I loved reading every minute of it.

Yona Zeldis Mc Donnough, author of THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
MIRIAM THE MEDIUM will satisfy both the natural cravings of the heart and the mysterious longings of the spirit.

Gayle Brandeis, author of THE BOOK OF DEAD BIRDS and the winner of the Bellwether Prize.
Rochelle Shapiro has crafted a tale that is at once charming, heartfelt, and achingly real.

Gwendolyn Gross, author of GETTING OUT
MIRIAM THE MEDIUM is a rollicking tale of how the spirit world meets the suburbs. A fabulous debut from Shapiro!

Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of MY SISTER'S KEEPER
You don't have to be psychic to know how much readers will enjoy tagging along with Miriam.

Jane Stern, author of AMBULANCE GIRL
MIRIAM THE MEDIUM is wise, funny, and engaging.

Mary Ann Smyth of bookloons.com
MIRIAM the MEDIUM is a tenderly told story of a woman coming to grips with who she is.

Laura Kasischke, author of THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES
Just when you'd stopped believing there were any heartbreaking and hilarious heroines left to encounter, Miriam the Medium is here.

Gwendolyn Gross, author of GETTING OUT
A tender and honest portrayal of the complex relationships between generations of mothers and daughters.

Jane Stern, author of AMBULANCE GIRL
MIRIAM THE MEDIUM is wise, funny, and engaging. I couldn't put it down.

Book Description
In the tradition of Susan Isaacs comes a charming debut novel featuring a lovable phone psychic, whose talents will either save her family from financial ruin -- or ruin her family altogether. What do you do when your husband's business is failing, your daughter is ashamed of you, and your faith in your own talents hits rock bottom? Miriam is a modern-day Long Island housewife, who just happens to be a professional phone psychic. But while she can heal broken hearts, mend relationships, and help others find new careers, her own life is in shambles. It starts with the family business. Her husband, Rory, is working every spare minute to keep his business, Mirror Pharmacy, afloat, but no matter what cost-saving measures he takes, a profit seems farther and farther away. Using her gift, Miriam tries to channel to the heart of the problem, but Rory's patience with her "readings" has worn as thin as his cash flow. Then there is Miriam's teenage daughter, Cara, who cannot stand to be in the same room with her, much less listen to any psychically generated advice. Now involved with a particularly bad-news boyfriend, she's too in love to take Miriam's warnings seriously. Miriam struggles to maintain a positive outlook -- things are bad, but they can always be worse, goes her mantra. So when a persistent agent proclaims her talents remarkable and marketable, Miriam decides to take action. But will going public ruin her family's already questionable standing in their prim Long Island community? And will her trusted spirits -- her dear departed Dad and Russian grandmother, Bubbie -- remain faithful if she "sells out"? Miriam struggles to sort through her escalating troubles and trust her abilities in times of crisis, even as her visions are becoming too cloudy to interpret. In a quirky tale full of humor and heartache, Rochelle Shapiro captures the universal desire to find one's true self, no matter the opinions of others. Smart and sassy, Miriam the Medium is the debut of a talented and imaginative author -- one who is able to conjure with words and spirit.

From the Publisher
In the tradition of Susan Isaacs comes a charming debut novel featuring a loveable phone psychic whose talents will either save her family from financial ruin--or ruin her family altogether.

From the Author
Rahter than being a dramatic rendering of a person with a psychic gift, MIRIAM THE MEDIUM allows the reader into the mind of a psychic to see how visions arise. MIRIAM THE MEDIUM brings the supernatural into the daily life where it really exists.

From the Inside Flap
In the tradition of Susan Isaacs comes a charming debut novel featuring a lovable phone psychic whose talents will either save her family from financial ruin—or ruin her family altogether. What do you do when your husband’s business is failing, your daughter is ashamed of you, and your faith in your own talents hits rock bottom? Miriam is a modern-day Long Island housewife, who just happens to be a professional phone psychic. But while she can heal broken hearts, mend relationships, and help others find new careers, her own life is in shambles. It starts with the family business. Her husband Rory is working every spare minute to keep Mirror Pharmacy in business, but no matter what cost-saving measures he takes, a profit seems farther and farther away. Miriam tries to channel her gift to the heart of the problem, but Rory's patience for her "readings" has worn as thin as his cash flow at the pharmacy. Then there is Miriam’s teenaged daughter Cara, who cannot stand to be in the same room with her, much less listen to any psychically generated advice. Now involved with a particularly bad news boyfriend, she's too in love to take Miriam's warnings seriously. Miriam struggles to maintain her spirit -- things are bad, but they can always be worse goes her mantra. So when a persistent agent proclaims her talents remarkable, and marketable, Miriam decides to take action. But will going public ruin her family’s already questionable standing in their prim Long Island community? And will her trusted spirits--her dearly departed Dad and Russian grandmother, Bubbie--remain faithful if she "sells out?" Miriam struggles to sort through her escalating troubles, and trust her abilities in times of crisis, even as her visions are becoming too cloudy to interpret. In a quirky tale of humor and heartache, Rochelle Shapiro captures the universal desire to find one’s true self, no matter the opinions of others. Smart and sassy, MIRIAM THE MEDIUM is the debut of a talented and imaginative author—one who is able to conjure with words and spirit.

About the Author
Rochelle Jewel Shapiro, like her narrator, is the granddaughter of a Russian-born psychic. She has been published in The New York Times and in numerous literary magazines. Her short story "The Wild Russian" appeared in Father: Famous Writers Celebrate the Bond Between Father and Child (Pocket Books). She lives in Great Neck, New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the tradition of Susan Isaacs comes a charming debut novel featuring a lovable phone psychic, whose talents will either save her family from financial ruin -- or ruin her family altogether.

What do you do when your husband's business is failing, your daughter is ashamed of you, and your faith in your own talents hits rock bottom? Miriam is a modern-day Long Island housewife, who just happens to be a professional phone psychic. But while she can heal broken hearts, mend relationships, and help others find new careers, her own life is in shambles.

It starts with the family business. Her husband, Rory, is working every spare minute to keep his business, Mirror Pharmacy, afloat, but no matter what cost-saving measures he takes, a profit seems farther and farther away. Using her gift, Miriam tries to channel to the heart of the problem, but Rory's patience with her "readings" has worn as thin as his cash flow. Then there is Miriam's teenage daughter, Cara, who cannot stand to be in the same room with her, much less listen to any psychically generated advice. Now involved with a particularly bad-news boyfriend, she's too in love to take Miriam's warnings seriously. Miriam struggles to maintain a positive outlook -- things are bad, but they can always be worse, goes her mantra. So when a persistent agent proclaims her talents remarkable and marketable, Miriam decides to take action. But will going public ruin her family's already questionable standing in their prim Long Island community? And will her trusted spirits -- her dear departed Dad and Russian grandmother, Bubbie -- remain faithful if she "sells out"? Miriam struggles to sort through her escalating troubles and trust herabilities in times of crisis, even as her visions are becoming too cloudy to interpret.

In a quirky tale full of humor and heartache, Rochelle Shapiro captures the universal desire to find one's true self, no matter the opinions of others. Smart and sassy, Miriam the Medium is the debut of a talented and imaginative author -- one who is able to conjure with words and spirit.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

If, round about page 40, you want to tell Miriam Kaminsky to stuff it up her aura, you're in good company. Her pharmacist husband, Rory, has had it with her well-meant new-age meddling in his business. As for their daughter, Cara, she figures no teen ever had a more embarrassing mom than this phone psychic with her flowing clothes and herbal remedies. Miriam could help support her family if she expanded her psychic business, but Cara certainly doesn't want her to. Yet first-time novelist Shapiro has a gift of her own; even the skeptical reader can't help believing that Miriam is wired differently from the rest of us. She sees her dead grandmother and her husband's deceased parents, hears sounds beyond the normal range of hearing and perceives the love her daughter feels for bad boy Lance Stark as a "pink haze." Poor, sweet Miriam! Why isn't life easier? Things will work out, of course, but only after Miriam must use her gifts to save Cara from freezing in the woods after she runs off with Lance. When Cara discovers her dead grandmother's sewing machine, it seems that she, too, has a gift: all she has to do is look at a piece of fabric to know what it should become. In addition to delivering touching wisdom about mothers and daughters, Shapiro also offers a sharp portrait of fastidious, appearance-obsessed Great Neck, N.Y. Agent, Caroline Carney at Book Deals Inc. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Being psychic is tough on Miriam it's just not something that nice Jewish women who live in an expensive suburb on Long Island do. Although Miriam's part-time job as a phone psychic brings in a nice second income, it's probably not enough to save her husband's pharmacy from going under. To make matters worse, Cara, Miriam's teenaged daughter, is ashamed of her; one of her clients who seems to be a member of the Mafia becomes infatuated with her; she's thoroughly humiliated on a local television program; and she fears that her husband is having an affair with her business agent. Matters come to a head when Cara runs off with a totally unsuitable boyfriend, and it's only through using those much-maligned mind-reading skills that Miriam tracks her down before much harm can befall her. This first novel is set in Susan Isaacs territory, and goodness knows there's lots of room for another good Long Island Jewish housewife tale, but this isn't it. Unconvincing characters (except for Miriam's terrific grandmother, with whom she shares her psychic abilities), an overly busy yet often aimless plot, and uninspired writing add up to a book that's not a necessary purchase. Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews