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I'm about halfway through the book so far but I'm struggling. I like Cory Doctorow's books and articles, and I enjoyed the first two Martin Hench books.

My problem in Picks and Shovels is the Rivka character. Doctorow constantly reminds us that she's a Charedi Jew, but she doesn't act like one at all. She has Shabbat dinner on Saturday night, eats non-kosher food, attends interfaith prayers and has no problem being alone in a room with a man. The part about her parents trying to set her up with a boy feels more like the Sicily scenes in The Godfather than how actual Charedi Jews meet their spouses. That doesn't get into the complicated relationship between Charedim and computers which is not even mentioned.

I believe Doctorow is Jewish, but I still expected more from him. This is worse than lazy stereotyping - it's lazy wrong stereotyping.