Character Analysis
Becca, our 23-year-old heroine, is a dedicated granddaughter and a good investigative reporter. These two traits lead her on a trip around the world after her grandmother Gemma's death. Becca tells people that it's about the promise she made to Gemma before her death, but really it's more personal than that. (Yes, more personal than a promise to her dying grandmother.)
Thing is, learning about her Jewish family's roots in Eastern Europe isn't just something she's doing for Gemma's sake. It's something she needs to do for herself.
Family Matters
The best way to understand Becca is to study the dynamics of her family, which is hugely important to her. The first clue is that she lives at home with her parents even though she has a J-O-B.
Another important thing to understand about Becca is that she's the youngest of three sisters, and you know how that goes. She has classic Baby Sister Complex, still feeling like she doesn't fit in even now that she and her siblings are all in their twenties. "She was not part of their magic circle and never had been," we're told. (2.5)
But it didn't really matter—Becca always had a special relationship with her grandmother, who favored her above the other girls. Becca and her grandma just got each other in a way that no one else could. "You always understand" Gemma once told her. (17.8) And she was right.
Just in general, Becca is a super empathetic person who is tuned into the needs of others. We see her caring nature in action at the nursing home, for instance, where she knows the names of all the other residents and staff. We're also told she visited Gemma there every single day, and she doesn't even boast about it to her sisters, who can barely stand to be there for an hour.
We would totally boast.
Girl Reporter
After her grandmother's death, Becca's reporting instincts kick in and she decides to solve the mystery of Gemma's past. Her journey as a character is emotional on one level. As her boss Stan observes, "I don't think you're going to be happy until you find out who your grandmother was, Becca." (10.35) Deep.
But her journey is a physical one, too: she has to take a long flight to Poland next to the most annoying seatmate ever. And if that sounds bad, consider the fact that the remainder of her vacation is spent touring a Nazi extermination camp. Hopefully next year she'll take a nice cruise or something.
The good news is that Becca finds everything she's looking for, even without the benefit of Siri or Google Maps. With a stroke of good luck, she comes upon Josef Potocki, the one man in Poland who knew her grandmother. Having that information lets her close the door on Gemma's past.
Plus, now she knows the reason why Gemma's bedtime stories were always so weird. Case closed.
Becca's Timeline