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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
It is nice to read a historical fiction about the jewish experience that isn’t from WWlI. This has a slow start and is pretty long, but the characters are well developed and the plot is intriguing.
2022 YMA The Sydney Taylor Book Award Young Adult winner
2022 YMA The Sydney Taylor Book Award Young Adult winner
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
This novel is *incredibly* good. Starring a queer, Jewish narrator who has immigrated from Romania and is now living in in 1893 Chicago, this is an intense historical/paranormal thriller that's incredibly hard to put down -- even when I figured out the culprit, I was frantically turning pages to see what would happen on the way to our protagonist Alter figuring it out. Everything in this story comes out of its Jewishness in a way that I don't find in a lot of fiction (especially, as the author pointed out, in fiction that's not explicitly about the Holocaust). It's an unflinching look at antisemitism, at diaspora, at the feelings of not belonging or of being othered in whatever land you're in. But it has hope in here too, it has *community*, and it has care for each other, living and dead.
I'd recommend this to pretty much everyone I now. Really a fantastic read. Alter is a great protagonist, and Frankie and Raizel both had me completely charmed by them. (Definitely also read the author notes at the end for a look into the research.)
I'd recommend this to pretty much everyone I now. Really a fantastic read. Alter is a great protagonist, and Frankie and Raizel both had me completely charmed by them. (Definitely also read the author notes at the end for a look into the research.)
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The 13 hour audiobook is narrated well (with strong emotions) by Maxwell Glick. This author writes young adult (YA) fiction, and this novel is a brutal and bloody story of a Jewish 17-year-old immigrant boy in the 1890s who’s now living in Chicago without family; the story is from his perspective. Another boy whom he is attracted to is killed, and a dybbuk (malevolent spirit) now inhabits the living boy’s body until he finds (with the help of other friends) the killer. It was an interesting story, but very intense (especially for what I imagine as YA) and too long (the drama and bad stuff never seems to end). My synagogue chose it for our book club and I look forward to the discussion!
It took all my willpower to stick with this one to the end, but I will give it two stars for uniqueness in the field of YA historical fiction. A genre-busting mystery/fantasy novel set in 1893 Chicago at the World's Fair, with a Jewish BOY main character who is LGBTQ...this isn't your everyday historical fiction! Great option for teens looking for Jewish characters beyond the Holocaust, or American history that isn't a war, or a book about the lower class recent immigrant experience with a fantastical element and a murder mystery. I truly felt that this book was twice as long as it needed to be, the story would appeal to reluctant readers, but it's just too slow for too long.