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inkwellimps's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Genocide, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Antisemitism, Gore, Body horror, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence
_persephone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Antisemitism, Death, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: War
liviz223's review
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, and War
zydecovivo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, War, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, Racial slurs, Self harm, Blood, Gun violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
carlyoc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Vera struggles with finding her own identity while fulfilling her purpose.
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Gun violence, and War
jilljemmett's review
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Murder, Death of parent, and War
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: War, Medical content, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
moonytoast's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
Brimming with rage, resilience, and deep questions around humanity and creation reminiscent of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Wrath Becomes Her is a genre-blending gem of history, fantasy, and horror. Following the death of his daughter at the hands of the Nazis, a man creates a golem in her likeness using kishuf—ancient magic derided as an abomination against God—in order to avenge her death. Vera is a creation of clay and steel and ink and human teeth designed to be the ultimate Nazi killer... but is that all she is? As she encounters people whom she recognizes from stolen memories and uncovers a plot to channel kishuf to wage war, Vera grapples with the complexities of humanity as well as the nature of her creation and whether she is allowed or deserves to have a life or purpose beyond the one she was given.
Set in Lithuania against the backdrop of World War II, the novel creates an immersive sense of foreboding and the tangible dangers for simply existing as a Jew. Traveling back roads and sneaking through dense forests in the dead of winter, the horrors of clandestine camps for Jewish refugees being found by Nazis or Soviets, the tangible dangers of resistance to the extermination of your people.... These elements all swirl together and fill the reader with the same dread the characters feel with their every move. I am not well-informed enough to know whether the historical elements of this book are entirely accurate, but the world created for this book does feel real and lived-in by these characters. Part of this is likely the writing style, which somehow manages to overwhelm my pet peeve of first-person narration within historical settings and evoke a sense of immersion in the story.
Vera is a stellar character that resonates with the queer experience of being perceived as "monstrous" by others, perhaps even by oneself, and the grappling with identity that comes with existing beyond the traditional roles, experiences and bodies the world demands. I feel a kinship with her: a rage that is both her own and inherited from another, a hunger for more than her assigned role or purpose, a hypervigilance of her own physicality. Her interactions with the various humans she encounters throughout the book are interesting to read; particularly the way that Vera's perception of herself morphs into something greater as her connections and care for the living grow. To see her journey from her creation to creator was deeply compelling.
Deftly pitched as Frankenstein meets Inglorious Basterds, Wrath Becomes Her is a compelling story of Jewish resilience and rage against the Nazi regime during the Second World War that further cements Polydoros as a talented author of young adult fiction.
Graphic: War, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, and Grief
ezwolf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"The first books I read featuring Jewish characters were Holocaust books. Desperate to see myself reflected on the page, I clung to those crumbs of representation. At least, until the fourth grade, when my class read a Holocaust book and everyone in the room turned to look at me - the only Jewish student. That was one of the first times I sensed I didn't quite belong."
Without even having started the book I was already so attached. This experience of otherness I know other Jews experienced as children. Since starting to read again, I've enthusiastically devoured any books with Jewish characters that don't focus on the Holocaust simply those books were all I had as a child and reading them now has only gotten harder.
There's also the dedication, "Dedicated to every reader who's ever wanted to punch a Nazi." which this book very much embodies. Vera punches so many Nazis and it is so satisfying. This story doesn't shy away from the horrors of the Holocaust, but it has a strong focus is on vengeance and retribution in a way that I loved. I could have read another 300 pages of Vera just crushing Nazis with her bare hands.
I also have very strong feelings about the choice to name Ezra's daughter Chaya, a name that means life, and with her death, Ezra brought Vera to life.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, War, Body horror, Death, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gore, and Hate crime
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
themoonphoenix's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
- Historical fantasy fiction
- Jewish representation
- An emotional story
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Death, Murder, and Violence