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ezwolf's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
I have a lot emotions about this book. Starting first with the letter from the author:
"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!
"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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and War
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
themoonphoenix's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Wrath Becomes Her is a historical fantasy story, set in Lithuania in 1943, in the of the horrors of the Second World War. It has Jewish folklore and inspiration from Frankenstein
Vera is a golem, made with clay but also with human parts, her image is like Chaya, a murdered girl, her father who cannot accept her death, creates Vera to fight Nazis. She is mainly created with clay, and her main objective is revenge, but that does not mean that she does not have human emotions.
Vera is abandoned, at first, she only has one goal, to find Nazis, prioritize those who murdered Chaya and take revenge, but along the way, she will meet Akiva, a friend of Chaya. At first, he thinks she is Chaya and doesn't know how to react when he finds out that she is a golem. Golem are mythical creatures, of destruction and violence and Vera looks very human.
Revenge seems to be the main theme, and in the first part it is, for Vera and Akiva, but for the second part, it’s a story of feeling hopeless, and survival (and more action). It’s kind of slow and the prose is lyrical, but the story is hard, very emotional, and human. It is easy to feel compassion for Vera, she has a purpose and feels angry but at the same time she is lost, she is strong, but feels helpless.
It’s a descriptive story, it’s young adult but it does have moderate descriptions of the horrors of war, The Nazis (although they are the main ones) are not the only villains, it is a war, and everyone is against everyone. We read about people being sick, dying, and being mistreated. Also, it’s atmospheric, it’s winter and you can feel the cold in your bones.
Read it if you want:
- Historical fantasy fiction
- Jewish representation
- An emotional story
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War
booksdogsandcoffee's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.5
Polydoros weaves both a horrific and beautiful story of love, loss and vengeance in Wrath Becomes Her.
Vera is created out of pure vengeance. A golem built from the remains of Ezra’s daughter, who was recently slaughter by the Nazis. Her command from her creator? To kill them all. But Vera isn’t just Vera, she awakens with the memories of Chaya and slowly starts to realize their is so much more to her life than just the purpose she was created for.
I highly enjoyed the Frankenstein esc retelling aspect of this book mixed with Jewish mythology.
Overall there were some lulls in the story, but was a horrific and original look at the holocaust in Lithuania 1943.
Cw
Death
Gore
Blood
Genocide
Vera is created out of pure vengeance. A golem built from the remains of Ezra’s daughter, who was recently slaughter by the Nazis. Her command from her creator? To kill them all. But Vera isn’t just Vera, she awakens with the memories of Chaya and slowly starts to realize their is so much more to her life than just the purpose she was created for.
I highly enjoyed the Frankenstein esc retelling aspect of this book mixed with Jewish mythology.
Overall there were some lulls in the story, but was a horrific and original look at the holocaust in Lithuania 1943.
Cw
Death
Gore
Blood
Genocide
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, and War
asiamd's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
First let me thank NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this e-book!
Second, I liked the book but I feel like it was most definitely not what it was advertised as, but first let’s talk about all the things I liked! First, I loved the way the author wove information into the story and made so natural to the plot and flow of the book. I also loved the main character and her struggles not only with the morals she was created with but the new morals she found herself discovering. That also brings me to the second part of what I liked about the book, the questions it made you ask about humanity, life, and personal morals were so cool and interesting to me, again, I loved the way the author also kinda wove history into the book with these questions as well.
Now let’s get into what I didn’t like about the book, first I expected a lot more of her traveling by herself and discovering things on her own which is not to say she didn’t but it was more her being shown things instead of finding them out for herself. I also didn’t like the way the book kinda hinged on the male character, being there to make her feel things when she was doing that just fine on her own. There were also certain parts in the book that just felt unnecessary and kinda took away from the story.
Another thing I want to mention about this book is that it’s great for Jewish representation and while it is a fictional story it doesn’t have real historical facts woven into it!
Overall I’d give this book a nice 6/10!
Second, I liked the book but I feel like it was most definitely not what it was advertised as, but first let’s talk about all the things I liked! First, I loved the way the author wove information into the story and made so natural to the plot and flow of the book. I also loved the main character and her struggles not only with the morals she was created with but the new morals she found herself discovering. That also brings me to the second part of what I liked about the book, the questions it made you ask about humanity, life, and personal morals were so cool and interesting to me, again, I loved the way the author also kinda wove history into the book with these questions as well.
Now let’s get into what I didn’t like about the book, first I expected a lot more of her traveling by herself and discovering things on her own which is not to say she didn’t but it was more her being shown things instead of finding them out for herself. I also didn’t like the way the book kinda hinged on the male character, being there to make her feel things when she was doing that just fine on her own. There were also certain parts in the book that just felt unnecessary and kinda took away from the story.
Another thing I want to mention about this book is that it’s great for Jewish representation and while it is a fictional story it doesn’t have real historical facts woven into it!
Overall I’d give this book a nice 6/10!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
starrysteph's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.75
This story has sunk deep into my flesh. Aden Polydoros, you’ve done it again.
Vera was created to destroy. She’s a golem, crafted with ancient and shameful magic by a grieving Jewish father in his daughter Chaya’s image. Chaya was murdered during an act of resistance against the Nazis, and Vera is now commanded to enact vengeance.
But Vera was also imbued with Chaya’s essence, with scatterings of her memories. She is committed to noble violence, but can’t help but question her existence. Then she meets Akiva - Chaya’s love - and feels torn between her vengeance and her new ruminations about humanity.
As Vera’s journey further blurs the line between human and monster, she must discover her purpose and decide what exactly is worth fighting for.
Wrath Becomes Her is about necessary desecrations. It’s about separating yourself from your actions of survival, moments of quiet defiance, and agonizing about what will be left behind.
Truth is the word on Vera’s forehead that brings the golem to life, and her search for the truth of her existence torments her. She constantly asks: who am I? What does it mean to be?
She understands herself to be a monster - and her creator views her as such - but she quickly starts to wonder about the capacity for monstrosity within all of us. Vera sees people and golems as blank slates, and the acts of violence committed by the Nazis go beyond her perceived sin of existence.
She also witnesses the dehumanization of the people that surround her: the cruelest soldiers view their victims as less-than-human, but so do the bystanders. The Jewish people are simply necessary sacrifices for the safety of the whole town. By not speaking up, by not listening or caring, these impartial observers are in truth active causers of harm.
And for those fighting alongside Vera? Akiva shuts everything else down, not allowing himself to feel or hope or visualize a future. Vera expresses a desire to have been created without emotions, so she could simply do what needs to be done without pain. She witnesses Akiva shatter bit by bit; that’s the cost of separating himself from his feelings.
Vera is memory. Vera is memorial. She is defiance in both small and large ways. She is honoring culture and tradition and keeping spirits aflame. She is a physicalization of her religion and her community.
At times, the writing is a wee bit formulaic and repetitive (especially in the middle sections). I forgave this, because the philosophizing was SO good and I was SO invested in Vera’s journey.
Wrath Becomes Her asks: what is the best way to honor life? Is destruction in someone’s name - even when the cause feels hopeless - honoring them? I’m not sure. But I’ll be pondering.
And yeah, there’s lots of Nazi punching (as promised).
CW: murder, antisemitism (Nazis), death (child), gore, body horror, vomit, genocide, war, violence
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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, and War
probablyaster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
thedragonqueen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Thank you to NetGalley for this E-ARC. Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros was a riveting tale of a Golem created by a grieving Jewish man midst Wold War 2 named Vera. Vera battles with her very existence, the memories of those written in her clay, and literal Nazis. Polydoros is an amazing author, giving us grotesque imagery at some points as well as beautiful insights to Jewish culture. This is an extremely important story as we face rising fascism in modern day. I implor anyone wanting to read this compelling story to check for trigger warnings. YA Fantasy/Horror is the best way in my opinion to catergorize this book. The mysticism mixed with the gore makes it for a captivating read. I rated Wrath Becomes Her 4.5 stars.
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