Reviews tagging 'Death'

Black Bird, Blue Road by Sofiya Pasternack

3 reviews

limdurlu's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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jillianelis_'s review

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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

5.0

As a youth services library assistant, you would think I would read a lot more middle grade books in my free time. 

Nope. I definitely prefer YA to MG for my own personal reading, but for work, I’ve been helping vet MG books for our annual Battle of the Books. I picked this one after seeing it on the Youth Media Award winners list and after hearing my co-workers rave about it.

Folks, I do not remember the last time I cried while reading a MG book. I was enthralled by the Jewish mythology and by the Khazar empire, an empire and a period of history I have very little knowledge of. Ziva, Pesach, and Almas were all so spirited and felt like fully fleshed out characters, and I felt as though I were in their wagon on the way to Luz with them. Despite the story being a tad predictable, it didn’t make it any less fun or emotional.

I will 1000% be going to bat for this book when we make our Battle booklists. It’s heavy at times, but it’s fun, fast-paced, full of magic and mystery and lessons about grief and love that some kids may really need. I haven’t been this passionate about a MG book in a while but WOW Sofiya Pasternack, you really got me good!!! 

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ezwolf's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

A perfect book to release just before Rosh Hashanah! 

Ziva bat Leah is on a journey to save her brother, Pesah from his fight with leprosy. Along the way they pick up a half-demon boy who promises to take them to a city that can cure all and save Pesah from certain death. There's just a the matter of fighting the Angel of Death himself. 

Ziva is amazing character who absolutely won't take no for an answer and it's no surprise she's ready to fight Death with her bare hands and some rocks meant for skipping. Her devotion to her brother and her passion for doing the right thing was wonderful and Pesah brought a good balance to her fieriness. The scenes during the birthday party and right after had me laughing. A truly wonderful story that had me crying by the end, but crying at the end pretty much always means it was a wonderful book for me. 

I absolutely adored Pasternack's, Anya and the Dragon, and was incredibly excited to read her newest book. There's a lack of Jewish fiction that doesn't center around the Holocaust and I wish I could have had Anya and Ziva as characters to read about when I was a kid. Pasternack does a great job creating a trio of characters and their own small little families that show how you can't judge a book by its cover.

Thank you to Net Galley for making this book available in exchange for an honest review!

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