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chwaters's review against another edition
3.0
Drew is an average kid living in Yonker, NY; he hates seeing his community torn apart by bad guys. In an effort to comfort him, Drew's grandfather tells him a story about a Jewish community building a golem to help defeat Nazis in WWII. Shortly after this discussion, Drew's grandfather is killed by a gang of anti-Semitic Russian gangsters. Drew manages to discover the method for creating his own golem and sets out to avenge his grandfather. Naturally, the golem is difficult to control and Drew's mission is compromised. Can he learn from the mistakes of the past to clean up Yonkers?
Brik has an interesting premise and is, for the most part, entertaining. Characterization, however, leaves quite a bit to be desired which diminishes any emotional impact this story might have had. There are some surprising twists near the end, which will keep plot-oriented readers happy. It does lose some points for me on a couple of technicalities. Drew is depicted as 12, but some of the content suggests this is more appropriate for older readers. More than one animal is casually killed off without comment (granted, one is a mean junkyard dog, but still). Overall, not a bad choice for high school readers.
Brik has an interesting premise and is, for the most part, entertaining. Characterization, however, leaves quite a bit to be desired which diminishes any emotional impact this story might have had. There are some surprising twists near the end, which will keep plot-oriented readers happy. It does lose some points for me on a couple of technicalities. Drew is depicted as 12, but some of the content suggests this is more appropriate for older readers. More than one animal is casually killed off without comment (granted, one is a mean junkyard dog, but still). Overall, not a bad choice for high school readers.
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