Scan barcode
A review by sandy_reads_books
Aviva vs the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe
I already really liked this book even before the revelation near the end. It probably wasn’t the perfect introduction for me to Jewish culture and experience, but then again the book wasn’t made with me in mind. Despite that I think I kind of liked being thrown into it like learning a language by immersion.
I am happy I got to familiarize myself with new ideas and concepts that I knew little about before reading this but what I love most is the core story of family, friendship, and grief. It was amazing to watch Aviva and Kayla’s relationship develop. Something about the rebuilding of something that was lost is so precious but also scary, painful at times, and wonderful. I was so happy to see their two different stories come together and interact until they were brought together as friends again.
There is a lot of grief and pain and this book and I found it amazing how a lot of this comes to life really near the end of the book. By the end we get to see Aviva’s mother’s pain, Aviva’s, Kayla’s, and her mom’s too. I didn’t even realize until the end that this was a book about grief, but when I did I was flooded with a new layer of pain and emotion. Something that initially felt like a game was in a moment was painfully ripped into reality in a way that allowed for healing to be possible. I haven’t read a lot of books that discuss grief and pain in this way so I am really happy I got to see it in a children’s book. Even as an adult thought it is super valuable to me as well. I’d love to recommend this to any children I meet in the future or my own if that happens to be the case, and honestly I think it’d be a good recommendation for adults as well.
I am happy I got to familiarize myself with new ideas and concepts that I knew little about before reading this but what I love most is the core story of family, friendship, and grief. It was amazing to watch Aviva and Kayla’s relationship develop. Something about the rebuilding of something that was lost is so precious but also scary, painful at times, and wonderful. I was so happy to see their two different stories come together and interact until they were brought together as friends again.
There is a lot of grief and pain and this book and I found it amazing how a lot of this comes to life really near the end of the book. By the end we get to see Aviva’s mother’s pain, Aviva’s, Kayla’s, and her mom’s too. I didn’t even realize until the end that this was a book about grief, but when I did I was flooded with a new layer of pain and emotion. Something that initially felt like a game was in a moment was painfully ripped into reality in a way that allowed for healing to be possible. I haven’t read a lot of books that discuss grief and pain in this way so I am really happy I got to see it in a children’s book. Even as an adult thought it is super valuable to me as well. I’d love to recommend this to any children I meet in the future or my own if that happens to be the case, and honestly I think it’d be a good recommendation for adults as well.