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A review by bec_cann
The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor by Amanda Panitch
3.75
First of all, I would like to give a round of applause for the cover it is gorgeous truly middle grade gets some of the best covers.
I'm in love with the magical realism trend in middle grade, it provides a window into a different culture and it can add a lot of nuance to what could otherwise be a pretty run of the mill middle grade contemporary. Personally, I enjoy this when it stays ambiguous throughout the story. The majority of this book does this really well, there's this lingering question of whether or not Sarah is actually possessed or if she is just acting out because of her fight with Ruby. The reveal that she is actually possessed by the dybbuk was a little bit of a let down, I think it's more interesting for Sarah's character if she got to have that moment of personal growth of coming into herself as well rather than it just being about Ruby growing as a person; but it still works fine.
The book features the occasional aside from Ruby as it's told from her POV, and they could be kind of hit or miss. I know it's pretty common for middlegrade fiction to do this I just think her parentheticals just didn't always work for me. It gives an extra glimpse at Ruby's personality but could be distracting at certain times or would seem out of spirit with the character growth that we'd seen up to that point.
It also wrapped up a bit quickly for me, there were times where the progress of the novel felt rushed. but I'm willing to forgive a lot of evils when you think about what the target age demographic is. This was still a cute book and a fun read.
I'm in love with the magical realism trend in middle grade, it provides a window into a different culture and it can add a lot of nuance to what could otherwise be a pretty run of the mill middle grade contemporary. Personally, I enjoy this when it stays ambiguous throughout the story. The majority of this book does this really well, there's this lingering question of whether or not Sarah is actually possessed or if she is just acting out because of her fight with Ruby. The reveal that she is actually possessed by the dybbuk was a little bit of a let down, I think it's more interesting for Sarah's character if she got to have that moment of personal growth of coming into herself as well rather than it just being about Ruby growing as a person; but it still works fine.
The book features the occasional aside from Ruby as it's told from her POV, and they could be kind of hit or miss. I know it's pretty common for middlegrade fiction to do this I just think her parentheticals just didn't always work for me. It gives an extra glimpse at Ruby's personality but could be distracting at certain times or would seem out of spirit with the character growth that we'd seen up to that point.
It also wrapped up a bit quickly for me, there were times where the progress of the novel felt rushed. but I'm willing to forgive a lot of evils when you think about what the target age demographic is. This was still a cute book and a fun read.