A pleasant read, but more nuanced prose might have made it more compelling.
In this YA novel, a young Jewish woman and her family flee persecution and seek a better life in the bustle of turn-of-the-century Manhattan.
It’s the dawn of the 20th century, and by Russian imperial decree, all Jewish boys are forcibly drafted into the military at age 12—an edict that ruins lives and rips apart families. Hinde Breakstone, a teenage Lithuanian girl, is a member of one of those families, whose brother Max has only narrowly avoided conscription. After too many close calls, and with three more boys destined for military indenture, Hinde’s parents decide to move the family to the United States; Hinde’s father goes first and Hinde follows, in order to make enough money to bring the rest of the family over. After an arduous voyage, Hinde gets her first sight of Lady Liberty, and the idealistic and industrious girl renames herself “Helen” to embrace her new American identity. What follows are accounts of the protagonist’s years of diligent work as she acclimates to exciting new places, people, and concepts that were previously alien to her. Fein’s account of Helen’s story comes across as the archetypal immigrant experience: She finds a community, falls in love, and ultimately builds a life of prosperity and promise. It’s a sweet narrative, based on the real life of the author’s grandmother. However, it suffers from a lack of tension and conflict, even during incidents involving anti-Semitism, which should be harrowing. Helen is certainly an admirable character, but her struggles, as written, never feel palpable, as they’re easily and quickly resolved. The simple writing style often feels repetitive and saccharine, making the turning points in the main character’s life feel less powerful than they could have been.
A pleasant read, but more nuanced prose might have made it more compelling.Pub Date: June 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63152-677-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It's 1937, and Anya is becoming accustomed to Shanghai. Her family had to flee Odessa in the night after Papa told that ugly policeman he wouldn't join the Communist Party. Now China is home for her whole family: Papa, Mama (a former opera singer), Mama's parents, Babushka and Dedushka, and baby brother Georgi. In Shanghai's French Quarter, they live Jewish lives as if the Japanese weren't advancing on the city. Anya's biggest worry is the prospect of telling her mother she doesn't want to become an opera singer—until the day she finds a baby in the gutter. Will Mama and Papa let her keep the baby? Anya's Shanghai is richly chaotic, polyglot and packed with refugees. Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, Mandarin Chinese and Italian pepper the dialogue. Meanwhile, immigrant Anya happily devours her buckwheat piroshki with chopsticks after Papa has recited the Hebrew blessings over the food. The chaos of the prose is less felicitous; characters whisk between conversations without segue. A delightfully textured—but confusingly rushed—glimpse at a little-remembered period of Jewish history. (Historical fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-37093-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
This sequel to A Templar's Apprentice (2010) takes Tormod in circular journeys around Scotland without particularly advancing the plot. The truth o’ yon Tormod’s powers canno’ be denied—or understood very well, given the brogue-laden prose, which lacks the accuracy for true flavor but is still thick enough to interfere with readability. Tormod is on the run with his new friend, the redheaded and equally magically gifted Aine. They skip from adventure to adventure, uncontrolled psychic abilities troubling them while they seek a Knight Templar with the gift of healing. Tormod's health suffers as his visions become worse. His travels, from discovering a village whose residents have been massacred by soldiers to a brief interaction with Robert the Bruce, are soon only interruptions; primarily his days are occupied by delirium, visions and out-of-control magical temper tantrums. At least his fever dreams are revealing the King of France's wicked plot against the Templars, but it won't do him much good as he wanders through the Highlands. A discombobulated traveling tale, best summed up in Tormod's own stream of consciousness: "Torquil. The Abbot. The Templar. Aine. Bertrand. The bairn. Cornelius. Visions. Dreams. Nightmares." (Fantasy. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-545-05675-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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