REAL TIME

A tense and heartbreaking day unfolds in contemporary Israel as readers view a suicide bombing through a complex kaleidoscope of perspectives. Sixteen-year-old Thomas travels from Berlin to volunteer on a kibbutz and to research his grandfather, a Nazi officer. Baruch, the kibbutz’s gardener, is a Holocaust survivor. Vera’s been living on the Kibbutz for three years, since she left her native Odessa and the shock of a boyfriend who killed himself. Sameh, a 16-year-old Palestinian, works illegally for a Jewish boss and has no tolerable prospects. His friend Omar thinks he knows the answer: martyrdom. The taut, immediate story plays out in chronological order, each bit labeled with exact time and place. Complicated threads of pain, fear, memory, and despair create unique voices. If readers are looking for a balanced exploration of occupation and land-ownership issues, they must go elsewhere; but for a riveting mix of real-world terrorism with mostly deep and sometimes tender characterizations, Kass is spot-on. (Fiction. YA)