Category: Uncategorized

A pirate, A Rabbi and a Santero walk into a club. Sound like a bad joke? Possibly. But it is also the start of an excellent book. Daniel José Older’s YA fantasy, Ballad & Dagger, follows the exiled fictional community of Little Madrigal as it tries to reestablish itself in Brooklyn after the island of Madrigal sinks. As a fellow denizen of Brooklyn, I found myself wishing that Little Madrigal was real. Because an island nation founded by a Sephardic Rabbi, a Santero and a pirate who all happened to wash up on the same shores together sounds like my idea of a good time.

The reader views the community through the eyes of Matteo Matisse, an insider that feels like an outside thanks to his frequent trips abroad with his physician parents and the healthy dose of skepticism gifted to him by his parents reliance on science over the traditional community magic and lore. All of that is thrown into doubt when Matteo, currently living with his Aunt – a staunch Santero and community leader – finds out he is way more involved in community matters than he thought he was. And that this places his life in considerable danger.

As an aspiring musician, Matteo has always experienced the community through the music he shares. As the book progresses Matteo also himself opens up to the various other parts of Madrigal culture. And let me tell you, Madrigal culture is nothing to be sneezed at. Combining pirate, Santero and Sephardic Jewish traditions, this is a whirlwind tour of identity and intersectionality, both communal and personal. It was incredibly moving to watch Matteo finally take his place within this framework.

On a personal note, when Matteo receives praise for his rendition of “Aneinu” I found myself clutching the book with white knuckled hands and singing the familiar melody to myself. A family favorite, we are all singing this song for weeks after the high holidays and I would have loved to hear Matteo’s version.

The richness with which this world is described, as well as the care taken during Matteo’s journey to find his true purpose in it, is exemplary. It was so gripping that I would have been content even if the book had no plot. Although readers can rest assured, the book is chock full of plot. Including secret pirate cabals, a scheme to raise the fallen island, mistaken identity and magical creatures.

The beauty of Judaism to me has always been encapsulated in the phrase “we contain multitudes”, Parts of this book, especially when Matteo teams up with the Rabbi’s daughter Chela, felt so incredibly familiar. Others were completely new. They were all equally vivid and rewarding. This is the kind of book that entertains while it broadens horizons. I eagerly await the next installment.

---

E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.

Casey Breton’s middle grade novel Going Rogue (At Hebrew School) introduces Avery Green, a young Star Wars fanatic who hates boring, illogical Hebrew school. He’s quite startled when a new interim rabbi, Rabbi Bob, shows up and asks the kids to explain God–through understanding the Force and other Star Wars trivia. At the rabbi’s prompting, Avery explains, “The Force is a mystical energy that flows through all living things and binds everything in the galaxy together…Everyone has the Force in them, but some people feel it more strongly. Those are the ones selected to become Jedi.” The rabbi nods. “Now I’d like you to say the exact same thing, but instead of the Force, say God” (35). 

Of course, this incredibly extended metaphor can help kids connect with the spiritual through their love of fandom. A great deal of trivia and fandom is thrown in. Further, the rabbi has an office of Star Wars mementos including a real lightsaber…and it’s red. A mystery evolves as Avery wonders, is this rabbi really a Sith? 

Avery Green is a lively young hero who enjoys inventing terrible smells and longs to play football. As he struggles with one-way and two-way friendships, he explores the Jewish values of visiting the sick–even someone he dislikes. He’s trying to understand his place in the world with all his conflicting responsibilities, and he gets a satisfying emotional journey. Bullying and defending the bullied become important, and the book does a good job giving Avery agency appropriate for his age. With all this, this book is sympathetic to the struggles young teens have and great for superfans, of course. It’s a fun book that explores the joys of Star Wars fandom and its importance in young people’s lives contrasted with the dullness of organized religion.

---

Middle Graders deserve books full of joy, humor and silliness, but they also deserve to read books that grapple with the most difficult aspects of life head on. I knew from the very first page of Repairing the World that this is a fearless book of the heart. It wasn’t just that I related to Daisy and Ruby. I have my own kids around this age, so I loved the characters right away. I also felt a deep connection to the world of this story. Likely because I’ve experienced grief that comes from loss,  or because I grew up in a Jewish tradition much like what takes place in the story, the writing feels so authentic.  From the internal pondering to the external dialogue, I found myself absolutely immersed. I couldn’t stop reading.

It can be so challenging for anyone, especially for kids coming of age to deal with  grief, with the concept of unimaginable loss and then “Life After…” but this novel does it with a deep and authentic sense of honesty, openness, and the right amount of tension. 

Even as the novel dives squarely into the loss, pain, transitions, and wanderings, it also moves into what it means—not to simply “move on” but to discover what Tikkun Olam really is, to repair the world by being open to discovery, relationships, and embracing life in a bigger way. 

Throughout all of these high concepts, Epstein lets the reader experience it all through humor, hope, and truth. From intergenerational relationships, new friends, and new experiences, the reader will find themselves engaged in the ways in which Daisy’s world grows bigger, as she walks through real grief, and finds courage, faith, and new hope.  A great story for Middle Graders, but also for readers of any age. This is a book that deserves to be in homes, classrooms, and libraries everywhere.  All the stars for this wonderful and important Middle Grade Debut! 

---

My general advice to anyone writing a fantasy is to iron out their magic system before beginning. Which is why I find it hilarious that the characters in Uncommon Charm, a gothic comedy co-written by Emily Bergslien and Kat Weaver, are attempting to do just that. And they go about it in a manner so delightfully hilarious that the poignant part of the novella practically snuck up on me, leaving me completely unguarded and entirely open to its emotional impact.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Julia, a happily magic-less sixteen-year-old, that has been expelled from school for nebulous reasons that appear to include a tiff with her girlfriend. Her Jewish half cousin Simon has recently been acknowledged by the family thanks to the manifestation of his magic and he has come to study with Julia’s mother, England’s foremost magician.

The banter is fast and furious as Julia leads Simon through roaring 20’s posh society, including his father’s white Russian family. Simon, as quiet as Julia is gregarious, can see ghosts and is quickly enlisted by Julia to help unravel some family mysteries. What they find is so well foreshadowed that it will not come as a shock to readers, but the aftermath still managed to hit me like a sucker punch in the best of ways. This is not a book with easy answers, but it also not a book that unnecessarily tortures its queers.

By the end of the book I was still as confused about the laws of magic as I was at the beginning, but I was no longer worried about its purpose. Julia’s mother has spent a lifetime honing her magic, despite a family and government that will never thank her for it, and when her reasoning is revealed it heals the relationship between mother and child. Simon, who was seriously considering a Rabbinical career before all this magic nonsense interfered, is set up to inherit her legacy. There is no doubt he will uphold it with integrity.

Did half the oh-so-smart conversational fodder go right over my head? Maybe. Were my favorite characters the moms? Of course they were. Did I whip out my roaring twenties inspired headband for the photo on bottom of this review? Indubitably. Bergslien and Weaver must posses some kind of magic their own because this novella, which I read in half a day, broke my reading slump. I look forward to their next offering!

Note: I received an e-arc from one of the authors because she suspected I would enjoy it. I did.

---

---

E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.

The Bible is many things to many people. For the teachers and children that attended dual curriculum Hebrew/English schools, it is a literal accounting of the history of the Jewish people. Which means teaching that humanity spoke one language until they built a giant tower, the tower of Babel, in an attempt to rebel against God. There is a nice moral there, about how being unable to communicate peaceably was the worst possible punishment God could give, but also a hilarious bunch of questions.

Did people really think they could build a tower that reached all the way to God? What about oxygen? Altitude sickness? Where would the food come from? I can not help but think the whole venture seemed rather foolish. The Giant Robots of Babel by Maxwell Bauman embraces this hilarity. Leaning into the impossibility of it all, this retelling shares the story through the eyes of angel named Zephon that has come to stop the construction, and the human outcast named Eber that helps him.

Eber and Zephon encounter many light-hearted anachronisms in their journey, including giant mecha Gods powered by angel blood and piloted by human children plus one notable member of the tower’s janitorial staff, who is perhaps the true hero of the story. Eber’s son Peleg also serves a means of comic relief by inserting himself into the action at the worst times and talking like a walking comic book.

The story took the most ridiculous parts of the old story and found a way, through science fantasy, to make them plausible. It was quick and easy reading, especially for a fan of Bible retellings. My one complaint is that since we are playing fast and loose with the constraints of the text it would have been nice to have a role for women other than evil seductress witch and overbearing mother that is largely off-page. We got enough of that in the original version.

I’d love to see more stories like this one. Stories that breathe life into lesser known Bible tales by viewing them through a different lens. Mashing the modern and the traditional. To me, the Bible will always be the story of our people, whether you choose to take it literally or not.

Note: I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher in the hopes I might review it.

E. Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.

Sherry V. Ostroff’s debut novel combines history, romance, suspense, and Jewish representation. Caledonia encompasses the history of Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition. A small community establishes themselves in Scotland—of all places! The added intrigue of a modern-day woman—sort of floundering in her world of loss and mystery—suddenly connecting with her 17th century Jewish ancestor, reeled me in. Throw in a couple of Highlanders and I was hooked!

Ostroff has done extensive research for this novel, but imparts the knowledge with great skill and creativity. The historical fiction is based on the true story of the unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to establish a colony on the isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s. I had never studied or heard of such events; nevertheless, I found Caledonia to be a compelling read. As the story unfolds, Ostroff cleverly weaves a tale of two women, each with her own particular story to tell, but mysteriously linked together by an ancient key that has been stored away for generations. We follow Hannah, the modern-day protagonist, and her predecessor, Anna, as they struggle to find their happiness and their place in the world.

The author paints a highly descriptive picture to emphasize the lengths which one will go, not only to survive, but to thrive. Every decision one makes has the potential to be life altering. The very powerful instinct to survive might only be surpassed by the human need to be remembered…to endure. I find this to be a common thread in Jewish themes. The choices made by Anna’s father in the 17th century, or those made by Hannah’s father in the 21st, had dire consequences and their daughters paid a hefty price. These patriarchs based their actions on personal integrity, with faith that their efforts were for the good. Hannah might not have agreed. Anna might not have agreed. But when these women—separated by over 300 years—are faced with making their own choices, do they respond by rejecting all that is meaningful to them or do they fight the good fight? What would we do in the same circumstance?  That is the essence of a great historical fiction! I leave it to the reader to pick up a copy and decide for themselves. 

---

If you are a Jane Austen devotee and/or a fan of the Regency period, you will enjoy Mirta Ines Trupp’s writing. If you love historical fiction that includes romance and adventure, plus one that chronicles a not-so-well-known historical event, then Celestial Persuasion should be added to your reading list. 

As you would expect, in any novel set in the Regency period, the story starts out in early nineteenth century England, when the protagonist, Jewess Abigail Isaacs, receives some unsettling information about her family. This starts the tension when the Abigail realizes the answers may be found across the ocean in South America. The reader is quickly transported from England to the Spanish colony of Argentina, known at that time, as the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. There, the tension continues to mount as Abigail comes face to face with characters fomenting a revolution in their efforts to rid the colony of Spanish imperialists.

Celestial Persuasion is not a one story-line book. There are other subplots: religious issues and the constraints placed on women in the 19^th century. The latter is what really caught my interest. I’m always looking for books with a female protagonist who has to fight her way through an uneven world where most would prefer she live in the background, not raise her voice, and operate only in her traditional sphere. In most cases, the women conformed and remained silent and thus, like those in the Bible, are relegated to a few lines on a page. Abigail deals with religious issues and sexual bias, in addition to being caught in a revolution. Can the tension get any higher? 

Celestial Persuasion also piqued my interest because of its Sephardic history. For me, that usually means the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean. However, Trupp introduced me to a whole new world. I had no idea about the Jewish community in Argentina and the fight for independence. It was nice to dip a toe into new subject matter. 

Trupp weaves the story of Argentinian independence by informing her readers about the events and historical characters. Into the mix, she tosses in a borrowed character from Austen’s Persuasion. But what makes Celestial Persuasion really work, is Trupp’s imaginative reconstruction that simultaneously brings Austen and history alive. 

---

Fairy tales are tricky things. I loved running around as a kid pretending I was a Princess battling an evil curse until I achieved my happily ever after by vanquishing a demon or two. As a grown up, I had some serious moral qualms about questionable consent, overt moralizing and the fact that most of the female characters were either villainous harpies or waiting around for someone else to save them. A far cry from the sword wielding Princess I used to pretend to be.

Sarah Jane Singer’s Jewish coded fairy tale The Wall provides a happy medium. While the heroine Thea starts out hopelessly naive, sneaking out from the walled home her father erected to protect her, she luckily puts her trust in the right people. Her rescuer, Eytan, not only defends her but also ensures she learns to defend herself. As Thea, Eytan and a golden lion named Zav journey across the country together, Thea unravels the mystery of the family curse that required her to live within a wall, the strength that lies within herself, and even a mystery or two about Eytan. Yes, you read that correctly, the heroine rescues the hero just as much as he rescues her.

For Hebrew speakers, the book is peppered with many fun references like the lion’s name as well as the dessert country being named “Midbar”. These linguistic clues may also help diligent readers catch some hints about Eytan’s mysterious past, but a reader unfamiliar with Hebrew will not suffer for it. There is also significantly more queer content found in these pages than traditional, sanitized, fairy tales would allow.

The trio faces a journey of self discovery together. Although Thea and Eytan each have very different demons to battle, it is only with the strength of the other that they can move forward on their individual journeys. It is a true partnership, the likes of which are not often seen in fairy tales. Although Thea is no Princess, by the end of the book she is also not a damsel in distress. She is a force to be reckoned with.

Note -I received a free e-copy of this book from the author in the hopes I might review it.

---

E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.

With the approach of Passover, many Jews are planning to start counting the Omer. I caught up with author Shari Berkowitz of “Color the Omer”, illustrated by Steve Silbert, to talk about writing a book and this special mitzvah.

---

BookishlyJewish: Coloring the Omer is a great way to bring the mitzvah of counting the Omer into more Jewish homes. When did you first think of the idea? Was there a particular inspiration behind it?

Shari: I was taking a course on Jewish mysticism with my rabbi, David Evan Markus, early in the pandemic, and we were learning about counting the Omer. I guess I did it as a child but not with any kavanah or deeper understanding of how it maps to the kabbalistic sefirot. So I started counting for the first time for real, and I was definitely enjoying picking up this new mitzvah. But with the pandemic, I would wake up confused…did I count last night? Was today Tuesday still? I was stressing my self out! So I found a page with 7 stars of David and started coloring one point or center each day to help me focus. And it really did help! In speaking with others, I could see that they also wanted to color. I started a sketch book with very rough ideas, and then Steve picked up the actual illustration of those ideas, and R’Rachel polished it all up for publication. It was a very fast, very intense ride as we slid into production just in time for last Pesach.

BookishlyJewish: Have you tried using the book to count the omer yourself?

Shari: Yes! I colored almost every page last year, and I experimented with colored pencils, watercolor, watercolor pencils, alcohol markers and a few other media. This year, I already have a fresh copy, and I’ve been thinking about trying something new. Like could I do all black and white patterns? Or improve my blending? Or embroider some pages? I’m looking forward to coloring again and to see what others do with it this year.

BookishlyJewish: What do you hope people will take away from using the book?

Shari: I hope people will see that taking a quiet few minutes to color can be a meditative or prayerful experience, and that counting, and coloring, the Omer can be a wonderful springtime check up on how we are doing within the framework of the sefirot. Are you being too strict with loved ones? Or too generous? How about with your self? How will you seek to balance chesed and gevurah? Additionally, I feel strongly that we should all be encouraged to do something artistic as a process and not worry about the result. For those who struggle to do sit-still meditation, doing a freeform art practice is an amazing way to get into that meditative space. The coloring book provides just enough structure to allow people to tap into that silenced artist within.

BookishlyJewish: What has been the response to the book? Any fan mail or Fan ART?

Shari: One of the things I felt very strongly about was using the hashtag, #ColorTheOmer, across social media platforms, to get people sharing and talking. Now, many more people bought the book than posted, so we know not everyone wanted to share their work publicly, but those who did…WOW! We had haiku, long journal entries, transformative realizations; the book has really been a tool that people have embraced. And that’s not even mentioning the varied and incredible art that people made. I can’t wait to see what happens this year.

BookishlyJewish: What is it like collaborating with an illustrator to produce a project together? How does the process work?

Shari: It was really so amazing to work with Steve. I started with a germ of an idea, actually a long list of rough ideas and sketches, and he would find something in my ramblings that would inspire a drawing, with the understanding that it should also make a good coloring book page. Then I would go back and clean up the wording to reflect the drawing. Sometimes we had a few iterations, and sometimes one page turned into 3, or was rejected in the end. Throughout it all, R’Rachel had her hand in as well, gently editing and steering the ship. Overall, it was incredibly rewarding to work on this project. Sometimes I am still shocked that my pandemic sketchbook was the seed that grew into this book, and that the book is connecting people and helping people to tap into their creativity.

BookishlyJewish: I always end by asking – Do you have a favorite Jewish Book or author?

Shari: OK, don’t laugh. The first thing I thought of was the Rabbi Small series by Harry Kemelman z”l. You know, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late and so on. I read these as a young teen (they were already a bit dated then), and got a lot of my post-Hebrew school education this way. Rabbi Small’s congregation was Conservative, as was mine in real life; but his had changed with the times, and mine had not. He always tackled serious halachic and ethical questions with a modern eye. I’d say he was one of the best teachers I ever had, even though it was a one way street. One example I remember was that Rabbi Small said you did not have to be sure about the existence of God to be a good Jew. That one was important to me as a teen; actions being the most important thing rather than faith. The second book I thought of was The Jewish Catalog. Still on my bookshelf and still the challah recipe I use most often. The idea that you could “do Jewish” your own homegrown way was very powerful to me, then and now.

I didn’t have a cellphone until I was a freshman in college. And that relic was a flip phone capable of receiving calls only. Today’s kids would say it belongs in a museum. So I find it fascinating that a slew of books for younger readers now feature kids using tech in all sorts of sophisticated ways.

When and how to introduce kids to technology is one of the most pressing questions parents face. So when Ash, the main character of Elissa Brent Weissman’s The Renegade Reporters, loses her spot on the school news team over a viral video that accidentally broadcasts a teachers private moments, adult readers will nod along in understanding even as middle grade readers fume right along with Ash.

Luckily Ash’s Dads (the book is full of wonderful diverse representation btw) believe in letting their daughter learn her own lessons. Therefore they sanction the creation of a Renegade Broadcast, to be streamed only after parental review. Ash and her friends set out to create their own news program, but along the way they uncover some disturbing facts about the company that created the software program all the kids at her school use.

In a fabulous example of censorship that feels very real world, the company threatens to erase the accounts of Ash and her friends when they find out what she is investigating. They even get her in trouble with the principal, who refuses to hear Ash’s side of the story.

Ash and her friends find allies in their family and manage to release the story anyway, creating real change for their school and the media company. Along the way, the renegade reporters are forced to examine their relationship with technology. As a testament to the authors skill, each reporter displays a different and nuanced attitude. Instead of a simple solution, the reader is forced to ask themselves the question – how much privacy are you willing to forgo in exchange for convenience?

Ash also takes a look within herself, grappling with a school rivalry during a Yom Kippur service and atoning for her actions with the viral video incident that first started the story off. There is no outright moralizing, but in true Rabbinic fashion, the leader of the Children’s Services on Yom Kippur leads the youth group through a guided reflection exercise that has Ash viewing her past actions in a new light.

In the efforts of authenticity I asked around to a few parents, spanning a variety of schools, to find out at what age their kids received their first cell phone. The responses varied from third to eight grade, quashing any doubts I had about this being a realistic depiction of kids and tech. The world has changed a lot since I got that first cell phone. It’s our job to help kids learn the questions they need to ask to navigate that properly.

---

E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.