Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, How Mirka Met a Meteorite, and How Mirka Caught a Fish
by: Barry Deutsch
Amulet Paperback, October 1, 2012
roughly 144 pages per books
Review by: E Broderick
The Hereville series of graphic novels by Barry Deutsch is nothing short of miraculous. Not because it contains fantastical witches, monsters, talking pigs and trolls that like to knit. Not because these adventures are being had by an Orthodox Jewish girl who both loves her religion and the isolated orthodox community in which she lives. Nope, these books are magical because through the careful release of titles from the series to members of my family, they bought me two hours of peace on Passover school vacation.
Our heroine, Mirka, loves being Jewish. She loves her blended family which includes her stepmother Fruma, and her many siblings and step siblings. She also loves having adventures and dreams of fighting monsters. All this is the stuff of dreams until Mirka runs into a witch with a talking pet pig in the woods near her house. Suddenly Mirka is thrust into a series of adventures that show how very little about monsters she actually knows, and how that isn’t going to stop her!
The adventures are fun, but what is really beautiful is the family narrative that spans all three books. Mirka discovers that there is a whole lot more to her stepmother, Fruma, than she initially thought. She processes her own grief about her mother’s passing, complicated sibling relationships for both siblings that wish she was more traditional and the baby brother she seeks to protect, and how her religion fits into this all.
There are some beautiful scenes in which Mirka experiences traditional Jewish Shabbats but possibly the most meaningful comes in Book 3, when Fruma explains to Mirka that the entire point is keeping Gods commandments even when things are hard. Mirka and Fruma are rewarded for this devotion, and by the end of the book they have firmly bonded and figured out their step-parent and step-child relationship.
I recommend the entire series as a binge read. It will help you see Mirka’s journey and enjoy the recurrence of some very funny side characters. Plus, you’ll get those two hours of peace while everyone is happily reading.
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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.