Gottika
by: Helaine Becker
March 15, 2021, Green Bean Books
208 pages
The opening of Helaine Becker’s middle grade novel Gottika feels like a classic Holocaust book. The main character Dany’s community is subjected to a series of increasingly humiliating restrictions due to their racial and/or religious background, books are burned for their knowledge, and everyone is sort of terrorized by the local ruler. However, there are some subtle clues that we are not in fact reading historical fiction. Instead of Jews, Dany’s people are “stoons” and their version of a yellow star is a red hat. They still use Hebrew letters though, making it obvious they are Jewish stand ins. There also seems to be less of a global/widespread issue than was present in WWII or even the prior decades of organized European antisemitism, making the books world just a bit more manageable for children.
Even after reading Gottika several times I’m still not sure whether it is a second world fantasy, an alt universe, or a far future dystopian version of our world. Things like household appliances and methods of communication seem primitive, the big bad leader persecuting the Stoons rides steam powered horses, and the chapter illustrations have a very pre-industrial vibe in both setting and fashion, but then the cops have scanners? For implanted digital ID cards? My personal genre confusion aside, I think we can all agree there’s some element of fantasy because there’s a Golem. Which is frankly where we probably should have started, but a Golem is always enough to keep me reading.
When things between the Stoons and the Gottikans take an unfortunate turn towards blood libel, Dany’s father uses knowledge and power to create a creature of the earth that helps thwart an evil plan against the community. It’s all very Maharal of Prague reminiscent. Unfortunately, even the Golem isn’t enough top stop the attacks and eventually it’s Dany’s mother who must step up and start talking after years of suffering from a strange illness – that seems to have elements of depression in it – that left her unable or unwilling to speak. The villain origin story she shares about the source of all their problems is an example of how the scale of Gottika deals in the close and personal rather than global geopolitics. Turns out the root of all this is a miscommunication leading to a broken heart. Ultimately, it is Dany that must right the wrongs that even the Golem could not fix.
This is where the book shines. The world itself was not fully explored and I found the main bad guy and his motivations a little too oversimplified, but the dynamics between child and parents – especially father and son – are depicted in a relatable fashion. This is a story of external events forcing Dany to grow up, realize his parents are not perfect, and that he has a role to play. Without sharing too many spoilers, it is Dany who in the end makes the hard choice that none of the grown ups are willing to face.
Gottika is an easier entry point for families looking to talk about antisemitism than most WWII novels that comes weighed down with a lot of other external baggage and layers. It is also a thin/quick read for the middle graders that prefer shorter books. And at it’s heart it’s a story about growing up, which works in any universe.