Review: Aya by Marguerite Abouet & Clement Oubrerie

book 2 of 3 for the well-seasoned reader challenge
book 3 of 26 for the A to Z 2009 Challenge (city: Yopougon in Ivory Coast)

genre: late young adult graphic novel
rating: 3.5/5

This unique graphic novel takes place in a working class neighborhood in Ivory Coast called Yopougon. The year is 1978 and Ivory Coast is a model of growth and stability. Aya is a girl with dreams, a stable and responsible bystander to the romantic antics of her two best friends, Bintou and Adjoua.

The plot is a bit like a sitcom, with couples getting together or not, cheating on each other, getting in trouble and having problems with their parents. Older teens would find much to relate to and probably appreciate seeing their own problems worked out on a completely different continent among completely different people and with, maybe, very similar consequences.

Despite the very post-adolescence nature of the plot, I think the book as a whole sheds a revealing light on a another side of African life than we usually read about. Wealthy businessmen, working class "peasants" and villagers interact in a society that is constantly changing. You get a great sense of the lilt of the language and the range of relationships between extended families. Traditional ways are meshing with modern desires - cars, especially, are a prized status symbol.

The back of the book has recipes, a how-to guide for dressing and booty-shaking like an African diva, as well as definitions of common terms in the book. All that information is cleverly illustrated and feels more like a letter from a friend than author's notes.

Aya is a portrait of one kind of African life, in all it's diversity and complexity, a fast and humorous book about the ups and downs of love and friendship. Worth trying.

Review: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank You Notes by Peggy Gifford

genre: children's literature
rating: 5/5

Oh Moxy. We loved you in your first book and we were so happy to spend some time with you again. My eight year old daughter and I loved your wise-cracking nature and your crazy ideas. You're certainly a sympathetic character, what with all your mom demands of you (those darn thank you notes...), your silly little sister and kooky Grandma. Your antics had us laughing out loud, especially the copy machine episode. Your brother's photographs added excitment to the story and sometimes your chapter headings, which I'm sure you wrote yourself, made us laugh as much as the chapter itself. Thinking about your parent's divorce sometimes made us think for a while about how that might be hard for you and we loved how your story ended.

I hope we get to read more of you soon
Love,
The mom and her girl

Review: The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by Graham Rawle

I'm not going to attempt to review the text of The Wizard of Oz, there are certainly enough reviews of this classic story out there. My daughter and I read a different version together as her first chapter book three years ago and it was an incredible experience, full of adventure and magic. What I want to bring to everyone's attention is the amazing illustrations of collage artist Graham Rawle.

These drawings/photographs/collages are the perfect compliment to Baum's fanciful text. Each picture has so much to see!! Plants and buildings are made up of tiny, interesting parts and the scary creatures really bring life to the text. I especially love when doll people are given photographs of real people as heads, the effect is so unique. Nearly every page has an illustration of some kind and every page has either a good quote on the sidebar or a passage within the text enlarged in a different font to make it stand out. I wish I could've read this version aloud! If you are a fan of Oz or just of original and creative artwork, please leaf through this one. You won't regret it.

Review: Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China by Jen Lin-Liu

book 1 of 3 for the Well Seasoned Reader Challenge
book 2 of 26 for the A to Z 2009 Challenge (country: China)

genre: food/travel/memoir
rating: 5/5

I've read many different memoirs about life in China during the Cultural Revolution and enjoyed all of them. This book, however, is my first foray into Chinese life in the modern day - a current and compelling look at life and, especially, eating and cooking in 21st century China.

Jen, the author, is a Chinese-American journalist and food critic by trade. For a chance to explore, not only her roots, but the esoteric underworld of the Chinese food and restaurant industry, she decides to enroll in a cooking school in Beijing. In a male-dominated classroom she learns the art of chopping and stir-frying, and with the help of a teacher outside the classroom works on making the perfect dumpling.

Cooking school is only the beginning for Jen, who then heads out into China, talking her way into various cooking internships in restaurants as varied as a tiny noodle shop in a canteen to a high end restaurant in Shanghai, she even heads to the mountains to help with the rice harvest. Her cooking experiences and the people she meets are fascinating and all the while she is teaching us Chinese history, culture and legend, usually through the personal experiences of the chefs and waitresses with whom she crosses paths. Explanations about the variations in Chinese cuisine and food preparation based on geography were particularly compelling, probably because the cuisine of the culture I've grown up in feels infantile compared to the dishes I read about.

Many other reviews of the book described is as humorous. I can't say that I found things particularly funny, sometimes more, a-hem, unappetizing to my taste - but her writing style was very pleasant and readable. I was always happy to pick the book up and despite its choppy style (many in-depth recipes are sprinkled throughout and things aren't always completely chronological) I found it a very satisfying read.

review: Tales of Oliver Pig by Jean Van Leeuwen

genre: children's literature
rating: 5/5

Oliver Pig is a staple from my childhood. I remember him being read to me and I remember reading it myself. This past week I read my own battered copy to my three and a half year old son - his first "chapter book" experience, and what a great experience it was.

Oliver Pig is a typical sort of child. He has a pesky younger sister Amanda who drives him nuts. He loves being dirty and playing outside and still really needs his mom. The stories in this book are short but full of incredibly familiar scenarios for any child. In one story, Oliver bakes cookies with his Mom (my son particularly liked this one). In another, Grandma comes to visit and everyone helps get ready for her arrival.

For pigs, all the characters in this book are beautifully human - in my favorite story, Mom Pig spends much time getting all her sweethearts ready to go out the door for some snow play and by the time she gets her own gear on, her pig children have taken all their things off again. Her response is so genuine and I love how her children interact with her, it's very tender.

This is a longish review for a very short read, but I wanted to record my son's first chapter book listen. I also wanted to help myself remember him wrapped in his comforter, blond wispy hair in my face, snuggled on my lap, listening and asking questions about my old and dear friend, Oliver Pig.

Giveaway Winners!!

Thanks to everyone that entered my giveaway!! It's been fun to see so much excitement about the books. Because we had so many entries, I'm giving away TWO books! Random.org picked the lucky winners and they are...

S. Krishna who said...
I've read a couple of reviews of this book and it sounds really interesting - I'd love to be entered!

and

Michelle who said...
I'm gonna enter too! Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

In other good news, the book has been picked up by a distributor, which soon means it will be available in select bookstores around the country! However, this also means that Erin no longer is able to dictate the price of the book. All those of you who entered should receive an email from me letting you know how to purchase the book at the current price for the next couple of weeks. If you would like me to email you , please contact me by leaving a comment here or emailing me.

Congrats to the winners!

Review: Night of Flames: A Novel of World War II by Douglas Jacobson

2 of 5 for the War Through the Generations: WWII Challenge
1 of 26 for the A to Z 2009 Challenge (country: Belgium)

genre: historical fiction
rating: 4/5

In Night of Flames, our two main protagonists are Jan and Anna - two Polish citizens in Poland at the beginning of the war. However, before we even meet them, this husband and wife are separated as Jan's career with the Polish military sends him to defend his nation from the invading German army and Anna is left in a country on the brink of catastrophe.

Because I don't want to spoil the story, I won't give too many details - but one important piece, which made the book incredibly interesting, is the fact that both of these main characters stumble into the resistance - in two different countries. Anna finds herself in occupied Belgium while Jan's experience with the Polish Cavalry is traumatic, to say the least, and leads him in a completely different direction.

And thus we switch back and forth between the two of them throughout the book as the war progresses and as each of them get deeper and more involved with the resistance. I appreciated seeing regular people choose to fight the Germans in any way they could, sacrificing just about everything they had, instead of sitting by and watching their country be torn apart. Certain scenes are very intense and the language of most of the soldiers was a bit much for me and almost felt inauthentic since the soldiers were nearly always speaking a language other than English. I recognize, however, that I have no idea of what it is like to be a soldier.

Different than most books I have read about the war, this novel certainly involves much more military history and strategy than I am used to reading. We, as readers, become active participants in the missions of the resistance and I grew to have so much respect for these citizen soldiers and the difference they made preparing the way for the Allies. I think the author did a fine job of making the more strategic sections readable for someone like me with essentially no military background. And while the characters aren't maybe as well developed as they could be, I didn't feel like it too detracted too much and the plot and history felt very well researched.

I recently learned that my Grandfather spent the bulk of his time in the war in Antwerp, Belgium (he was there for two years) and I was happy to find a book that gave me immense insight into the war years there. In fact, after reading, I called him (on his 93rd birthday, no less) and we had a long conversation about the book and I'll be sending my copy off to him shortly, as he'd like to read it.

While this is certainly a "war" book, at the heart of this novel is the decision of whether or not to follow in the footsteps of Anna, Jan, my grandpa and countless others, and put your life at stake for a greater cause than your own.

Review: Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane

genre: chick-lit
rating: 3.5 out of 5

I had no expectations for this book other than maybe I'd get to loose myself in my chick-lit happy place for a while, so I was pleasantly surprised when I couldn't fall asleep last night until I'd finished reading it.

Waverly Bryson was dumped by her fiance a few weeks before the wedding. Her ensuing depression, various embarrassing episodes and string of first dates are interspersed with her work life at a PR firm. At work she helps to manage a huge sporting goods account which puts her on the fringe of the celebrity world. This helps her to make some high profile friends as she tries to resurrect her self-confidence while, at the same time, land a great guy - no easy task.

The writing in Perfect on Paper sometimes felt a bit flat and the dialogue bordering on scripted. Sometimes I could imagine conversations and other times it felt like two caricatures talking instead of two real people. Waverly's tendency to get completely smashed when she was depressed made me want to shake her, but that's just me. Throughout the book are little sayings, almost one-liners, that Waverly comes up with that are sometimes clever but sometimes trite.

That being said, like I mentioned, I couldn't put it down. I think Waverly actually summed it up herself when she asked, "How is it that romantic comedies are SO predictable yet still suck me in every time?" Despite its predictability, Waverly's personable first person narrative and bad luck made her a sympathetic character. I think her plight would really resonate with single female readers. Her friends were down-to-earth sidekicks and helped Waverly come into her own. The end, while being predictable, also had a twist to it that spiced it up.

If you are a lover of the chick lit genre, this one should definitely be put on your list.

I'm on a blog tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Thanks to Tracee for the opportunity to participate!!

how many have you read?

I just found this list of EW's New Classics: Books from 1983-2008 at Okie's blog. I'm bolding the ones I've read - which ones have YOU read?

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

New Book Giveaway!! A VIEW OF JERUSALEM BY ERIN TOLMAN

This girl (the one looking at the camera) is my sister:
My sister has written a book (I wrote about it already here). I find this concept completely amazing and I am so incredibly pleased and proud with the efforts she's made. Of course, I think it's a fantastic book. But, I wanted you to not just have to take my word for it, so here is some of the accolades she has received already:

The book was written up in an article for Brigham Young University's Newspaper:

Just this last month, a unique book about life in Jerusalem before and during the second intifada hit the shelves.

The book "A View of Jerusalem" shows how life as a college student in the Holy Land dramatically changed once violent outbreaks between Palestinian rioters and Israeli police erupted in Sept. 2000.

What seems to be the first book of its kind, this series of 38 short stories is gaining interest. Written by a former student of the BYU Jerusalem Center, Erin Tolman tells about her experiences while living in the Holy Land during a violent time."

Here are some reviews:

Stacey at book:thirty writes:

"The tone of Tolman's recollections is sincere and almost reverent. There is a quietness to this book that I appreciated and found very moving. It is not a 6 o'clock news documentary on the affairs of a foreign state, rather, A View of Jerusalem is one young woman's adventure into a strange, beautiful, conflicted land. It is also the story of self and family, of friends and community, and most of all, faith."

see full review here

Bethany at B&bexlibris writes:

"I completely enjoyed A View of Jerusalem, I read it in one sitting and could not get over the beautifully written descriptions of important religious places that Erin traveled to. Her sincerity in the disappointments of being in lockdown for different periods of the trip, as a safety precaution and other joys and sadnesses she endured made the personality burst through. Stunning illustrations by Steven Lee Elgan help depict the places Erin is visiting, and what she is seeing. The visuals really helped me gain an even deeper understanding than just by words alone."

see full review here

Heather at Litter of Leaves writes:

" I enjoyed seeing the Holy Land through her eyes--her voice is honest, the experiences immediate, and I found her spiritual insights especially compelling and uplifting."

see full review here

In order to support her and to spread the word, I am holding a GIVEAWAY!

Here is how it works: leave a comment saying you want to enter and an email where I can contact you if you win. U.S. addresses only, please, unless you have a friend in the U.S. we can send it to for you :)

For every 20 entries I will give away a book! So, tell your bloggy friends and send them over here to increase every one's chances :) I'll pick the winners randomly on Saturday January 17th.

Review: At Ellis Island: A History in Many Voices by Louise Peacock

genre: historical children's literature
rating: 4/5

I read this one out loud to my 8 1/2 year old daughter, at her request. I'd actually bought the book for myself; I have a very soft spot in my heart for Ellis Island and immigration stories in general, since my Great-Grandmother's family immigrated here from Czechoslovakia at the turn of the century.

The book is set up as a series of quotes of actual immigrants who came to America during Ellis Island's busiest period, as well as quotes by people who were employed there at the time. They are interspersed with a fictionalized account of one girl, following her in letters as she leaves Armenia to come alone to the U.S. to meet her father. There are also short bits about what Ellis Island looks like to a visitor today.

The quotes are fascinating and often moving. The young girl's storyline provides a good framework for understanding the start to finish process of immigration during the time. I found the format, though, a bit confusing. I think if it had been all quotes, or just the letters in a picture book, it would've flowed better for me. My daughter though, wasn't bothered by it at all. I kept trying to show her when I was switching between letters and quotes and she finally stopped me short telling me, "I get it, Mom!" Maybe I've just read too many novels :)

This is an interesting introduction to immigration history in America for young people. I do recommend it.

Review: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

rating: 5/5 from all three of us :)
genre: historical fiction for middle readers

This is a book that I read outloud to my two older children, ages 8 and 6. We LOVED IT. Here's my 8 year old daughter's thoughts:

It's about a girl a girl who is left on an island and she has to survive by herself. She makes her own weapons and she makes her own house that she makes with whale ribs for a fence. They used seaweed to tie the whale ribs together. That was my favorite part. I liked the ending, even though there were sad parts.

From my 6 year old:
I liked about how she made weapons. I liked how she made friends with animals on the island.

I love when a book fits the three of us so well. The story and setting feel expertly researched and authentic. Sometimes, when we had a chapter where we learned the details of Indian life and culture, it reminded me of Little House on the Prairie, especially when we learned how to dry food or make a skirt. There was certainly a lot of adventure, more than you'd think when a girl is living on an island by herself. Whilst reading a part where some wild dogs are having a bloody battle, my son actually gasped and yelled, "THIS is AWESOME!!!"

We all liked how many animals she interacted with - and the animals were the impetus for much of the emotion in the story. During one scene with an animal, I actually teared up as I was reading aloud. Karana (the main character) is tough and resourceful and she has to deal with way too much tragedy. Yet, part of what I liked is how she never sat like a lump and wanted to give up. Things get destroyed? Rebuild. All your food washes away/gets eaten? Collect more. She was a great example to my kids and we had some really interesting discussions about the hard things she deals with. At one point (you'll know when you read it, near the beginning), I worried that maybe it would be a bit too intense, but my kids took it in stride better than I did.

I read my kids the author's notes at the end too and we had a great talk about historical fiction. My kids wanted to know specifically what was real and what wasn't (I can relate to that!) and I could tell them, thanks to O'Dell's great notes. This one was a winner for us :)

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

book 1 of 12 for the 2009 Young Adult Challenge
genre: young adult
rating: 5/5

The Hunger Games is one of those books...the ones I have to read in a day. Luckily, thanks to some smokin' trusted friends (here and here) I knew it ahead of time, so as soon as I could get my hands on a copy, I chose my day and dug in. And loved every moment.

Katniss lives in a future where America as we know it no longer exists. What's left of our country has been divided up and brought under the control of an entity called "the Capitol." To keep all these "districts" in line, The Capitol has created an event called "The Hunger Games," wherein two randomly selected young adult participants from each district must fight to the death until only one person is left alive. The climate and circumstances of the "game" are under the nearly complete control of the "Gamemasters" who televise the entire "competition" to the country. Do you like my use of quotes in that paragraph? It's surprising how quickly I stopped thinking of it as a game.

The book is brilliant. It's not a treatise and the dialogue isn't breathtaking, but it grabs you by the neck and won't let you breathe until you know what happens next. The idea of a future "Survivor" reality television program set up as a form of rebellion control is so intriguing. It's got enough action and enough romance and I had to give it five stars because I don't know what I could possibly change to make it better.

Katniss as a character is believable - frustrating, endearing - ready to play certain kinds of games but completely inept at others. Her humanity gave the scariness and helplessness of the situation so much more force. It was so interesting to see how quickly one transforms as one becomes the hunted and it makes you question what you'd do in that same position.

Really, if you like young adult literature - wait for a lazy day, and pick this one up.

de-lurking

Apparently, it is "delurking" week. I never knew there was such a week, so it's a good thing I have one of my most amazingly helpful bloggy buddies to help me out. I guess the idea is that during this week of the year you let people know that you lurk on their blog? Kinda fun. Feel free to leave any comment or you can answer the following random question:

Are you currently living in the state you were born in?

Review: Davita's Harp by Chaim Potok

1 of 5 for the Jewish Literature Challenge
1 of 5 for the War Through the Generations: WWII Challenge

genre: fiction/Jewish Literature
rating: 5/5

When we meet Ilana Davita she is around 8 years old, in the late 1930s. She lives in New York City with her writer-activist parents in a non-religious household. The subject for which her parents have nearly radical zeal is, we learn through Davita's listening in to conversations and nightly meetings, communism. Her parent's decisions and activism, their friends and political struggles lie at the heart of Davita's young life - they move frequently and her nights are spent in a strange dream of "Spain" and "Fascism."

Before I read this book I had no sense that the second World War played such a vital role within the context of the story, and the communist movement within America at the start of the war is a perspective I have never read about before. Davita's entire life is shaped by involvement of people she loves within the War - either first-hand or through political leanings that taint the reputation and limits one's freedom.

What I particularly loved about this book is Potok's firm grasp of a young child's voice - their understandings and misunderstandings. The entire tale is told from Davita's point of view and we often share her frustration as she understands that very important things are happening and all she can do is wait to be told or try to figure it out for herself.

The characters in this story are deep and vivid. I loved Davita's depth-less thirst for knowledge - about the meanings of words, about the war, and, eventually of Judaism and the Torah. Her decision to become religious on her own, despite her mother's disapproval, felt very real and was a thread throughout the book that I found particularly engaging. The other characters - her parents, the friends of her parents - and even Davita's own friends, never felt false or caricatured. Each person was flawed and yet full of different strengths that Davita used to help find her own way through the trauma of war and of growing up in a tumultuous time.

Davita's Harp is amazing, it has an almost mystical quality about it. The harp itself, which hangs on a door and is an omen of both good and bad - but mostly is a tinkling constant throughout her childhood, becomes a haven within the story-world that Davita retreats to when life becomes more than her imagination can handle. Because her world is sometimes incredibly harsh and confusing, her search for truth and good occasionally becomes a struggle against those she loves and respects the most.

This is a story of the uselessness of war, the truth that can be found between the lines of stories and the pages of books, the beauty and reality of Judaism and the reconciliation of a girl with the world that she was born into. A triumph.