LONG SUMMER NIGHTS

Name: LONG SUMMER NIGHTS
Author: Aharon Appelfeld
ISBN: 978-1-60980-898-3

by Aharon Appelfeld ; illustrated by Vali Mintzi ; translated by Jeffrey Green ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27, 2019

While some will find the story profoundly moving, overall this is a ponderous and outmoded narrative for a niche audience.

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Holocaust survivor Appelfeld’s (The Man Who Never Stopped Sleeping, 2017, etc.) posthumous middle-grade novel.

When Jewish Michael is still a boy, his father sends him to assume a gentile identity as Yanek and live on the road under the guidance of Grandpa Sergei, a Ukrainian former employee and soldier. Their relationship is mutually beneficial: Grandpa Sergei is blind and appreciates assistance in navigating the countryside while Yanek needs help surviving as a wanderer. Grandpa Sergei has one goal: to deliver his charge safely home after World War II is over. Along the way, he shares his insights with Yanek, training him to fight for justice. Appelfeld’s prose, translated from Hebrew, is spare, slow, and matter-of-fact. Focusing on the wisdom of Grandpa Sergei, who at one time wanted to be a priest, the narrative is heavily religious, and lessons are presented with little subtlety. Ableist language, while perhaps historically accurate, is used throughout, and there is a particularly surprising scene in which Grandpa Sergei casually endorses statutory rape. Contemporary readers who are unaware of the historical context and changing gender norms may struggle to make sense of the repeated message that crying denotes weakness. Characters default to white.

While some will find the story profoundly moving, overall this is a ponderous and outmoded narrative for a niche audience. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-60980-898-3

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers

Review Posted Online: July 12, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
ADAM AND THOMAS
by Aharon Appelfeld ; illustrated by Philippe Dumas ; translated by Jeffrey M. Green

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THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE

by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2024

A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.

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Siblings decode familial and wartime secrets in 1940 England.

Headstrong 14-year-old Lizzie Novis refuses to believe that her mother, a U.S. embassy clerk who was working in Poland, is dead. After fleeing from her grandmother—who’s attempting to bring her back to America—Lizzie locates her 19-year-old brother, Jakob, a Cambridge mathematician who’s stationed at the clandestine British intelligence site called Bletchley Park. Hiding from her grandmother’s estate steward, Lizzie becomes a messenger at Bletchley Park, ferrying letters across the grounds while Jakob attempts to both break the ciphers generated by the German Enigma machines and help his sister face the reality of their mother’s likely fate. With a suspicious MI5 agent inquiring about Mum and clues and codes piling up, the siblings, whose late father was “Polish Jewish British,” eventually decipher the truth. Shared narrative duties between the siblings effectively juxtapose the measured Jakob with the spirited Lizzie. Lizzie’s directness is repeatedly attributed to her being “half American,” which proves tiresome, but Jakob’s development from reserved to risk-tolerant provides welcome nuance. The authors introduce and carefully explain a variety of decoding methodologies, inspiring readers to attempt their own. A thoughtful and entertaining historical note identifies the key figures who appear in the book, such as Alan Turing, as well as the real-life bases for the fictional characters. Interspersed photos and images of ephemera help situate the narrative’s time period.

A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. (Historical mystery. 10-14)