Amidst the plethora of mostly depressing Holocaust children’s and YA literature, Fleischman introduces an ingenious approach to the topic and issues. In post-WWII Europe, The Great Freddie, an American gentile who is a mediocre ventriloquist, performs in clubs around the continent. Freddie becomes possessed by a dybbuk (the Jewish ghost of a boy, Avrom Amos, with an unfinished mission). Avrom, not yet 13, was brutally murdered by a Nazi bounty hunter. Sweet revenge is the mission and Avrom intends on achieving it through Freddie’s body and voice as he takes over the puppet act in order to publicly search for his murderer in each new city they play. Freddie’s refusal, then reluctance, soon turns to dependence as the dybbuk’s voices for the act make Freddie appear as a magical ventriloquist, never moving his lips and even drinking water during the act. Great success leads to better clubs and eventually back to America, where both Freddie and the dybbuk come to a mutual understanding upon finding the ex-Nazi in question. While the story incorporates a continual humorous banter between Freddie and the dybbuk, it is precisely their relationship that brings out themes of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and, in particular, the senseless methodical killing of children in hiding by bounty hunters for the price of a few coins each. Quick, creative, clever and thoroughly entertaining. (Fiction. 10-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-134445-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
An outstanding new edition of this popular modern classic (Newbery Award, 1961), with an introduction by Zena Sutherland and...
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1990
ISBN: 0-395-53680-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.
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)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593527542
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
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