ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Lowe, Mari

Aviva vs. the Dybbuk

| Levine Querido | February, 2022 | Trade ISBN 978-1-64614-125-8 $17.99
(1) 4-6 This emotionally complex novel set within a contemporary Orthodox Jewish community is full of immersive Jewish detail--literally, as much of the story centers around the mikvah, or ritual bath, that eleven-year-old Aviva's mother has run since Aviva's father's death; mother and daughter now live in a "shabby little apartment" above it. Mischief happens often around the mikvah (a guest's candies get unwrapped, a door's hinges come unscrewed), and the culprit is apparently a dybbuk ("a soul that won't rest," though this version creatively inverts the usual definition) that only Aviva can see. When the dybbuk creates more serious trouble, including antisemitic vandalism, Aviva must confront painful truths about her perceptions (and thus what she has been presenting to readers) of her father's "accident," her family's circumstances, and her own actions. The book creates a strong sense of the protagonist's isolation--awkward, impetuous Aviva has difficult relationships with her classmates, and communication is strained with her mother, who lives with severe depression--but remains accessible while addressing its heavy issues. Unreliable narrator though Aviva ends up being, she’s a heart-rendingly sympathetic one.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

RELATED 

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

The Republic of Birds
by Miller, Jessica
INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Atlantis
by Mone, Gregory
INTERMEDIATE FICTION

It Doesn't Take a Genius
by Rhuday-Perkovich, Olugbemisola
INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls
by Rivera, Kaela
INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Soul Lanterns
by Kuzki, Shaw
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?