(2) 4-6 Seventh grader Ezra has a lot on his shoulders. Born with "a constellation of the Scales" on his skin that indicates he's the Nivchar, or chosen one, for his generation, he's spent years training for what's destined to happen when he becomes a bar mitzvah, which is now approaching. He'll have to fight the gurya, a creature that will emerge from a cave, in order to continue the Beinoni ("in-between") time, "where no evil can endure." Now Ezra is beginning to see signs that the Beinoni time may not be fully holding -- and his own achievements and behaviors begin to fall short of what's expected of him. Lowe's (Sydney Taylor Book Award winner for Aviva vs. the Dybbuk, rev. 1/22, and The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman, rev. 11/23) inventive, ambitious fantasy set in an Orthodox Jewish community gives readers intricate world-building concepts to follow as Ezra uncovers more about his predecessors' battles and what awaits him. But beneath the high-stakes premise is an insightful look at a preteen protagonist under extreme pressure who is learning to rethink both how he sees himself and what the world needs from him. A glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms is appended.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025

(1) 4-6 Sixth grader Shaindy feels invisible at school, so when popular Gayil invites her to sneak into the building together and help with pranks against their classmates, she can't resist the allure of the shared mission. Before she knows it, Shaindy has helped Gayil slime someone's hairbrush, switch the contents of lockers, and dangerously slick a floor...and then it all blows up in her face in ways that change her perspective about her peers and make for an intense Yom Kippur. The fictional Fairview setting is described as "one of the most Jewish towns in the whole United States," with schools and other infrastructure built around Orthodox observance. Copious Jewish detail (sometimes explained, sometimes left for readers who are unfamiliar with it to figure out from context) is naturally integrated and inextricable from the characters' relationships. In particular, Lowe (Aviva vs. the Dybbuk, rev. 1/22) explores universal themes of atonement through the specific lens of Yom Kippur in this introspective novel full of perceptive emotional observations.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(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