(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