Rivka's Way
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- S/ 14.90
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- S/ 14.90
Descripción editorial
Rivka has never been beyond the walls of Prague's Jewish quarter. One day she ventures outside . . and nothing will ever be the same.
* Sydney Taylor Book Awards, Notable Book 2001.
* Lilith Magazine's 5th Annual Selection of Books for Young Readers
* Included in Great Books for Girls, by Kathleen Odean (Random House)
"Kanefield weaves a suspenseful tale of friendship and love." Hadassah Magazine.
"Rivka's Way captures the curiosity, compassion, and determination of a young girl struggling to find her place in the world." From the Babaganews Study Guide
"The details of daily life are completely convincing, the foreign setting is made familiar, and Rivka's character rings true. A rewarding read for the romantically inclined." School Library Journal
"A simple but daring adventure." Voice of Youth Advocates
"This well-told tale will appeal to fans of both historical fiction and spunky female protagonists." Kliatt, Reviews of Selected Books
"When Rivka befriends a man who is unjustly thrown into debtor's jail with no recourse, she is faced with a hard decision, to risk leaving the ghetto again or to abandon this man to a grim fate. Her choice creates an uproar and deeply changes Rivka's view of her world." Lilith Magazine
"Readers will be pleased to find another character who shares Rivka's deep sense of justice." Booklist
TERI WON THE JANE ADDAMS PEACE ASSOCIATION 2015 CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD for a children's book that effectively promotes the cause of world peace and harmony between the races in the older reader's category for The Girl From The Tar Paper School.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An unusual setting 1778 Prague offsets mediocre characterizations in this debut novel. The heroine, 15-year-old Rivka, longs for a glimpse of the world beyond the Jewish ghetto, a yearning intensified when her older brother leaves to study at a yeshiva in Poland (it's not forbidden for Jews to travel outside the ghetto, provided they're wearing the requisite yellow patch, but it's unacceptable for a girl to venture out alone). Her sympathetic father, an affluent doctor, allows her to accompany him on an errand to the university. The hostility from the outside world that her friends have reported eludes her, somewhat unbelievably ("People had looked at her, but that seemed natural, as she was wearing the special patch"), and her curiosity is aroused. Risking her reputation (and imperiling her widely envied, carefully arranged engagement to Oskar Kara), Rivka dresses up in boys' clothing and sneaks out of the ghetto, not once but several times. In her wanderings she meets young Mikul, who faces imprisonment over his late mother's debts; the injustice of his plight arouses her sympathy, and she does not understand why her father, so steadfast in his efforts to help other Jews, is unwilling to aid Mikul. Within the scope of historical fiction about Jews, it's rare and refreshing to encounter a community in a state of relative peace, and Rivka's questions about God and the role of the Jews are powerful. But Rivka herself seems very much a contemporary being, only superficially affected by the culture of her time and place, and therefore neither entirely convincing nor commanding. Ages 10-14.
