The Papercutter
-
-
3.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A deeply polarized and ungovernable United States of America has separated into two nations—the God Fearing States (GFS) and the United Progressive Regions (UPR).
Judith Braverman, a teenager living in an Orthodox Jewish community in the GFS, is not only a talented artist accomplished in the ancient craft of papercutting, she also has the gift of seeing into peoples’ souls—and can tell instantly if someone is good or evil.
Jeffrey Schwartz has no love for religion or conformity and yearns to escape to the freedom of the UPR. When he’s accepted into an experimental pen pal program and paired with Dani Fine, an openly queer girl in the UPR, he hopes that he can finally find a way out.
As danger mounts and their alarm grows, Judith embeds a secret code in her papercuts so that she and Jeffrey can tell Dani what’s happening to Jews in the GFS without raising suspicions from the government. When the three arrange a quick, clandestine meeting, Jeffrey is finally faced with the choice to flee or to stay and resist. And Judith is reeling from a pull toward Dani that is unlike anything she has ever felt before.
Content note: the book contains one brief memory of sexual assault of a male teen by another male teen.
Book 1 of The Split Series.
Customer Reviews
Unique POV and tons of representation!
The Papercutter is a unique and exciting first installment of The Split series written by Cindy Rizzo. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I first started this book but I was excited about the LGBTQIA+ representation. As well as the opportunity to read from the perspective of a Jewish narrator given that both are lacking for representation in the fiction sphere.
There are three main protagonists within the book, Judith, Jeffrey, and Dani, each offers a different type of view on the world around them. A world that feels scarily close to a potential future for ours. A world split in two by extreme ideologies on the political scale. To the South, the God Fearing States closely resembles Conservatism and to the North the United Progressive Regions that are closely in line with today’s Liberal views.
The author, Cindy Rizzo, does a good job of describing the nuances of life in each region. Judith and Jeffrey’s families chose to reside in the GFS due to the religious freedom it provides their Orthodox practices despite the open hostility from other residents.
The topics that the author tackles are incredibly varied and those that are handled well are handled very, very well. Though I did at times think that perhaps there was too much of a range to properly discuss each event.
--Insert Trigger Warning regarding mention of sexual assault--
This was particularly an issue in the mention of one of the main character’s abusers. It felt very bluntly handled. Within the context of the first book it didn’t seem to be influential to his character and didn’t need to be there.
--End of Trigger Warning--
There was a vast character roster and despite my issues with remembering names I didn’t have a terrible time distinguishing them. Cindy did a great job of setting them apart and making each voice individual and believable. The only time I really felt a disconnect in the characterization was the introduction of a romantic pair between two of the main characters. It was very late in the book which was a little shocking on its own. But it also seemed out of character considering the modest and orthodox upbringing that we’d come to know.
Overall, the story within The Papercutter is powerful and compelling and I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to read from a point of view that is often tragically underrepresented.