The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan

Pages: 512 

Publisher: Solaris 

Released: 20th of July 2023 

Two worlds bound by a pomegranate gate...

Toba Peres can speak but she can’t shout; she can walk but she can’t run; and she can write in five languages… with both hands at the same time.

Naftaly Cresques dreams every night of an orange-eyed stranger; when awake, he sees things that aren’t real; and he carries a book he can never lose and never read.

When the Queen of Sefarad orders all the nation’s Jews to leave or convert, Toba and Naftaly are forced to flee, but an unlucky encounter leaves them both separated from their caravan. Lost in the wilderness, Toba follows an orange-eyed stranger through a mysterious gate in a pomegranate grove, leaving Naftaly behind.

With a single step, Toba enters an ancient world that mirrors her own. There, she finds that her fate—and Naftaly’s—are bound to an ancient conflict threatening to destroy both realms.

What I Have to Say 

This book was so wonderfully Jewish. I liked especially how the characters weren't just said to be Jewish and then move on with the plot, they actually kept to the Jewish traditions. It was also based on Jewish mythology. As someone with Jewish ancestry, it was nice to see these characters and imagine what it would have been like for my family at the time. 

I preferred the bits with Toba more than the Naftaly bits. Both had their ups and down but I liked exploring the Mazik world. I also just liked Toba more as a character. She was more interesting to me, whereas Naftaly I only really found interesting when he was dreaming. 

All in all, I just really enjoyed this book. It was well written and the characters were great. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Solaris and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfar

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton 

Released: 28th of March 2023 

Set in a near-future America under the dual manipulations of technology and surveillance, A Brief History of Living Forever tells the epic, exhilarating story of a long-lost brother and sister on a mission to reclaim their mother from oblivion.

 

When Adela discovers she has a terminal illness, her thoughts turn to Tereza, the American-raised daughter she gave up at birth. Leaving behind her moody, grown son, Roman, in their native Czech village, she flies to the United States to find the long-lost daughter who never knew her. Yet the country, in the year 2029, is steeped in surveillance and has adopted an unapologetic nationalism—a very different place from the open and accepting one Adela experienced decades earlier, when, as a teenager high on the promise of America, she eloped with a filmmaker and starred in his cult sci-fi movie.

 

Now, in New York City, with time running out, Adela reunites with Tereza, who is working as the star researcher for two suspicious biotech moguls hellbent on developing a “god pill” to extend human life indefinitely. But before Tereza can find a cure for Adela, her mother dies mysteriously. Unbeknownst to Tereza, her body is whisked away by the American government to a mass grave for undocumented immigrants in the swampy wastelands of what was once Florida. Distraught, Tereza travels to the Czech Republic to convince Roman, the brother she’s never met, to join her in rescuing their mother’s remains from oblivion, with the intent of bringing her home to rest in Czech soil.

 

Narrated from the beyond by Adela, A Brief History of Living Forever is a high-wire act of storytelling that demonstrates once more Jaroslav Kalfar’s endless powers of invention. By turns insightful, moving, and funny, the novel blends an immigrant mother’s heartbreaking journey through the American dream with her children’s quest to reclaim her from a country that would erase any record of her existence. Above all, it is a reminder that neither space nor time can sever our connection to the ones we love.

What I Have to Say 

This book was so depressing. I didn't dislike it, I actually really liked some parts of it. But man, it was a grim look at what our future can be. 

I  really liked Adela a lot. She had an interesting perspective on things and she was honestly a really lovable character to get to know. It was really interesting seeing her narrative considering the things that happen in the book. I also really liked parts of her back story. The bits where they were filming the newt movie were really entertaining to read, not least of all because it was a really bizarre concept for a film. 

The ending was just really really grim and quite frankly terrifying. It really made me think about where the world is going right now and I really really do not want it to end up like this book. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book somewhat, but it really depressed me. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with this copy for review. 

A Change is Gonna Come by Various

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Stripes Publishing 

Released: 10th of August 2017 

Featuring top Young Adult authors alongside a host of exciting new talent, this anthology of stories and poetry from BAME writers on the theme of change is a long-overdue addition to the YA scene. Contributors include Tanya Byrne, Inua Ellams, Catherine Johnson, Patrice Lawrence, Ayisha Malik, Irfan Master, Musa Okwonga and Nikesh Shukla.

Plus introducing four fresh new voices in YA fiction: Mary Bello, Aisha Bushby, Yasmin Rahman and Phoebe Roy.

What I Have to Say 

This is a book that was needed in the world. As the Goodreads synopsis says, it was long-overdue. I agree with this statement completely. 

I loved the way it was structured with the two poems at the start and the end to frame it. I loved the stories in it, the beautiful story about a blind man saving the world with help of mysterious letters to a future boy, the wonderful one about two Muslim girls facing a bus ride to school after a big terrorist attack and how they both deal with it. There were just so many amazing stories in this book. There are two many to mention and I could say good things about every single one of them, but if I did then I would run out of space in this review. 

The main thing I think to say is that every single author in this book contributed a brilliant story from a different perspective and they came together to make something that the world has needed for a long, long time. 

This is a book that everyone should read. And I hope everyone is as touched by the stories as I was. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Stripes Publishing for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 240 

Publisher: Orion Children's Books 

Released: 14th of July 2016 

Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention center after his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland, Subhi has only ever known life behind the fences. But his world is far bigger than that—every night, the magical Night Sea from his mother's stories brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. And as he grows, his imagination threatens to burst beyond the limits of his containment.

The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie—a scruffy, impatient girl who appears on the other side of the wire fence and brings with her a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it herself, she relies on Subhi to unravel her family's love songs and tragedies.

Subhi and Jimmie might both find comfort—and maybe even freedom—as their tales unfold. But not until each has been braver than ever before.

What I Have to Say 

This was a beautiful magic story set against the backdrop of one of the worst places a human can exist. The magical feeling of the Night Sea and the Shakespeare duck are a massive contrast to the grim and horrific reality of the center. Subhi is the perfect person to tell this story because his optimism and imagination soften the tone and make it so that it doesn't get too depressing.

I loved Jimmy as well. Having the two views, one from inside the camp and one from outside the camp really contrasts the differences, even though Jimmy's life isn't that great, it highlights the fact that even someone living in a trailer with very little in her life, she is still better off than those in the camp.

This is definitely an eye opening book, but it is also a really fun and enjoyable read.

My thanks go to Orion and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.