139. Black Bird, Blue Road

Black Bird, Blue Road. Sofiya Pasternack. 2022. [September] 320 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Hello! Come in. Sit down. Don't be scared. This is a very important story, after all, and you shouldn't be afraid to hear it. It's from a very long time ago. A thousand years! In thos days, they used to begin their stories like this: There was one, there was no one. So that's how I'll begin, too. There was one. A girl. Ziva bat Leah, the daughter of a judge and the sister of a prophet. There was no one. No one to believe that Ziva could do the things she set out to do--like find a cure for her brother's illness, or master a demon, or sway the Angel of Death, whom she called malach ha-mavet. Ziva did two of those things, dear listener. Which two? Well. 

Premise/plot: Historical fantasy starring Jewish characters [and community]. Ziva, our heroine, loves, loves, loves her twin brother, Pesah. Everytime someone tells her that her brother is dying, she reacts. NO. No. No. A thousand times no. She is not ready to give up on her brother. He may have leprosy. He may have a gurgling, hagging-nagging cough, but she is not ready to give up on him. She will stand by his side fighting for a cure, clinging to any and every hope for a cure. This ultimately leads her to run away from home--with her brother--in search of a cure. It is an incredible journey. I will refrain from going into specifics of that journey. BUT MY OH MY this book was good.

My thoughts: The first few pages of the prologue grabbed my attention. The first part of the novel (proper) were much slower, in my opinion. But once these two start on their [runaway] journey, this one really takes off. Once these two encounter the half-demon (there was a Jewish name but I don't have a copy of the book in front of me and I didn't take actual notes), Almas, and these three set off in search of a city [Luz] where they can find immortality, the book becomes impossible--absolutely impossible--to put down. They are on a flight to out-run the Angel of Death.

 

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