88. A Sky Full of Song

A Sky Full of Song. Susan Lynn Meyer. 2023. [April] 272 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: At first, they only threw tomatoes. Then it was rocks. Soon you couldn't tell what was the splatter of tomato and what was blood. Women screamed and ran, stumbling over rolling cabbages, crashing into tipped-over carts. Others frantically tried to snatch up squashes and radishes and onions before they were trampled.

Premise/plot: Shoshana and her family have emigrated from Russia to North Dakota. (Technically, her father and brother emigrated together first, got the homestead, earned enough money to send back home. Shoshana and her mother and sisters came later, in the interim, persecution of the Jews only worsened.) This historical MG is set circa 1905/1906 in rural (prairie) North Dakota. The family lives in a dugout. The neighbors aren't near. And the neighbors are mostly if not exclusively Christian. The neighbors aren't exactly used to Jewish neighbors celebrating Jewish holidays, speaking Yiddish, not necessarily wanting to attend church weekly and participate in the Christmas pageant. This one is a coming of age novel, Shoshana is struggling between wanting to be American [and just like her neighbors] and wanting to retain her own culture/religion. 

My thoughts: I really loved this one so much. I loved the [North Dakota] prairie feel. I loved the family dynamics. I loved the one room school house. The historical vibes were just my cup of tea. I thought it was a lovely coming of age novel. I loved the role of music in this one! The ending was so perfect.  

This book is JUST RIGHT for me. I don't know if other readers will love, love, love it as much as I do. But to me it was perfectly perfect.

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews