Barry Deutsch

Mirka is an adventurous girl growing up in an insular Orthodox Jewish community. In encounters with a witch, a troll, and a talking pig, she combines quick thinking and determination with lessons learned from her family in order to come out on top. It's bit like (a much more child-friendly) Pan's Labyrinth. Especially of note is the setting, a deeply religious community with little contact with the outside world, to the point where it's not even clear what country or time period it's taking show more place in. The author paints an engaging and three-dimensional portrait of the town of Hereville, lovingly depicting a rich culture without sugar-coating the fact that it's also pretty repressive in a number of ways--Mirka has to smuggle in books that aren't on the narrow list of approved reading, among other things, and I must admit my reaction to a lot of it was, "wow, I would not have survived if I'd been born here". I'd recommend this book to kids who are interested in learning about different cultures, fans of books that blend magic and realism, and anyone who just likes to argue for the sake of argument or look at thinks from different angle (depicted here as a useful skill and a part of mental flexibility -- in the climax, Mirka seemingly fails a knitting challenge against a troll, but successfully outwits him by challenging his assumptions about what makes a sweater "better".) show less

Love this whole series. Mirka is a horrible brat at the beginning of the story--worse than in the first two books, I feel--and it made it hard to see her in a sympathetic light at first. But the lesson/moral of this story is so well-done and so beautiful, I really loved how it all came back around at the end. And I think the book's message about kindness and justice and how those two concepts need to interact is an important one to remember.

There is a scene that has non-consensual show more hair-cutting, and it feels uncomfortably graphic in comparison to the rest of the book. There's plenty of danger in the story, but personally that was the bit that disturbed me the most. show less

And in this adventure, Mirka learns the importance of family, even if you don't feel like it's your family, and that things are not always what they seem. After a magical fish is accidentally awakened from a long slumber by Mirka and her sister Layele, Mirka learns that her stepmother Fruma has a past that seems not so different from Mirka's own--and maybe even more strange. Chaos erupts as Mirka attempts to free her sister from the fish's malevolent grasp, and the family tries to find calm show more in their spiritual tradition. What I love about these stories is that Judaism is shown as the foundation for life, but not all actions are informed or dictated by religion, and spiritual connection can provide hope and comfort in times of stress. It is the kind of approach to the conversation that makes me feel like I could find that hope and comfort myself, but I know there is much more to Jewish faith than just that, things I don't think I could accept. However, I admire the portrayal of people of faith who still have crazy adventures that have nothing to do with their religion. I also wonder if we will ever meet Mirka's father, if there are more of these in the future! show less

I bought this from the author at GeekGirlCon. I was knitting during a panel on Star Wars, and after was talking with a bunch of other ladies who had also been knitting. One of them mentioned there was a graphic novel in the dealer's room about a Orthodox Jewish girl who gets into a knitting fight. I, of course, had to track this down.

I read it on the plane home and it was super adorable and cute. It was also educational for those not as familiar with Orthodox culture, and Deutsch helpfully show more provides translations for the Yiddish and Hebrew peppered throughout. A really fun start to the series, and I look forward to reading the rest. show less