Adina Rishe Gewirtz

This quiet, sad book does some unusual things. I was struck by the relationship between the kids and their grandmother, that she struggles with dementia but is nevertheless probably the best caretaker they're going to get -- and their social worker knows it. That's not obviously the right decision, but I could see why everyone involved was making it. The same can be said for relationship choices later in the story, and told in flashback. I respect the shades of grey; nothing is tied up show more neatly with a bow here.

That said, for a short book with escaped convicts and a dangerous forest and summer adventures, very little happens. I found it lovely, but it will be a hard sell for almost any kid I know. show less

A good book, but one that misses out on great because of a variety of structural, pacing, and plot issues.

The basic plot is straightforward. Five children from "our" world fall through a magic window into another universe, where they discovered that they are prophecied saviors destined to save the world. So far, so good; this may be a story that adults have seen many times, but for young readers, this may be their introduction to this story shape, and a good retelling of that story is always show more welcome.

Gewirtz does something that not a lot of YA authors manage to do, which is to make children who act believably as children. This is her greatest strength, and a reason to keep reading. Each of the five young protagonists is distinct and interesting.

Unfortunately, the structure of the story does them a disservice. The book is divided into five separate 3rd person limited POV sections, one for each child in descending order of age. The early portions of the story are associated with the older kids, while as the story goes on, the protagonists get younger. The result is awkward -- just as you would want your characters to take on greater agency and a more direct role in the advancement of the story, the POV character has less agency due to their youth. The last child's section, representing the climax of the story, felt like it was all happening utterly without her control and influence, save for a deus ex machina ending. The result was muddled and confusing, and not at all satisfying.

In fact, the author found constant recourse to a sixth POV, a character we don't even meet until late in the novel. Early on, that POV speaks in riddles so mysterious that they mean nothing to the reader, and were an effort to read. By the end, this POV becomes the only way for the reader to see certain things happen, but again, they do so without the POV character's agency.

As well drawn as the characters were, the structure of the story did no favors to their development. Susan's story petered out halfway through. Max had an interesting journey, but one that happened entirely in the background, once his POV passage was over. Nell did not seem to learn much of anything. Kate's POV section developed her nicely, but in a way that had not been hinted before her section, and which was abandoned afterwards. Jean's POV section did her a disservice; a few interesting themes were brought up, but these were lost in the confusion of the climax.

In short, problems with pacing and structure hampered what could have been a truly remarkable book. Young readers may enjoy it, especially those that see themselves reflected in the protagonists, but it has too many issues to appeal to a wide cross section of the public. show less

I found this book horrible. I passed it on to a colleague of mine, and she was much more amenable to it, but even she found it not very well written, and not a great book for the age group it is aimed toward, which is elementary school age children. The characters are teeth-grindingly horrible from the first paragraph. Susan and Max are the oldest (twins). Susan has no backbone. Max is an insufferable know it all. Nell is the middle child, and the only character who is somewhat interesting, show more but she reads like a stuffy, bossy, little old lady for most of the book. Kate and Jean are the youngest, and are both interchangeable, although I think Kate is supposed to be older than Jean. Both are vapid, whiny, spoiled brats. All five obnoxious brats fall through a magic blue window one evening, and find themselves stumbling through a new world.

This book has been compared to both The Wizard of Oz and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, both books I enjoyed. It's possible that my cynical adult self would hate those books if I read them today, but when I remember what I like about those books it is the new friends that the children find in their new worlds. I liked the beavers in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Dorothy's ragtag group of friends in The Wizard of Oz. The children in The Blue Window don't make friends with anyone in the new world. The people they interact with have very short parts in the narrative, and most of these characters aren't very pleasant. We are in the heads of all five children throughout the book, and these kids are really annoying. The other thing I hated about this book was that we get very little of the world they find themselves in. The history of the land is doled out very, very slowly, and it was so boring to read about that I think I missed crucial pieces of it because the end of the book seemed very anti-climatic. This is the problem with not having your characters interact with people in the new world. I want a Hagrid character, or a Tumnus character to sit down and explain everything about this new place to me. I want a history lesson upfront, not given out piece by excruciating piece over a 570 page book. Also, WHY WHY WHY were these particular, bratty children chosen for their task? Were they the "annoying family that lived"?
I also didn't understand why the characters were so anxious to get home. I got no sense of the home they left behind, and their parents are mentioned so rarely that I don't know if they were divorced, together, gay, straight, mean, or nice. So why were these kids always complaining?

I can't see myself recommending this book to any child, unless she was someone who had read the entire Chronicles of Narnia in a week, and couldn't stop talking about them. And even then I would think she would be disappointed by the lack of a cohesive story, or a sense of this made up world. Someone who really really likes long, heavy, boring books with lots of silly characters might enjoy this. However, people who enjoy that sort of book tend to be adults, and I don't think many adults would have the patience for this book. show less

Zebra Forest was not what I expected—it was much better. I was a little wary about mature content for younger readers, and even warier since I'm a bit pathetic and easily frightened by scary, suspense-driven, or horror novels. But rest assured, this book packs a punch in plot without content that would be inappropriate for a YA audience. It was a fabulous read and I enjoyed it very much!

Although this book is aimed at readers ages 9-12, I suggest the reader be at least grade five and ready show more to handle the mature subject matter. That being said, it is a tame story. We read the story through the p.o.v. of a child. Other characters withhold information that a child should not receive (ie. no one actually talks about grandma's depression and the intruder does not give any graphic detail about his crime). Basically, it doesn't read like the hostage story that the publisher copy makes it sound like. It hooks the reader, but the story is actually an age-appropriate narrative that parents and educators can feel comfortable about.

I have to say I enjoyed the plot twist. It allows for some real character development in the story as the kids grow as a result of the situation at hand. The novel takes a hard look at the importance of family and forgiveness, but also moral choices and having to live with the consequences of one's actions. All "tough stuff" subjects that make for great exploration of character!

This is a fantastic read for young teens who like a bit of mystery, suspense, and drama. Adina Rishe Gewirtz's debut novel is beautifully written, memorable, fast-paced read and it is unlike anything I've read in a while. Definitely worth it to pick up a copy! show less