Burning Girls

Beautifully Conceived and Written

(Caution: minor spoilers below!)

Born in Bialystok, Poland at the turn of the century, Deborah is possessed of the power like her bubbe. Deborah is a witch, and spends her summers in training with grandmother Hannah: learning to assist in childbirth, cure common ailments, terminate unwanted pregnancies, craft blessings and talismans, and drive away demons. But Deborah's magic is little help against the growing tide of antisemitism sweeping through Europe; and when the Cossacks lay waste to Hannah's village, killing Deborah's beloved grandmother and mentor, it becomes clear to her family that they must escape to America. America, where "they don't let you burn."

While the family - mother, father, and show more sister Shayna - work overtime to save enough money for the trip, Deborah discovers a horrifying secret. There, among grandmother's sparse belongings, is a mysterious contract: "The ink seemed to be made of blood and vomit. A stench like cowshit rose off the page. My stomach churned every time I unfolded the paper." When a demon tries to steal her newborn brother Yeshua, Deborah realizes that her grandmother did the unthinkable: traded her daughter's next child in exchange for the family's safe passage to America. Though Deborah succeeds in destroying the contract, it's at great personal cost; and while Deborah and Shayna eventually make it to the New World, they're ultimately unable to escape the lilit's clutches.

Burning Girls is a beautiful and captivating story from start to finish. Schanoes draws from multiple genres - dark fantasy, magical realism, fairy tales, historical fiction - seamlessly weaving these threads together to create a bewitching tapestry filled with horror and heartbreak. (The Białystok pogrom, during which between 81 and 88 people were murdered and another 80 injured, occurred in June 1906; and the Asch building was the site of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.) This could easily be a full-length novel (frankly, I'd love to see it on the big screen!) but works beautifully as a novella.

The story's title, which is referenced throughout the plot and in myriad ways (is Deborah not a girl on fire when she uses the power of the evil eye to set bubbe's contract aflame?), sets the stage for a rather shocking climax. Schanoes also plays with language in interesting ways; take, for example, Deborah's abrupt transition from spending her days in friend Yetta's sweetshop to slaving away in a NYC sweatshop.

Whether you're interested in fantasy or feminism, worker's rights or the persecution of Jews throughout history, you owe it to yourself to check out Burning Girls. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/04/04/burning-girls-by-veronica-schanoes/ show less

Burning Girls is an engrossing cross genre short story that mixes tales, Yiddish culture and historical facts between old Russia and New York in the first years of the 20th century. The title has more than one meaning: it alludes to the stakes of the witches, to the women buried alive in 1911 and to the passion that drives the first feminist to fight for better working conditions.
Burning Girls is a tale about a disenchantment, New World isn't the "goldene medine" dreamed by Deborah's parents, the "modern factory" isn't an angel gift and the safety granted by a pact with the dark forces is deadly.

Every now and then, in the midst of all the dross, you read something that moves you. [a:Veronica Schanoes|4022202|Veronica Schanoes|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1405876221p2/4022202.jpg]'s [b:Burning Girls|17910198|Burning Girls|Veronica Schanoes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368362956s/17910198.jpg|25095679] is just one such story.

Set in the late 19th century, Burning Girls is about Deborah, the daughter of Polish Jews in the years after Cossacks stopped burning villages but while the threat of pogroms against Jews was still very real. While her sister is raised to follow her mother as a seamstress, Deborah is trained by her grandmother to be a witch. She uses a white magic that draws on arcane and mythical Kabbalah-like Jewish show more writings and beliefs. As her power grows, she learns of a demon stalking their little family. Then, one day, the long feared pogroms come for them, and they set their sights on America, to start over, to escape the violence, and to escape the demon.

Part of what I enjoyed about this fantasy (a period fantasy, maybe?) was how it felt authentic, while at the same time avoiding cliches. Sure, there's a bit of handwaivium going on, but the magic is not without a cost. Based on language and the calling on power from certain angels and names of God, Deborah uses the magic to help women, and it lends a certain sense of sympathetic feminism to it.

And yet, it's Schanoes use of pathos, rather than magic, that makes the story worth the read. They struggle, grow, hurt, and are hurt. They grow together and apart, are tossed and turned in the trends and politics of the day. With each obstacle overcome, sympathy builds until a final denouement that both surprises and moves.

Burning Girls was nominated for the 2013 Nebula in the novella category, and while it didn't win, it was a worthy nominee. show less

Every now and then, in the midst of all the dross, you read something that moves you. [a:Veronica Schanoes|4022202|Veronica Schanoes|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1405876221p2/4022202.jpg]'s [b:Burning Girls|17910198|Burning Girls|Veronica Schanoes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368362956s/17910198.jpg|25095679] is just one such story.

Set in the late 19th century, Burning Girls is about Deborah, the daughter of Polish Jews in the years after Cossacks stopped burning villages but while the threat of pogroms against Jews was still very real. While her sister is raised to follow her mother as a seamstress, Deborah is trained by her grandmother to be a witch. She uses a white magic that draws on arcane and mythical Kabbalah-like Jewish show more writings and beliefs. As her power grows, she learns of a demon stalking their little family. Then, one day, the long feared pogroms come for them, and they set their sights on America, to start over, to escape the violence, and to escape the demon.

Part of what I enjoyed about this fantasy (a period fantasy, maybe?) was how it felt authentic, while at the same time avoiding cliches. Sure, there's a bit of handwaivium going on, but the magic is not without a cost. Based on language and the calling on power from certain angels and names of God, Deborah uses the magic to help women, and it lends a certain sense of sympathetic feminism to it.

And yet, it's Schanoes use of pathos, rather than magic, that makes the story worth the read. They struggle, grow, hurt, and are hurt. They grow together and apart, are tossed and turned in the trends and politics of the day. With each obstacle overcome, sympathy builds until a final denouement that both surprises and moves.

Burning Girls was nominated for the 2013 Nebula in the novella category, and while it didn't win, it was a worthy nominee. show less

Short but Heart-breaking

I picked this story up years ago and just now got around to it. It was an incredibly fast read, but the writing was super smooth and very gripping. I even felt myself tearing up for the characters even though we didn't get to spend much time with them as characters.

This is an interesting and well-written short story - it'll only take an hour or less to read at one sitting. I don't want to give any of the story away, but I loved the Jewish mysticism mixed into it - which turned out to be not what I expected. The ending is clever all right, and makes sense if you know much about US labor history - I just didn't see it coming.

I haven't read a novella in a long time but this one seemed very interesting so I decided to leave off of my longer novels in lieu for this novella.

When I first read this premise, I thought it would be more fantasy based but this story ended up being so much more. This was such a refreshing and poignant novella and I really loved every minute of it. The main character is cheeky and practical and just such a unique and amazing protagonist, who really makes you connect with her struggles. This story portrays the struggle of a Jewish family as they try to find peace from persecution, only to discover horror in their new home. I can't say more without spoiling this story but I really think this novella is one that everyone should read so show more please do yourself a favour and check out this amazing story!

For more reviews, visit: www.veereading.wordpress.com show less