 | Length of a string Author: Weissman, Elissa Brent | |
| Price: $7.37 | ||
Summary:
Twelve-year-old Imani, the only black girl in Hebrew school, is preparing for her bat mitzvah and hoping to find her birthparents when she discovers the history of adoption in her own family through her great-grandma Anna's Holocaust-era diary.
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.00 Points: 10.0 Quiz: 196675 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 6-8 Reading Level: 4.50 Points: 15.0 Quiz: 76868 | |
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 04/01/2018 Twelve-year-old Imani Mandel, a black adoptee living in an all-white Baltimore neighborhood, prepares for her bat mitzvah and wonders about her birth parents. When her great-grandmother dies, Imani inherits the diary she kept as a 12-year-old fleeing the Nazis in Luxembourg. From journal entries and additional research, Imani comes to identify with Grandma Anna; the two may not share DNA, but their experiences as adoptees connect them. Recounted in first person by Imani (alternating with diary entries from young Anna to her twin), Weissman’s newest (Nerd Camp, 2011, and Nerd Camp 2.0, 2014) adds to her oeuvre of middle-grade novels featuring smart kids learning life lessons. Imani is skilled at playing tennis and fielding obnoxious racial questions, curious about her origins, and often at odds with her mother. Anna braves a new life in New York, although she remains connected “by a length of string” to her sister. And although a few plot elements feel a bit contrived (family DNA tests and locating Anna’s long-lost brother), they will no doubt please the intended audience. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 04/01/2018 Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old Imani is many things: a resident of a Baltimore suburb, a big sister to Jaime, a Hebrew school student preparing for her bat mitzvah, and an adoptee. Imani longs for information about her birth parents and soon finds her great-grandmother Anna's diary. In 1941, 12-year-old Anna traveled alone to the U.S. from Luxembourg to avoid the Holocaust concentration camps. Imani strongly identifies with Anna's fear and struggle to belong. Imani, her friends Madeline and Ethan, and Imani's extended family celebrate their history as they deal with its horror and triumph. Imani finds clarity regarding her own background. Imani's first-person narration flows naturally with conversations about the mundane--Ethan's crush on her--and the serious--Holocaust research. Imani's curiosity and her tense relationship with her mother make her likable and relatable. Weissman maintains pace and interest between Anna's diary sections and Imani's story. The attention to detail, such as the scenes of Anna playing Chinese checkers with her cousin and Imani's tennis practice, make the story memorable. VERDICT Pair with this with Lois Lowry's Number the Stars for Jewish historical fiction with heart. An excellent addition with strong curricular ties.—Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
