LIS 721 - Fantasy and Science Fiction

 It's Time for Fantasy & Science Fiction!

Lowe, Mari. Aviva vs. the Dybbuk. Levine Querido, 2022. 176 pages. $17.99. ISBN 978-1646141258 

Summary: A long ago “accident.” An isolated girl named Aviva. A community that wants to help, but doesn’t know how. And a ghostly dybbuk, that no one but Aviva can see, causing mayhem and mischief that everyone blames on her.  That is the setting for this suspenseful novel of a girl who seems to have lost everything, including her best friend Kayla, and a mother who was once vibrant and popular, but who now can’t always get out of bed in the morning.

As tensions escalate in the Jewish community of Beacon with incidents of vandalism and a swastika carved into new concrete poured near the synagogue…so does the tension grow between Aviva and Kayla and the girls at their school, and so do the actions of the dybbuk grow worse. Could real harm be coming Aviva’s way? And is it somehow related to the “accident” that took her father years ago? -- Amazon

Review: Mari Lowe's debut novel, Aviva vs. the Dybbuk blends the supernatural with the realities of loss and antisemitism. Set in a small Orthodox Jewish Community, Lowe offers the reader an insight into Jewish traditions and folklore, while making the comparisons between community and isolation, and tradition and modernity. This setting is central to the plot of the story since a lot of the action is based around the mikvah, which is a Jewish ritual bath, and the main antagonist is a dybbuk, which is a malicious spirit in Jewish folklore. Lowe explains the dybbuk as "A dybbuk is a soul that won’t rest. It didn’t finish what it was supposed to in this life, and it will create mischief right up until its mission is fulfilled” (p 13). The story follows Aviva, who is navigating her grief after the loss of her father and the metaphorical loss of her mother, who is struggling with depression. Her and her mother move above the mikvah, which is haunted by a dybbuk only Aviva can see. Along with the dybbuk's troublemaking, Aviva must deal with her mother's intentional isolation and being an outcast in her community. Paired with her ex-best friend, Aviva must plan a Bas Mitzva Bash as punishment for an accident in school while experiencing antisemitic vandalism in their community. The emotional trauma she experiences throughout the novel forces her to grow as a person and face the truth about her family history, thus facing the truth about the dybbuk. Themes of grief, healing, and identity are woven with the supernatural to create a culturally authentic story centered around emotional (and psychological) change and how tradition may affect it. Lowe's writing style is deliberate and filled with symbolism. The writing is emotional without being to decorative, making the text more accessible for a younger audience. Her interpretation of the dybbuk brings out the psychological aspects of the story, making the entity lean more into a mental presence then a spooky ghost. This leans into the allegory of the dybbuk representing unspoken grief. Overall, Aviva vs. the Dybbuk is a great story about emotional healing, that blends the supernatural in the traditional of Orthodox Jewish communities. The book is culturally authentic and invites the readers to explore difficult emotions with the intention of understanding that healing is possible.  

Higuera, Donna Barba.  The Last Cuentista. Lantern Paperbacks, 2024. 352 pages. $18.99. ISBN 9781646140893

Summary: Había una vez . . .

There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.

But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? -- Amazon 

Review: Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista is a multi-award and honor winner that blends science fiction and folklore in a dystopian setting. The story beginnings with the main character Petra Pena listening to a story (or a cuenta) from her grandmother to calm her nerves. Her grandmother is her inspiration for becoming a cuentista (a storyteller). Her tales come from generations of storytellers and will always be a part of Petra. At this time, Earth is on the brink of destruction due to Halley's comet forcing young families and scientists to flee to another planet (Sagan) to save the human race, which means Petra must leave her grandmother behind and keep her legacy through her stories. The setting shifts from the familiarity of her grandmother and Earth to the sterile and unsettling surroundings of space. Higuera's descriptions of the settings are vivid, and sounds grounded in science increasing its believability. In in the characters' 300+ year journey to the new planet, the chosen families are put to sleep and taken care of generations of Monitors, until the spaceships are taken over by a faction called the "Collective", whose goal is to eradicate any memory of Earth and force conformity as a way to prevent the historical disasters that happened on Earth with the intention of creating a utopia. This brings up the importance of story, memory, and identity (personal and cultural) which are central themes of the story. The event kickstarts the exploration of the importance of diversity and change in a society and the impact story telling has on history. Petra, as our courageous protagonist, utilizes her story telling skills to go against the Collective, keeping the memory of Earth alive and rousing the memory of the characters who have fallen victim of mind erasing. The readers are able to see Petra's sense of sense develop through the novel as she deals with the loss of her life on Earth and the Collective. Higuera's writing style expertly brings together action and narration while using poetic language to tell a story intertwined with Mexican folklore. This story provokes an appreciation of history and consideration of how the future will unfold. Overall, The Last Cuentista is a though-provoking story that would be suitable for older middle grade readers.