The Cure [Hardcover]

Sonia Levitin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Silver Whistle

Deviant. Rebellious. Abnormal. The Elders say Gemm 16884 is all these things, and that he is a threat to the utopian society in which he lives. The Elders give him one chance to save himself: He must undergo the mysterious and painful “cure,” or he and his twin sister, Gemma, will be automatically recycled. Gemm chooses “the cure” and finds himself in the year 1348, at the onset of the Black Death. He is now Johannes, sixteen, living in Strasbourg--a town beset by anti-Semitism. Johannes struggles to hold on to his faith and family, his love for Margarite, his passion for music, and his belief in the goodness of human beings. But can the will of one boy change the world? Award-winning author Sonia Levitin weaves a chilling tale of a futuristic society colliding with the past--and delivers an unforgettable message about the recurring nature of history.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It is the year 2407, when everyone wears a mask to emphasize conformity, and tranquility has been implemented via genetics, drugs, and therapy. It is also the year 1348, the time of the Black Death in Strasbourg, France, and 16-year-old Gemm has been sent back from the future to cure his nonconformist desire to create music. In the past he is known as Johannes, the son of a wealthy moneylender in a small Jewish community that finds comfort and strength in the daily rituals of Judaic faith. But as the plague sweeps the land, terrified people in city after city scapegoat the Jews as the cause of their problems. Officials find it convenient to have someone to blame, and realize that they can wipe out their debts by torturing and burning the moneylenders and their families--but they play music all the while to make the horrible scene less dismal.

Sonia Levitin, whose exceptional young adult novels are often based in Jewish culture and identity (Escape from Egypt and The Singing Mountain, among others), draws on historical fact for this story's powerful emotional impact. The vivid details of ghetto life in the Middle Ages--the Sabbath peace, the enforced humiliations of moneylenders, Johannes' joy at his betrothal to his love Margarite--make the final holocaust scene overwhelmingly real, with layers of meaning that apply to our own times. The futuristic framing device adds additional flavor, evocative of Lois Lowry's The Giver. This is a book that both fantasy fans and pragmatic young readers will devour, and one that's rich with thoughtful ideas about racism, conformity, and the lessons of history. (Ages 10 and older) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly

Levitin (The Singing Mountain) handily combines futuristic science fiction and late-medieval Jewish history in a story reminiscent of Lois Lowry's The Giver. In the year 2407, societal tranquillity is maintained by ample servings of serotonin drinks to the genetically engineered population and by careful monitoring to suppress all expressions of individuality or creativity. When the boy Gemm 16884 somehow feels moved to make music, an extinguished art, he is given a choice between being "recycled" (killed) or sent into virtual reality to experience the bad old days as a cure for his deviant desires. Opting for the latter, he finds himself living as Johannes, the 16-year-old son of a Jewish moneylender in 1348 Strasbourg. In steadily more harrowing chapters, Levitin shows a thickening climate of anti-Semitism. As the bubonic plague spreads from the ports of Sicily across Europe, the Jews are accused of poisoning the water supply; whole communities of Jews are massacred. Will Gemm's experience as Johannes deaden his craving for art? That everything about the plot seems inevitable, from Johannes's dreadful martyrdom to Gemm's last-page embrace of humanism, only magnifies the tension: much of the horror of Johannes's plight, for example, comes from the audience's superior awareness of Johannes's certain doom. The author pulls off a nifty featAshe makes a low point in human history the prelude to a crescendo of idealism. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152018271
• ISBN-13: 978-0152018276
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #899,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My life is mainly devoted to friends and family, my writing and my home. I enjoy hiking in the mountains, especially with my dogs. You can see their pics on my web page, and also pics of my family andfriends. I like to traveling to interesting places. I've been to Europe, parts of Asia, Hawaii, and many beautiful places in the U.S. My most exciting new project is working with a great team on creating a musical based on my novel The Return. We plan the premier in fall, 2006, and now we're casting and soon going into rehearsal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wildly imaginative tale worth reading!, May 30, 2000

By 

Devin DiMattia "dimattiafilms.com" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cure (Hardcover)

Don't be fooled! This book isn't just about the future, where everyone wears a mask and things like music and love are forbidden. Deep within is a tale set in 1348 during the coming of the Black Death. In "The Cure", Gemm 16884 is sent back in time in hopes that he can forget his interest for music and individuality. What follows is an amazing tale of survival, passion, togetherness, and courage when sixteen-year-old Johannes and his Jewish family work hard to keep their traditions alive whilst millions of Christians plot against the Jews because they believe that the Jews are responsible for the pestilence which has raged their land.

I was interested in this book because of the science fiction aspect, but now I see that "The Cure" is so much more than that.

This book is recommended for students in grades 7 and up.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars read this!!!!!, December 27, 2004

By 

knightz '05!!!! "norah jones" (california) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cure (Paperback)

this book is amazing! it follows a boy named gemm 16884. gemm 16884 lives in a futuristic, perfect society. in this society everyone is perfect and doesnt know love or pain or practically and emotion. they live by conformity and see diversity as a horrible, troubling, bad thing. gemm 16884 is different though...he hears music. music is not known to anyone and therefore he is different. the elders of this society want to make him go through the cure to be cured of this monstrous thing he hears,music. gemm 16884 goes through this program where he becomes a jew named johannes living in germany in the year 1348. at this time jews weren't treated like regular people. they were treated badly and dehumanized. this book follows johannes and in a way gemm 16884 is living through him. after all the hardships johannes goes through in a year, gemm 16884 wakes up, only a day passing in his society. he saw all the things and emotions johannes went through. he experianced love, pain, hatred, and many things. the pain was so great he didnt want to hear music and be reminded of the horrible things johannes went through. he wanted to conform and be like everyone else. however, at the end of the book, gemm 16884 realizes how much there is out there, like love and music. this book is wonderful and just pulls you in. this is by far my favorite book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for scifi fans AND Jewish history fans, August 4, 2001

By 

Jake Krauss (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cure (Paperback)

I originally picked up this book because it reminded me of The Giver by Lois Lowry, an absolutely fabulous book that I recommend to anyone who enjoys The Cure. I originally thought I'd love reading about Gemm 16884 and tolerate reading about Johannes in order to understand Gemm better. I was pleasantly suprised to find myself enthralled by both of the main characters. I've read books on the holocaust in the past, including Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, and enjoyed seeing the differences and similarites between that period of Jewish history and the one portrayed in this wonderful book. The Cure also provides a look at ignorance and prejudice on two levels, again showing differences and similarities. The underlying message of freedom and acceptance is anything but corny and cliche. And it had just enough of a scifi twist to satisfy me, a die-hard science-fiction fanatic.