Confused and distraught after a heart attack lands her father in the hospital, 12-year-old Rebecca begins writing to Elijah, the biblical prophet. Rebecca's father may not be home in time for Passover, but Rebecca can count on Elijah to be there, at the place traditionally set for him at the seder table. Unfortunately, Rebecca never becomes a flesh-and-blood character, and her correspondence with Elijah sometimes seems like the effort of an ambitious religious school teacher: "You decided to have a big contest with the priests of Baal to prove who was worshipping the true God. That must have been some contest. You against four hundred prophets. Guess who won? (I bet you harty-harred about that one.)" Without a convincing narrator, Bat-Ami's (When the Frost Is Gone) portrayal of a religious Jewish family lacks focus. The open ending, which leaves Rebecca's deteriorating father on the operating table, his prognosis unknown, might disturb readers in the targeted age range-that is, if they care enough about these shadowy figures' fates. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7?Rebecca, 12, is from an observant Jewish family. She is troubled because her father is in the cardiac intensive-care unit facing bypass surgery and will be unable to prepare for and celebrate Passover with the family. In an innovative twist to the narrative convention, she works out her anxieties by writing notes (and sometimes lengthy letters) to the prophet Elijah. From March 1-April 20, readers are privy to her anger (at herself, her father, and God), her fears, her desires, and her inability to pray or to be as good a Jew as her father would require; all are played out in her one-sided correspondence. Bat-Ami, commendably, does not succumb to easy answers, but the question still remains, "Why Elijah?" Youngsters will understand that Rebecca has, of course, been thinking about the prophet because of the role he plays in the Passover Seder, but while the premise is interesting, the choice of Elijah as a pen pal for an adolescent girl seems strange. That choice, despite the author's note and glossary, limits the book's appeal to a very specialized audience, well versed in Orthodox Jewish practice and Biblical history.?Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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