Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (1046)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz in Books

Feb 15, 2019  
TF
The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz
Michelle Cameron | 2009
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm having a remarkably hard time gathering up my thoughts to review THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS. The book is a mixed bag as far as I'm concerned.

Overall, the book was informative and easy entertainment, but it lacked depth. For the most part the characters were either good or bad, with no shades of grey, which made them unrealistic and led to my feeling of detachment. Shira was a sympathetic and capable main character during the first third of the book and looked to be an interesting Medieval wife. Unfortunately, after she became married, she lost her personality. I realize that it was an accurate portrayal of Jewish wives back then, but Shira had been scholarly, while still seeing to her duties, up until this point and then turned into a boring protagonist. What set her apart and made me want to read about her was her attitude about learning the Talmud like the men. What interested Meir in the first place was Shira, who he thought unusual; not that I was shown their love, I was just told about it. The chemistry was lacking between them, but that may be in part that I didn't get a good sense of who Meir was as a person, other than he was brilliant, a revered scholar, et cetera. No one felt real in this book and that's a shame.

What was perhaps done best were the details and information about the Jewish people and their faith. Generally, it was written into the story quite well, even if Shira was conveniently placed right in the way of big events. I learned much and am grateful for the history of that time. My one problem with it was that although I felt the pain and suffering the Jewish endured, it was just a little too clean. More realism and grit would have added much to the book.

Perhaps the scope of the book did a disservice to the story as a whole, and it might have benefited a few scenes taken out. As a whole, it's a decent book and a good debut, but it still lacks that something that makes me what to say "read it".
  
40x40

Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Hedy's Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing the Holocaust in Books

Jun 16, 2018  
Hedy's Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing the Holocaust
Hedy's Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing the Holocaust
Michelle Bisson | 2017 | Children
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hedy's Journey by Michelle Bisson is a horrific, true story about a Hungarian Jewish girl named Hedy who had to travel through Germany during the Holocaust in search of safety. She takes a portion of the journey to America alone, as she is required to separate from her parents.

She and her family suffered through trials and tribulations on the unpredictable journey. Plans often changed, and she had no choice but to be brave. Follow along in the story to learn there destination and future.

The author, Michelle Bisson, is Hedy's daughter. She tells the story of Hedy's (Hungarian Jewish) journey to safety, from the Nazis to the US. The story is sort of passing of the baton. Someone has to continue to tell their stories, history in its worst manifestation, and I appreciated the effort of this daughter. The story is told with extreme delicacy and the designs convey this emotion. I truly appreciate that she has taken the story about her mother's experience and offered it to others so that they can retain this piece of history that is so essential to children's education. In addition, I appreciated the author mentioning that it wasn't just Jews who were persecuted.

The book also contains lots of photographs of Hedy and her family as well as a timeline of events. This book is one I believe should be integral to children's curriculums and should be in every library.
  
    Kabbalah Talk

    Kabbalah Talk

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Podcast

    Kabbalah is the body of spiritual wisdom which the Jewish people has carefully preserved and handed...