The Way Back is unlike any other book I've read. The prose has a fairy tale quality that I love and weaves Jewish folklore and traditional elements into the story. The characters journey to the Far Country and face Death, which has always been one of my all-time favorite tropes in fiction. Truly, the story is hard to describe because the description sounds mundane and this book is anything but. If you're on the fence, give it chance. It may surprise you as it did me.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book just wasn't for me. The writing style for some reason just seemed off to me and it was hard for me to connect with the characters as I was distracted by the writing style. I won't be posting a starred review because I didn't finish this book and I also feel like the story this book follows sounds absolutely breathtaking, it just wasn't the one for me.

The Way Back is inspired by Jewish folklore, and according to the acknowledgements in the back, my current favorite musical, Hadestown, Readers will find plenty of both in this story, which revolves around two young characters as they attempt to run from Death. They travel through the Far Country, which is an underworld-like setting that is plagued by scheming demons and twists and turns. There were times when this book reminded me of The Book Thief, but it didn't feel grounded in the same way, with a narrative that didn't seem to have a clear purpose. I had a hard time connecting with the two protagonists, Yehuda Leib and Bluma, although I think that their determination and growth throughout the story will feel connected to these two young people adrift.
While I am looking for something more contemporary, I think that readers that enjoy historical settings (ala Fiddler on the Roof, maybe?) and folklore will appreciate the lovely prose created by Savit in this story.

The comparisons to Gaiman, Pullman, and others in the book's blurb are more than earned - this novel is a fantastically spooky middle-grade adventure! The rare and charming framing device of Jewish folklore was engaging and enjoyable, and the care with which the author lovingly interrogates these tropes. Amidst a sea of incredibly average middle-grade fantasy, this book is an utter treat and not something to be missed by fans of middle-grade fantasy.

Set in the tiny fictional Jewish shtetl of Tupik, this fantastical tale pits a young boy, Yehuda Leib, and a girl named Bluma, against Death itself, encountering a bunch of other demons and spirits on their journey to the Far Country to reclaim what they have lost. The two children have plenty of grit and determination, however, and let nothing stand in their way. The story is quite reminiscent of those by Neil Gaiman, but with a Jewish setting and tales from Jewish folklore to make it distinctive.

Savit’s writing is excellent, and fans of his previous work won’t be disappointed with this book.

I really enjoyed this. It had that Neil Gaiman fairy tale feel to it. It has a lot of Russian Jewish tradition/folklore in it. It's hard to summarize just what it's about, except to say it's the story of two young people facing death together. Of course, that is an actual facing of Death, in person, in his own realm. Yehuda Leib and Bluma both travel to the Far Country (the other side, if you will), meet and deal with demons, return to the land of the living, then return to the Far Country to face Death. My description doesn't really do it justice, but it was quite well written and the story kept you going. I will definitely be purchasing this for my library.

This was an intriguing read! The world building, writing style and characters were magnets that kept me reading … and thus late to work. But the story was completely worth it. I look forward to more from this author. Perfect for fans of Slavic and Jewish lore.