I loved this book. This is definitely my favorite of Aden’s books so far. The blend of historical and fantasy is so perfectly done and I’m always left wanting to learn more about the time period or inspiration behind the story.

This book was pretty dark. It’s about an incredibly dark time in history and the story definitely reflects that. However, it has a powerful message about finding yourself and becoming the person you want to be. The metaphors in this book are truly beautiful and I already was a lifelong Aden fan but his book made me an even bigger fan.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved everything about this! It was so fast paced and entertaining once I picked it up I could not stop reading it!

My students will LOVE how this one creeps up on you just until you're about to feel like you're safe!

**Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.***

This was absolutely stunning! What a beautiful, original story set in WWII! I loved every second. Never have I read anything so lyrical or imaginative. Highly recommended and TEN STARS!

The golem, a clay giant created by rabbinic magic to protect persecuted Jews, is a fruitful device for exploring our fantasies of superhero violence and its limitations. Polydoros gives the legend a new twist by making his golem a sensitive teenage girl. Vera, named for the word "truth" on her forehead that brings her to life, resembles her creator's murdered daughter and retains some of her memories, yet (like any teenager) yearns to individuate from the role she was born to play.

Golem magic is considered unholy because the Frankenstein-like creatures end up turning against humanity. Vera certainly feels that temptation, after seeing how humans squander life's gifts through war and prejudice. In Polydoros' telling, the golem legend also becomes an occasion to choose between two paths for confronting difference. Do we shun the Other as a monster, or learn to appreciate the mystery?

Probably because this is YA, I found it lacking in complexity compared to Polydoros' incredible first book, "The City Beautiful". The pacing in the middle was slow. I find it unsettling how contemporary YA is fine with graphic violence (of which there is a lot in this book) but sex is taboo. This double standard says something about American ideas of "innocence".

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Haunting, visceral, trauma of war and persecution. Dark and exciting. Pacing was top notch. Devoured every page. Thank you Net Galley for ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Filled with fascinating historical details and Jewish mysticism, this book had me enthralled. The tagline of Frankenstein meets Inglorious Basterds doesn't fully do justice to its beauty and incredible prose.

This was intense--even more so than I expected given the setting. A brutal and adventurous WWII story about a golem searching for her maker while wrestling with what it means to be human. I would have liked the plot to feel a bit more cohesive rather than random--it felt like Vera's journey and choices were largely by coincidence--but overall this was a solid read with some fantastic action scenes and a great ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

Set in Lithuania during 1943, this captivating tale introduces us to Vera, an extraordinary being known as a golem. Crafted by her creator, Ezra, in the likeness of his beloved daughter, Chaya, who fell victim to the atrocities of the Nazis, Vera is imbued with the ancient Jewish magic of kishuf. Her sole purpose is clear: to seek vengeance for Chaya's death and safeguard her people. Yet, when Ezra mysteriously disappears, Vera finds herself thrust into a dangerous world, venturing straight into enemy territory. Along her treacherous journey, she encounters a young boy who holds a connection to Chaya's memories, and in doing so, Vera begins to unravel the true meaning of her existence and the profound significance of being alive.

Narrated in first person from Vera's perspective, the reader is granted a deeply immersive and poignant experience. Witnessing the world through Vera's senses elicits a profound emotional response. Initially relying on the memories imprinted within her from Chaya's life, Vera gradually forges her own identity. It becomes impossible not to root for her as she embarks on her noble quest for justice. The writing itself is exquisite, filled with passages that resonate long after the book is closed.

While it may be acknowledged that the middle chapters possess an episodic quality, with Vera traversing various locations, encountering new characters, and then moving on, these seemingly self-contained episodes serve a greater purpose in the overall narrative. They grant Vera the invaluable opportunity to learn and comprehend the intricacies of humanity, from individual experiences to the strength found within communities. Each encounter offers her insight into the power of even the smallest acts of defiance, serving as beacons of hope in the face of darkness. Vera's journey is propelled by unwavering momentum, ensuring that there is never a dull moment.

The relationship between Vera and Akiva, delicately portrayed, ensnared my emotions and held me captive throughout. It is best left unsaid, as the words on the page capture the depth of their connection with unparalleled tenderness.

At its core, WRATH BECOMES HER delves into the harrowing realities of war, evil, and despair. Yet, it is also a tale that celebrates the strength of communities, the endurance of love, and the profound essence of humanity. It highlights how the mere act of survival can be a defiant rebellion in itself.

Vera is a golem created for vengeance. She is a Nazi killer with the sole purpose to kill those responsible for the death of her creators daughter. Vera was made to be a violent creation, but gets flashes of human life.

Truly unlike anything I’ve ever read. I loved this unique tale and the horrors that come with it. Vera gives the story a very interesting perspective. World War II fantasy is a very specific genre, but it was pulled off nicely.

The writing style is beautiful and I liked how the complex concepts were described without information dumping.
While the plot was quick, I wish it had a bit more direction throughout.

Perfect for fans of Girls Made of Snow and Glass and WWII novels with a twist.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

4 stars

What an incredible book on Golems. I really enjoyed this book for the character development and rich backstory. The fantasy elements were spot on. The story was captivating, rich, bold, flawed, and most of unique. I would definitely read more of this author's work in the future.

Great story, excellent emotions, and absolutely delivered in every way possible on the description. (To be completely honest, I only read up to "Frankenstein meet Inglorious Basterds" before requesting this ARC.) This story hit me in both my heart and my gut, and following along as Vera navigates the world she's been brought into--a world of war, mistrust, and persecution--was absolutely gripping.

This was hard to read at times due to the brutality of World War II, but I really enjoyed the incorporation of Jewish folklore and culture.

The cover is what really brought me to this book and I was not disappointed! A great story with even better writing. Will definitely be following this author for more releases

In 1943, there is little left of the Lithuanian countryside to suggest civilization. The country has been torn apart by Soviets, Germans, and even its own people. Always at the bottom of the totem pole though are the Jewish residents of Vilna and its surrounding countryside. But Ezra has had enough. After putting his life on the line for his country during WWI and now having lost his daughter in WWII he has created a golem. The golem's of Jewish folklore are creatures brought to life to aid Jewish communities in peril, but Ezra has imbued his golem, Vera, with Kishuf (black magic) and partial remains of his dead daughter Chaya. Vera has been made to exact vengeance and once alive she feels little, but the drive to use her strength to destroy, that is until she meets Akiva, a boy from Chaya's memories that pushes her to consider other possibilities. In a world full of death and destruction, is she allowed to forge a path of her own?

This is a unique and fascinating twist on a subject that has plethora of novels to choose from. Here, Aden Polydoros has created a Jewish heroine unlike any we have seen before. There is an inherent horror to Vera's being with the mix of the golem from Jewish folklore and Frankenstein-ian scifi, but as you follow her through the war ravaged Lithuanian landscape, readers are forced to ask what really makes a monster? I loved the integration of Hebrew and Jewish customs throughout this novel and how various characters clung to or distanced themselves from religion, community, and themselves in-order to simply survive. I had some mixed feelings about the end that I won't divulge for the sake of spoilers (reason for 4 instead of 5 stars), but think this is a worthy book for reading none the less.

I received an advance copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Inkyard Press. This is a hard review. I struggled with my feelings for this book. I wanted to enjoy it, truly. I feel like the author makes an excellent pitch in the opening notes. The concept is sort of a modern Frankenstein, but with Jewish protags and a WWII setting in Lithuania. All of these disparate elements seem like a win, but I found it difficult to get into and I had a hard time relating to the characters. It seemed both incredibly long to me but also not long enough to resolve many of the questions I had.

Vera is a golem created by Ezra to avenge the death of his beloved daughter, Chaya. Vera is not a typical golem - she is made with forbidden dark magic and imbued with a soul - she has several of Chaya's body parts and memories of all the resources used to create her. Ezra wants vengeance for Chaya's death. Vera understands her role, but Ezra is captured before she can come to full terms with her creation and who/what she is. She sets off to rescue her creator, meeting a partisan fighter/ Chaya's former love, Akiva, along the way. On her mission, she witnesses unspeakable horror and grief among the Jewish people and questions what it means to be human and whether human life is actually worth protecting.

****************SPOILERS BELOW****************************

Here are some of the reasons I had a problem with this text.

-Ezra creates Vera, but he loathes his creation and is so cruel to her and imbues an automatic self-hatred simply for existing in Vera. The author uses this as a jumping point for Vera to explore who she is, but I feel like giving a female main character (especially one who is supposed to be a doom machine) this sort of mental trauma is weak character development.

-We have no idea how Ezra is discovered. The farmer who was concealing him is murdered by the same auxiliary police who took Ezra, so he obviously didn't turn him in. If it was a random search that uncovered him, surely they would have also found Vera in the same search. The thing that sucks is Chaya's memories show us that the Nazis looking for Ezra (for info on creating golems) but his capture is a mystery.

-When Vera finally finds Ezra, he commands her to kill him to free herself. But like, that's it. There's so little character development for Ezra that he's like a tertiary character at the most.

-Vera's mixed identity as Chaya/Vera makes her automatically unrelatable. She constantly struggles with whether or not her feelings are her own or if they are some memory of Chaya's. Conceptually it is interesting, but I think only people with past life regression could relate to it.

-Akiva is a little too trope-y for me. He's a brooding love interest with a dark past. Then he dies - which was definitely going to happen, one way or another - and Vera uses him to create a golem like herself. After all of the self-hatred and exploration of whether or not she actually wanted to continue existing (and destroying the Nazi golems-in-progress) it just seemed...unlikely.

-The Nazi golem. It felt like that entire subplot was only there to add action. Since it doesn't seem that the soul they used to create him was a human one, his cruelty and aggression don't really line up with the overall message that humans are the true monsters.

-Vera's final choice to protect the family camp as opposed to going out and kill Nazis was supposed to be her big free-will decision. She made it because she basically says that it doesn't matter how many people she kills, there will always be more to replace them. So she would rather protect the people she cares for so she actually makes a difference. It was a little anti-climatic tbh. I wanted her to carve a swathe through the Nazis (hell, and the Russians too since it's not like they weren't conducting pogroms for centuries.) I don't know a lot about Jewish folklore, but I thought golems were actually designed to protect rather than avenge. Please correct me if I am wrong.



Ultimately, I feel like the characters are not well-rounded and the philosophical debate is trite.

Solid 3.5 stars.

This is a YA historical fantasy set in Lithuania during WW2, which is not a setting or premise I have seen in YA fiction before. While suitable for the target audience, this book definitely skews quite dark, but I do believe that the heaviness of the tone and plot are entirely justified given the subject matter. I appreciated that this book didn't shy away from depicting the brutality of the Nazis and their sympathizers, and also did not hesitate to brutalize them right back (it is ALWAYS morally acceptable to take down fascists through whatever means necessary).

I did find the plot to lose its footing once in a while, and while the main character's story and arc were interesting enough, many of the side characters blurred together or felt flat and underexplored. Oddly enough, this book felt a little short—I think some of these areas could have been fleshed out a bit more to make it feel a little sparse. However, it was overall a very solid read and all of this boils down to personal preference.

I really did enjoy this book! Vera and Akiva are beautiful and flawed characters. I think Vera was the most human of all. The main concept of this book was very entertaining and was able to draw me in very well! Ezra was a character I love but hate all at the same time. He definitely gave father vibes, but then again he was distant from it all. I really enjoyed the story.
I wish we got a bit more drama and prolonging the ending, but overall, I would recommend this to my friends and family and fellow YA lovers!

4/5 stars for friendship, belonging, and acceptance!

**Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy! I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I liked the over all premise of the book. The cover was beautiful.

I thought characters didn’t grow emotionally as the pages progress. I would hope that with the drama and the drama of the plot it would.

This was a beautiful interpretation BUT I think it would be beneficial to only have Jewish reviewers preread this going forward. There were a lot of questions I had surrounding culture and I did need to ask my friend in order to understand some context. I love the weaving of myth and horror together.