Golemcrafters, on its face, is a fantasy novel about a pair of siblings using an inherited power to create golems - animated clay beings intended to provide protection for their Jewish makers - and it is that. But it is so much more than that as well. This is a novel containing a significant amount of Judaic history, well-researched and footnoted at the end of the book. It draws on the history of the Jewish people, infusing the story with a reverence for ancestors and history that is a significant part of being Jewish.

Golemcrafters is told from the perspective of 11 year-old Faye, the daughter of a Jewish father and Japanese mother, who has been raised to be Jewish. Shortly after Faye's brother, Shiloh, celebrates his bar mitzvah (a coming-of-age ceremony that occurs at 13 - sometime 12 for girls), their father's father, whom they have rarely met, appears at their door to take them to his home to learn how to craft golems. But so much more happens than just creating automata out of clay; the siblings share a journey that teaches them far more about their family history, and the history of the Jewish people in general, than they have ever known. This is a beautifully written novel that would be ideal for middle and high school readers, and yet still be appropriate for adults as well - it would actually be a wonderful novel to read as a family or to use as a read-aloud for discussion and additional reading. There is reference to multiple violent events, as were common in the history of the Jewish people, which is part of what would make it a great novel to share and discuss; I know that there are those who will say it is too violent for children, but it is far less violent than the newsreels of the Holocaust I was shown in religious school in 6th grade. Faye's thoughts as she experiences these events will help readers process those events, as she and her brother struggle to interpret them and apply history to their own lives, in which they, too, experience antisemitism.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I requested this on the advice of a ten-year-old, and I think it's perfect for this age group. A great story about the power of heritage, with a lot of interesting historical references. I would've liked to hear more about the Ainu, since I think the parallel between Ainu and Jewish ancestry is fascinating. I hope this becomes an instant classic for schools teaching multicultural stories.

"The people is plucked grass, can plucked grass grow again? "

What if you're in middle school and you're continuously and overtly bullied for your biracial heritage, mostly because one half of you is Jew. But one day your estranged Grandfather comes around and you find yourself in a fantasy world equivalent to Narnia, where for the first time you feel like you can defeat your opponents. But can you? Is it truly fantasy?
This is a story of two siblings, Faye and Shiloh who're bullied for simply who they are and once they discover who they are, what Golemcraft is and what they're capable of, initially they feel invincible but Faye, the protagonist of our story becomes very dubious if she's truly supposed to use her powers. The reason why Shiloh till the end wanted Faye to use her powers to defend them is because he was bullied badly in school and the bullies went as far as to give him a bruised jaw and Faye is called Anne Frank by classmates because she's jewish.
While the first half of the plot plays wonderfully with the fantastical elements of Golemcraft and mysterious lands, brings in the shared and made up language of the siblings which plays a pivotal role throughout. We learn how they use Golem clay to craft the Golem, it's like they pour the memories of their ancestors inside the clay to give it life. The second half of the story though strings in the bits and pieces of the fantastical elements with history, pain and resilience of the Jews.
I love the fact that the author chose two children as protagonists who're trying to understand their identity as jews and they understand in each step how discriminated they're. Faye says that jewish kids don't get to have Narnia instead, "The only stories we're allowed are the ones where we die at the end. " This one explores the suffering and massive responsibility that lands on a literal child throughout in the "chosen one" Trope. We usually experience those children to be brave without almost any hesitation but here Faye struggles a lot with the fact that she was given this strength and magic which was spiralling out of her control and people were expecting her to save the world.
Initially I had mentioned how the protagonist is biracial, well the other half of her is Ainu, a community of indigenous people from the Hokkaido region of Japan. Faye had no clue how even they were discriminated against, their language and lifestyle were outlawed, their land taken away by force and they were forced into Japanization of their culture and practices. It is incredible how the Jewish ancestors of the siblings encouraged them to also recognize and remember the other half of themselves, which is Ainu.

Wrapped in the shroud of fantasy, this historical read is an absolute reader's treat, which deserves to be savoured and remembered.

*Thank you Levine Querido for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

This was one of the most beautiful books I've read in ages. Emi Watanabe Cohen's eloquently leads the reader on an emotional journey, masterfully weaving together Jewish mythology with Japanese traditions. As we follow Faye and Shiloh's journey, Cohen also borrows from additional centuries-old traditions, demonstrating the shared values that serve as foundations for so many traditions.

Through these two quarreling but loving siblings, Cohen diligently teaches the value of learning, knowledge, and empathy. Her book brought me to tears on multiple occasions.

I highly recommend!

Faye stays quiet, avoiding schoolwork, peers who mock her biracial heritage, and her competitive family. Her brother Shiloh understands her, and they share a private made-up language that is Japanese written in Hebrew letters. When their grandfather teaches them golem crafting, it's something Faye is good at. Will it help her feel whole or heal the rifts within her family?

Faye is in sixth grade and Shiloh is in eighth, and their mixed heritage led to problems. The paternal half is Jewish, and the maternal half is Japanese Catholic, but it's their mother who had urged them to learn Judaism and Hebrew, over their father's objections. This sends their grandfather to them for a visit when they don't understand his gift of clay for Shiloh's bar mitzvah, and he tries to catch them up on their heritage and golem crafting. The siblings slip into realistic dreams of another time and place, where people who speak the language they made up as children are harassed, bullied, and beaten. Learning about those dreams means learning about the history of the Jewish people and her ancestors in particular.

Those with mixed heritage often feel caught between worlds. Some would feel that they aren't "enough" of one background or other, or can't understand the full nuance of a particular culture. Faye and Shiloh are still bullied at school, with outright antisemitic aggressions slipping under the radar of school administrators, and even the Asian students don't want to claim them. We see the history of antisemitism in fairy tales assumed to be harmless by most adults, and how much generational trauma it caused. Golemcrafters "call the past forward to protect us in the present," meaning it's remembering and honoring heritage and tradition. Things change over the centuries, from language or ritual or songs. Remembering them gives the children strength, and Faye in particular, because it's a connection to the past and feeling that they're not alone. Life is a miracle, and "just living" is still an incredible gift.

A pleasant moment of reading!

If we find some script facilities, I really liked the magic presented in this title, from golems. In addition to the learning of this art, we find the question of heritage, origins and difficulties that young adolescents encounter in their quest for self. The fraternal bond between Faye and Shiloh illustrates well the complexity of fraternal bonds while showing a beautiful image of them.

Some points would have deserved to be deepened, like the golems, whose presence was a little timid but also the character of the children's grandfather.

in short, a reading that I really liked and which, I hope, will be translated into French! ^^

Golemcrafters is a masterful tale that mixes Jewish heritage and history, magic and mysticism, and the real slights and fights that many Jews may face even today. Faye and Shiloh are two youngsters who must face prejudice because of their Jewish heritage but also because they are biracial. their mother is Japanese and their father an Ashkenazi Jew. Faye doesn't feel accepted by either the Jewish or the Japanese students in her school, her only friend is her older brother.
When Shiloh receives a box of clay as a belated Bar Mitzvah gift from his estranged grandfather, the two discover that they come from a long line of golem crafters. Prejudice and violence against Jew is nothing new. In Jewish lore, a golem is a giant man who is made of clay, formed for the purpose of protecting his people. The two children spend spring break with their Zayde. He teaches them that the skill has been passed on in the family "l’dor vador", from generation to generation. They spend their days leaning to work the clay and make the golems. But at night the two are transported into a strange old fashioned world where people speak the language the two of them made up when they were little, the sky changes colors and there are too many stars in the sky. People seem to know them, and the children suspect that they are in some sort of portal world. When violence erupts and they awaken, they decide that maybe like Narnia, they are meant to help save people in that realm. Cohen weaves fantasy and history together in a fast paced adventure that has lots of twists that I did not expect. The conclusion isn't a happy ending all tied up in a bow. Faith and Shiloh steel have to face the bullies at school after vacation. But they know that there is true magic in family and memories.

This book is classified as middle grade, the protagonists are eleven and thirteen. But there is a lot of violence in the book so it is may not be appropriate for sensitive youngsters. But this book will entertain older children and adults and leave them with a lot to think about. This book provides a mirror for young Jewish kids who might wish that they had a golem of their own, and a window that allows other readers a view of the Jewish heritage. I received an electronic readers copy from the publisher. However the opinion in this review are entirely my own. I loved this book and hope that it becomes a classic that will be read for many years.

Emi Watanabe Cohen's books should be required reading in schools. I'm in my late 30s, and there were numerous instances of my reading a passage and just... sitting with it. Faye's struggle to accept how things are and may always be, coming to terms with the self-imposed victim blaming so many of us struggle with, especially those in more assimilated communities, the conversations she has with Shiloh about fighting back, these are arguments our people have been having for literally millennia. The entire scene at the amusement park gave me chills. The Other Realm scenes were reminiscent of an older classic of Jewish children's fiction, The Devil's Arithmetic, and I think a comparison to Jane Yolen is warranted and deserved.

Faye and her brother Shiloh both have challenges at school. They are biracial and Jewish, and experience varying levels of bigotry and bullying from classmates for their dual identities.

They rely on each other for support, and because Faye prefers to recede from others' notice, Shiloh makes up for this by having a bigger personality. They also have their own jokes, and private language, which they call Effalese, which is Japanese (from their mother) written in Hebrew (from their father).

Their Jewish grandfather, Judah Meisel, sends Shiloh a bar mitzvah gift of a box of clay, which makes their father angry, but no explanations are forthcoming. Which is ok, because their grandfather shows up, and eventually convinces Faye's and Shiloh's parents to let him take them home with him to New York City, where he can teach them about the family secret of golem crafting.

The kids learn to work the clay and create a golem, but more importantly, each night they experience disturbing, sometimes terrifying, dreams/experiences of earlier times where they meet people who are hated, attacked and killed. The common thread is virulent anti-semitism and racism. These scenes were incredibly dark, but necessary, for the siblings, and for the readers, to understand their family's past and their experiences of pogroms and forced flight from country to country.

This was a deeply moving story of generations of a family living through much pain and violence, but not just surviving, but of finding love and hope, too, even while the youngest, current generation again is subject to bigotry and violence.

Faye makes a wonderful narrator, as she learns not only of her family's past, and also about the wonder and power of golemcrafting. Her reactions, thoughts and feelings are also a way for younger readers to process the effects of bigotry she and her brother experience daily for their dual heritage, but also the violence experienced by their ancestors. Author Emi Watanabe Cohen doesn't hide the brutality these ancestors have suffered, but she uses it carefully.

I liked the openness of the ending; nothing is fully resolved, but that's life. There is no magic solution to their daily bullying, she and her brother have learned vital facts about their families and themselves, which have a lasting impact on them.

I really enjoyed this book and audiobook, as I experienced both versions of this story. The author does a wonderful job inhabiting Faye, Shiloh and their grandfather. The humour, fear, devastation, love and curiosity come through beautifully, and the author's words leave one with a lot to think about, and a wish for more kindness in the world.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Levine Querido and RBMedia for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

I was provided a audio and ebook ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was a powerful look into both Jewish and Japanese heritage and the importance of connecting with ones ancestors and history. The author uses family connection as well as adventure and a mix of magic and fantasy to take a brother and sister on a fantastic journey onto a world they never knew existed. With the help of their estranged grandfather and the stories of generations past they unlock their own strength and power to confront the very real issues they face in the real world today.

This is marketed as middle grade, however it has some very heavy topics and some very violent scenes. Topics include racism, anti-Semitism, bullying, victim shaming, and it gets graphic at times. If you have a sensitive reader, I would recommend reading this first or reading it with them or waiting until they are ready to tackle these topics and discuss in a healthy way. I'm neither Jewish or Japanese, and I was left feeling very emotional about the brutal history captured within the pages of this book. This isn't a very long book, but it was captivating and hard to put down. It is certainly a worthy read and I'm so happy I picked it up!

If a book has golems, I'll read it. But when I picked up Golemcrafters by Emi Watanabe Cohen, I had no idea that I had just dived into an incredible 5 star read! Wow, what a ride. This Middle Grade novel introduces you to the Meisel siblings, who are half Jewish and half Japanese American. It starts off on the familiar teenage grounds of school and family life. We get to know Shiloh and Faye and their sibling dynamic, I have to say their relationship was portrayed beautifully. One of my favorite things about the book is the way it centers and explores the brother/sister relationship. The story is told from Faye's POV and I loved, loved, LOVED her narrative voice and character arc.

The mundane quickly turns into an exciting adventure, a page-turning fantasy tale. But there is a veil of mystery for much of the book. Shiloh and Faye end up somewhere unexpected and neither they nor the reader fully grasp their circumstances. What's clear is that bad things are happening to innocent people and Faye and Shiloh want to help. Let me tell you, when the reality of the fantasy component was revealed, it HIT ME HARD. I want to praise it for the masterful storytelling device that it was - it propelled the story forward and gave it powerful meaning without resorting to info dumps or slowing down the incredible pace. But I fear if I get more specific than that, I'll say too much. And for me, much of the genius of its impact resulted from the fact that I didn't see it coming.

The novel is about family and identity, bullying and hate and how to stand up to it. At one point Faye asks herself, "What's wrong with us?...What did we do to deserve all this violence?...Were we too vocal? Too proud? Did we alienate people? Did we make them think we were a threat? There must be something I can do differently this time." and my heart broke for the young girl whose innocence was shattered, who had witnessed so much hate simply for existing. And later I sobbed ugly tears when one of Faye's relatives made sure that she understood there was nothing wrong with her, that she was nothing short of a miracle.

Because the novel addresses racism and antisemitism, at times it can be INTENSE. I'd recommend this for older Middle Grade readers. But it's a MUST READ. I laughed, I cried.

I am so excited for this book to be out and find young readers! I absolutely loved how happily Jewish the story was, embracing Jewish mysticism, folklore, and family culture. And even better that it featured mixed race Jews and showed Faye and Shiloh being firmly part of both aspects of their background — along with the challenges of their identity. It was a beautifully fantastical story that was rooted in reality, with so much heart. Faye’s narrative was a fun perspective to read through and felt very true to an eleven year olds voice.

This is marketed as middle grade, which it is, but it contains multiple scenes of violence and racism. I would recommend it for ages 14 and up. It’s heavy. The themes of anti-semitism and racism are ever-present, and the middle school siblings relive massacres, pogroms and forced relocations in their dreams. Although hard to read, this is necessary reading to stamp out racism when we see it. It makes me so sad how covert and overt bullying based on ethnicity is still going on in schools today. We need to teach our kids to be kind. It starts at home.

Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

(4.25 stars)
I’m not quite sure how to write about this fascinating book. I don’t read a ton of middle grade books but this one called to me, with its golem theme. And I loved it. While it is meant for a middle grade audience (8-12?), it’s a bit intense, so I would say it probably would be better for the older portion of “middle grade” readers.

Faye and Shiloh (11 and 13 years old) have a Japanese mother and an Ashkenazi Jewish father (much like the author herself). We never meet them in the story, but they are there in the background. They live in Boston and are estranged from their paternal grandfather so they mostly know their mother’s family members. However, they seem to have been given a solid Jewish education. Both of them have been bullied at school for their mixed heritage as well as their Jewishness. In fact, the book opens with Shiloh coming home with a black eye. A final Bar Mitzvah gift arrives at the house and it’s a big carton of clay, sent by their Jewish grandfather in New York City. Their parents decide it’s time for the kids to get to know their Zeyde, so they are sent off to NYC for spring break, with the big box of clay. Faye narrates the story.

It turns out that Faye and Shiloh are descended from golemcrafters. Note: For anyone who doesn’t know what a golem is - it’s an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. (Thank you to Wikipedia for this brief definition.) Its purpose is to protect the Jewish people. It doesn’t have free will but will do whatever its master/mistress tells it to do. (A mixed blessing, as you may imagine.)

Their grandfather tries to teach them about golemcraft, and shows them how to model the clay. He also teaches them life lessons - the stories he told at the fairytale-themed amusement park disturbed me, even while I could see the truth in what he was explaining to the kids. Faye and Shiloh dream in their sleep and find themselves in other places and times; gradually they understand that they are not in a fantasy world but are witnessing some very traumatic moments in the history of the Jewish people.

I don’t want to say much more but this book will have me thinking about it for quite some time. The author has provided an extensive bibliography at the end, which shows how much research she did. I just may try to find some of those sources to read more about some aspects brought to life in this story.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient, and allowed me to continue with the story even when I could not sit down and read - or when I could not listen. The audiobook was well-narrated by the author herself.

Thank you to Levine Querido and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and to Recorded Books for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of the audiobook version. All opinions are my own.

I really do appreciate the effort that went into this middle-grade novel about antisemitism and anti-Asian hate. Author Cohen weaves together facets of Japanese and Jewish culture in a way that is very organic and believable, giving readers a handful of decent characters and a narrative centered around justice and survivorship. That said, the story--which has myriad plot holes and is missing context in some places where it seems necessary-- is rough and uneven. The message is clear, but the overall presentation could be improved.

Eleven-year-old Faye doesn't fit in. Not with her Asian classmates (too Jewish for that), not with her Jewish classmates (too Asian), not with the others (they're jerks). To make matters worse, her older brother is dealing with explicitly anti-Semitic bullying, and they're not sure what to do about it. Then, for Shiloh's bar mitzvah, their estranged grandfather sends...a lump of clay. When he shows up, he tells them that the family is a long line of golem-crafters, and the time has come for them to learn the craft as well. In New York, the siblings learn about family history, Jewish history, and the art of golems, all while being transported to an alternate world in their dreams where people are in danger, and if they can learn golemcraft in time, they might just be able to save those people.
I really loved this one. Faye is an excellent narrator, snarky and silly and adorable. Shiloh and their grandfather are equally delightful characters. The author does a really good job of handling sensitive, horrifying history in a way that is easily accessible, even to a middle schooler. This book was crafted with so much love you can feel it in the pages.

Absolutely gorgeous, just like its cover. Emi Watanabe Cohen writes with such beautiful, earnest confidence; her characters feel utterly, utterly real. This is a love letter to storytelling and identity, about growing and learning and magic (despite all the violence of the world) and gah ... no words do this justice. Just read it. Trust me.

This is an incredibly powerful story! Faye and her brother Shiloh learn they are golemcrafters, a power inherited from their ancestors. They spend a week with their formerly estranged grandfather to learn more about their power. When Faye learns she has more power than her brother, she grapples with the responsibility and whether being a golemcrafter can make a difference, particularly in a time of increased antisemitism, which is something both she and Shiloh experience at school. I absolutely loved the parts of the story set in the present-day, and some of the scenes were hilarious. Some of the fantasy/time-travel scenes didn't hold my attention as much and they were quite intense, especially for a middle-grade reader. I think there's some contextualizing that an adult would need to provide for a young reader. Still, there is so much in this book that I related to, and I have no doubt that younger readers will as well. I am so glad this book exists, and I particularly loved that Faye's golemcrafting powers allowed her to connect with her Japanese ancestors as well as her Jewish ones. 4.5 stars.

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

Well, it's different...heavy reading for kids the age of the main characters (11-13), but unusual. Yona and Shiloh are half Jewish and half Japanese Americans who dream in a privately invented language they call Effalese, which mixes Japanese and Yiddish words. As they enter their teens they learn that their Jewish grandfather has a magical talent he wants to share with them. They learn to shape clay figures that Yona and the grandfather are able to animate and use to do small tasks. In Jewish legend only a few adepts were even imagined to have made a golem do very much. In this story we learn that that's because golems run on ancestral memories. Soon the grandfather's kitchen is crowded with ancestral presences--"Not! Ghosts!" one of them insists--sharing their memories with the family. And at first the kids thought they'd been drawn into a portal fantasy story where they'd be able to rescue others from the danger they're facing, but they soon learn that their dreams are only dragging them through tragic memories. Golems were meant to help protect Jews from religious persecution. The ancestors who share their memories with Yona and Shiloh remember horrible things.

Some young adult stories are easier to recommend to adults than to teenagers. This is one. It's an original and well written fantasy adventure, but not at all what Oz and Narnia readers are looking for.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

When I was a child, I was very much an 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events' kid and not a 'Harry Potter' kid. It was only as I got older that I understood the reasons why. - the inherent Jewishness of the former, and the dearth of such in the latter. 'Golemcrafters' is an inherently Jewish book, and those kinds of books are vital to identity. Any book that gives us a sense of who we are, particularly one situated in a level of trauma, is a marvellously wonderful thing, and when it does not shy away from our cultural and historical context and trauma, it is even more valuable.

Topics like being called 'Anne Frank' in school and the feeling, particularly as a multicultural Jew, of never feeling 'Jewish' enough were points that resonated soundly with me. As an ethnic Jew, it can be so hard to feel connected to your identity, particularly when you're not raised with religion, so this was wonderful to see represented in a book. The storyline is strong too, with a sense of realism woven into fantasy, and a strong mythological base. The book is also impeccably researched and evidenced at the end, which was fantastic to see.

The main characters are well-developed as people, although I do wish we knew a little bit more about them from their surrounding previous context. The ending is not quite as neat as I would have liked, but it makes sense contextually - it would be fabulous to see this book continued in some fashion in the future.

This book is aimed at a YA audience, and while some may be uncomfortable with their children hearing about trauma and the kinds of things that have happened through history, that knowledge is also integral in building empathy and understanding. I really do recommend this for the audience that it is designed for- although, as an adult, I will say reading it was delightful too.