Golemcrafters: a magical tradition steeped in Jewish folklore, creating powerful golems from clay

Balancing struggles of fitting in at school with an adventure in another magical world
Explores heritage of Japanese and Jewish background.

Loved seeing a children's story with these elements!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

I guess it's been a minute since I read a middle grade book because it took me a minute to get used to the quick acceptance of the supernatural and unusual. But don't let the middle grade genre fool you. There are some brutal moments in this book.

Faye and her brother, Shiloh, are surprised at a gift for Shiloh's bar mitzvah - a box of clay. They are even more surprised when their father's estranged father shows up. He is not happy that his grandchildren have not been brought up in the old ways, the traditions passed down for generations. Their mother convinces their father, however, to let them go with their grandfather because (how fortuitous) it is school break.

While their grandfather tries to teach them golemcraft and life lessons, Faye and Shiloh find that they are in another place, antoher time. Faye is determined to help her friends that they meet there, and once she finds that she is a powerful golemcrafter, her plan is to use that in the other place. But things don't go quite as planned, and Faye ends up not even wanting her talent.

Can her grandfather, her brother, and their ancestors convince her that she needs to use her talent, not shy away from it?

This ended up being quite the intense book, and while the character- and world-building may be somewhat lacking, I doubt many people don't know the history that led to this point in time, so it's not like it creates confusion. The real gem is the sibling relationship between Faye and Shiloh, which I thought was adequately and compassionately portrayed, from their rivalries to their protectiveness.

I do wish that there had been more closure regarding the father and the grandfather, and I wish that the golem(s) had played a bigger part, but it was a beautiful story nonetheless.