Review by Evelyn Kenwood
Orca Currents, 2022
160 pg, Paperback, $10.95 CAD, 9781459834248
Middle Grade, ages 9-12
Contemporary, HiLo
Jewish
How their trying to spread fear and hate didn’t just hurt the Jewish communities but all communities. Because if one part of the community wasn’t safe, no one was safe. It reminded me of her Saturday speeches.
As she spoke, I reached for Dad’s hand. He squeezed mine back. We watched, listening to the rabbi’s words that were strong and powerful. She was channeling her Queen Esther.
I felt myself stand taller. I channeled my Queen Esther.
Joanne Levy’s Book of Elsie is heart-warming, fun and unapologetically Jewish from the start. Elsie is a Jewish pre-teen who is focused on one thing: her Purim costume of Queen Esther. One day when she goes to temple, however, Elsie is greeted with the bad news: the synagogue is closing, and the Purim party is canceled for financial reasons. Modeling herself after Queen Esther, Elsie takes it upon herself to save the party. The central theme of this novel is female empowerment through a connection with community and her culture.
First, she suggests that they open the party up to everyone else in the community— including Elsie’s best friend Grace. But despite her excitement, one of Elsie’s dads is anxious about this, remembering his own past experiences of antisemitism. But Elsie still meets with the Rabbi and continues to plan the party, finally getting her costume from her Bubbe. Elsie and Grace are beyond excited as they begin to sell their tickets, but are forced to confront discriminatory comments from a neighbour. Tensions increase as Elsie looks at her dad’s papers and realizes that the financial state of the synagogue is even worse than she expected.
As excitement for the party increases, the tensions worsen. The synagogue and prayer books are vandalized. Elsie is once again face to face with bigotry as she tries to balance the synagogue’s financial strain, acceptance in the wider community, and navigating powerful conversations with her dad. In the end, there is no Purim party, and instead they gather as a family to watch her father star in a production of Fiddler on the Roof.
Levy is able to tackle the type of tough conversation that many families have to have, in regard to discrimination that they may face. She confronts antisemitism without watering down the issue, while still allowing it to be palatable for younger readers.
The Book of Elsie is a powerful story about friendship, family and what it means to be Jewish in a way that can be shared with Jewish and non-Jewish kids alike.
Evelyn is a current third year psychology and creative writing student at UBC from New Orleans, Louisiana. They love reading, writing, and knitting. They love to associate songs (mainly Taylor Swift) with their current reads.
YOUNG ADULTING 