Adara is a book that is full of tension and suspense that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. This book takes place in the middle of the 19th century B.C.E. in ancient Israel. In the beginning of the book, King Ahab of Samaria and General Naaman of Aram have been fighting on and off in a war. Ramoth-Gilead, where a jewish girl named Adara lives, is under Aramean control at the moment. Now King Ahab and General Naaman are fighting over who will control Ramoth-Gilead. During the war, Adara goes into a forbidden underground tunnel and ends up right under the war. When the light in her lamp goes out, she waits until she has a chance to rescue herself. When the battle is over, Adara sees some fire and runs out of her hiding spot to go fetch it. She doesn't pay attention to her surroundings and gets captured by a soldier from the Aramean army. Then The soldier takes her back to Aram to be sold into slavery. Lady Doronit, General Naaman's wife, bought Adara. When Adara got to the palace, Lady Doronit showed her to Raiza, the woman in charge of the slaves. Then she met her soon to be best friend Sima who helped her not get in trouble. Then after a while of Adara being a slave, General Naaman develops leprosy. Read the book to find out what happened to him. This book is special because it's an interesting way to learn about that point In time. I give this book a rating of 5 stars because it really left me hanging at some points and told the story in a really great way. For example, when Adara was waiting in the well, I was excited to know what was going to happen. Was she going to go back home,or will something bad happen to her? If you like books that have suspense, you should read this one.
Adara, by Beatrice Gormely Reviewed by Natasha L
Would you like to know what happened to Adara, the young, Jewish girl who grew up without a mother in the ninth century BCE in ancient Israel? This story is about a strong girl who was a bit too adventurous and decided to venture off, on her own, at the beginning of the war. Adara wanted to go wih a friend but as he wouldn’t go with her, she dedeided to go on by herself. In her determination, she decided to catch a glance of the battle field, despite her friend leaving her on her own, In doing so, she got herself into trouble. Adara was from Ramoth-Gilead and had grown up there with her family until the day of the battle. On the horrible day of the war, Adara, an innocent child, was taken prisoner and had to go on a long journey to where she would be a slave in the years ahead of her. She became a slave in Damascus, the city that was run by the Aramean people who had battled her Jewish home land. She was working for the general Naaman of the Aramean army’s wife. After a few years of being a slave, General Naaman had leprosy, and urgently needed to be cured. Adara, the slave, knew someone in her Jewish home town who could cure him. They both made a trip to Ramoth-Gilead, a place where Adara hadn’t been for years. While they were there, Naaman was told how to cure himself and Adara had a hard decision to make… This book should be read because it tells Adara’s personal story and teaches history at the same time. Adara had an interesting storyline and historical content. However, the way the story was written was boring and didn’t make me want to carry on reading the book. For these reasons, I give the book Adara three stars!
Adara, by Beatrice Gorlmey
Reviewed by Sophia D.
A Tanakh story out of JS class? Impossible!
This is Adara, a Jewish girl living peacefully with her landowning
family. Two armies are fighting over her city of Ramoth
Gilead, and the outcome of the war matters not to her. However, she longs to
see the battle but, being a girl, she is not allowed to watch over
the wall. Under her town lies an underground well forbidden to
her. This is the perfect opportunity to watch, so of course she
can't resist. Making her way down the steep, dark tunnel, she
drops her light and can't go back. She has no choice but to exit
the well hoping that she can pick up a soldier's torch. Meanwhile,
the Aramean army has just declared victory over the Israeli army, and, thinking she is
an enemy soldier's daughter, they capture her.
When she gets to Aram, she is sold to a slave dealer;
almost immediately, the wife of General Naaman, the mighty
commander of the Aramean army, takes an interest in Adara and
buys her. Adara tells the highwomen of the household stories
while they work. One of these stories is about a holy man: Elisha.
When the general gets sick, his wife remembers the story and
convinces the general to seek out Elisha. Adara is allowed to
come. Will the holy man meet with the general? And, if so, will
Adara convince the general to take the holy man's advice?
This book is special because it takes a Tanakh story and
retells it from Adara's perspective. It adds much to the Tanakh
story, while still holding our interest. In comparison to top literature
like Jane Austen's Emma, I give this book 4/5 stars, because it is
a great book that held my interest and helped me to explore new
aspects of Adara's story for even the fiftieth time reading it for this
review.
Golden Bull, by Marjorie Cowley
Reviewed by Noah B.
Imagine your parents have to send you away because there is no food to eat. Jomar, his younger sister Zafa and their parents are living on their farm and there is suddenly a major drought. Their family has to send Jomar and Zafa away. As they started their long journey to Ur Jomar and Zafa were captured by a Temple Officer named Malak. One night as Malak's men were playing a game a slave created a distraction so Jomar and Zafa could escape. A couple of days after the escape they reached the gate of Ur. They had to prove that they were going to be where Jomar was to be apprenticed useful to the city of Ur. When they arrived at the goldsmith's house the goldsmith and his wife were not expecting Zafa, so they made a deal that Zafa could stay for only one night. A theft happened at the goldsmith's and they thought that Zafa stole a lapis bead. Malak returns and he looks for Zafa to find out if she was the criminal who stole the bead. He wanted her to take a water test that would decide if she was guilty or innocent. It is up to your imagination to decide what happens. I liked this book because it had a lot of suspense and action. Zafa had to take the water test. It creates a very dramatic ending that was totally unexpected. I, also, liked the book because when the brother and sister got to the city gate of Ur it was very suspenseful to see if they would get in or not. I was waiting in anticipation to find out what was going to happen. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was very intriguing. I would also recommend this book to kids who would enjoy historical fiction because it was realistic but also fake.
Hittite Warrior, Joanne Williamson
Reviewed by Ari M.
When Uriah Tarhund, a boy who lives in the Hittite province of Arzawa, and his father, have to go to Hattusas to give their gift to the king, they are in for an unpleasant surprise when they get back. Their village had been sacked and burned by sea people, their name for greeks, and Uriah's mother and sister are dead. Two years later, Uriah's father is beaten and killed by two sea people. His last words were to go to Canaan and find his friend Sisera. Uriah finds a caravan heading to Canaan and joins it. When he saves one of the men's life, he is invited to stay with his family in Tyre. While he is there he meets Jotham, a Hebrew. tThe people of the city decide to sacrifice a child of a noble house to Moloch, because they want to stay safe from trouble around them. Jotham, who does not approve of the sacrifice, steals the child who is to be sacrificed, three year old Jabin. He takes Uriah with him and runs to the Hebrew tribe of Naphtali. He stays there with the famous Hebrews, Barak and Deborah. He learns that they plan to attack the great army of Sisera, the man his father wanted him to go to. Uriah is in a very hard situation. Should he obey his father and join Sisera, or should he stay with his new friends among the hebrews. I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5 because it is an outstanding book full of action, but it had a very difficult plot to follow. I recommend this book to anyone who is a strong reader and likes a lot of action.
Masada, the Last Fortress by Gloria D. Mikloitz
Reviewed by Isaac Becker
Masada, the Last Fortress is a great book for people who love history and fighting. The story of Masada is literally the story of Masada, from both points of view, the Zealots (rebel Jews) and the Romans. The story takes place in 72 C.E, after the destruction of the second temple. It is about a Zealot warrior named Simon, who is also the son of the Zealot leader Eleazar. It is also about a Roman commander named Flavius Silva. Both of them are narrators.
The story has a lot of war planning and even more building, and aggression. A certain person in history named Flavius Josephus, who was the only one to document the siege, and was originally a Jew, got captured by Romans, and then told the Romans almost all about the Jewish military and fighting style. This also happened in history. Also, one of the Romans, a man named Marius, actually burned two Zealots to death because they were confident in God. The story was very bloody, with lots of murder. However, this did probably actually happen. Zealots also used a lot of brutal, but extremely effective combat techniques, for example, avalanches, night fires, and at one point, pouring boiling hot water on soldiers working the battering ram.
You should read this story if you love history and want to learn more about the siege at Masada, but I would only give it a 2 star rating. The reason is, the book does not have much movement and is fairly predictable.
Sarah and after, Lynne Reid Banks Reviewed by Sarah S Sarah and After is about five very important women of the Jewish Bible, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah and Dinah. This story happens in biblical times, around 1800 BCE. It happens in Canaan, which is the holyland of the Jewish people (today, Israel). The first woman is Sarah. She was a very beautiful woman and was the wife of Avraham, who was the first person to believe in one God. Sarah was a wonder and there was nobody like her. It was a struggle for her to believe in Avraham’s God because she could not see Him. No one else was believing in him and she had no real proof that he was real. The next woman was Rebecca. She was the wife of Isaac who was Avraham’s only son with Sarah, even though God promised him he would have multiple children. Rebecca had twin sons; she named the oldest one Esau because of all his red hair and the younger one Jacob because of the way he was holding on to Esau’s ankle when he was born. She was very important to the story. She realized that Jacob, her younger son, should be the leader of Avraham’s Jewish nation instead of her older son Esau who was supposed to get the blessing. Leah and Rachel where the two wives of Jacob, Rebecca’s youngest son. Rachel was very unfruitful and only had two sons, named Joseph and Benjamin. Leah was the opposite and had many sons. But Dinah was Leah’s only daughter, which meant she was very important to Leah. The story clearly explains all of the struggles and hard times for all of these women. It was very interesting to read in detail about all of these women's difficult lives. I think you should read this book because I didn't realize before I read it how important these women are to my Jewish life and I would not be here if it weren't for their struggles. I rate this book 4 stars
Tirzah, by Lucille Travis
Reviewed by Aliah C.
Ever wonder what the Ten Plagues, and Ten Commandments would be like from the point of view of a regular person? If so then Tirzah is a great book for you! There is action, sadness, and happy times too! It all takes place in Ancient Egypt, on the way to Canaan… The main Character Tirzah hates being a slave, but she can’t get out of Egypt, until she hears about a man named Moses who is trying to free the Jewish people. Some people don’t believe that Moses was going to succeed even when they were walking on their way to Canaan. When they got to the Nile Delta was yelling, saying that Moses took them there to die. When they saw Moses pick up his staff they wondered what he was doing and suddenly the most amazing thing happened… I definitely say that everyone who is interested in sad/happy, action packed books should read Tirzah!
Victory on the Walls, by Frieda Clark Hyman
Reviewed by Micah I.
Have you ever thought about the time between the destruction of the First Temple and the Second? Did you think everything was in ruins? You were right, sort of. Bani son of Hacaliah, nephew of Nehemiah, Cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, has a dilemma. His uncle wants to move to Jerusalem for 11 years, leaving Susa, their hometown and city of the palace. He moves to Jerusalem and his uncle is charged with treason for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Will he be found guilty or not guilty? Also Nehemiah’s friend Oebuzus is the judge. Will he turn his back on his friend? I would give Victory on the Walls a four and a half star rating. It’s a historical book that gives you an insight into the lives of people two-thousand years ago. There are different plots in two different sections, which makes it better in my opinion. The storyline is great, with an amazing climax. It’s a little bit hard to understand at the beginning, but once you get going you don’t want to put it down. It’s full of surprises and cliff hangers. You don’t know who’s the enemy and who’s your friend; anyone could rise to the occasion. Important things are happening everywhere; Susa, Jerusalem, Samaria, it could happen anywhere. All this makes Victory on the Walls special and you should definitely read it.
Historical Fiction--Ancient Mesopotamia and Israel
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Adara, by Beatrice Gormley
Reviewed by Emmanuel C.Adara is a book that is full of tension and suspense that will have you sitting on
the edge of your seat. This book takes place in the middle of the 19th century B.C.E.
in ancient Israel. In the beginning of the book, King Ahab of Samaria and General
Naaman of Aram have been fighting on and off in a war. Ramoth-Gilead, where a jewish girl named Adara lives, is under Aramean control at the moment. Now King Ahab and General Naaman are fighting over who will control Ramoth-Gilead.
During the war, Adara goes into a forbidden underground tunnel and ends up right under the war. When the light in her lamp goes out, she waits until
she has a chance to rescue herself. When the battle is over, Adara sees some fire and
runs out of her hiding spot to go fetch it. She doesn't pay attention to her surroundings and gets captured by a soldier from the Aramean army. Then The soldier takes her back to Aram to be sold into slavery. Lady Doronit, General Naaman's wife, bought Adara. When Adara got to the palace, Lady Doronit showed her to Raiza, the woman in charge of the slaves. Then she met her soon to be best friend Sima who helped her not get in trouble. Then after a while of Adara being a slave, General Naaman develops leprosy. Read the book to find out what happened to him.
This book is special because it's an interesting way to learn about that point
In time. I give this book a rating of 5 stars because it really left me hanging at some points and told the story in a really great way. For example, when Adara was waiting in the well, I was excited to know what was going to happen. Was she going to go back home,or will something bad happen to her? If you like books that have suspense, you should read this one.
Adara, by Beatrice Gormely
Reviewed by Natasha L
Would you like to know what happened to Adara, the young, Jewish girl who grew up without a mother in the ninth century BCE in ancient Israel?
This story is about a strong girl who was a bit too adventurous and decided to venture off, on her own, at the beginning of the war. Adara wanted to go wih a friend but as he wouldn’t go with her, she dedeided to go on by herself. In her determination, she decided to catch a glance of the battle field, despite her friend leaving her on her own, In doing so, she got herself into trouble.
Adara was from Ramoth-Gilead and had grown up there with her family until the day of the battle. On the horrible day of the war, Adara, an innocent child, was taken prisoner and had to go on a long journey to where she would be a slave in the years ahead of her. She became a slave in Damascus, the city that was run by the Aramean people who had battled her Jewish home land. She was working for the general Naaman of the Aramean army’s wife. After a few years of being a slave, General Naaman had leprosy, and urgently needed to be cured. Adara, the slave, knew someone in her Jewish home town who could cure him. They both made a trip to Ramoth-Gilead, a place where Adara hadn’t been for years. While they were there, Naaman was told how to cure himself and Adara had a hard decision to make…
This book should be read because it tells Adara’s personal story and teaches history at the same time.
Adara had an interesting storyline and historical content. However, the way the story was written was boring and didn’t make me want to carry on reading the book. For these reasons, I give the book Adara three stars!
Adara, by Beatrice Gorlmey
Reviewed by Sophia D.
A Tanakh story out of JS class? Impossible!
This is Adara, a Jewish girl living peacefully with her landowning
family. Two armies are fighting over her city of Ramoth
Gilead, and the outcome of the war matters not to her. However, she longs to
see the battle but, being a girl, she is not allowed to watch over
the wall. Under her town lies an underground well forbidden to
her. This is the perfect opportunity to watch, so of course she
can't resist. Making her way down the steep, dark tunnel, she
drops her light and can't go back. She has no choice but to exit
the well hoping that she can pick up a soldier's torch. Meanwhile,
the Aramean army has just declared victory over the Israeli army, and, thinking she is
an enemy soldier's daughter, they capture her.
When she gets to Aram, she is sold to a slave dealer;
almost immediately, the wife of General Naaman, the mighty
commander of the Aramean army, takes an interest in Adara and
buys her. Adara tells the highwomen of the household stories
while they work. One of these stories is about a holy man: Elisha.
When the general gets sick, his wife remembers the story and
convinces the general to seek out Elisha. Adara is allowed to
come. Will the holy man meet with the general? And, if so, will
Adara convince the general to take the holy man's advice?
This book is special because it takes a Tanakh story and
retells it from Adara's perspective. It adds much to the Tanakh
story, while still holding our interest. In comparison to top literature
like Jane Austen's Emma, I give this book 4/5 stars, because it is
a great book that held my interest and helped me to explore new
aspects of Adara's story for even the fiftieth time reading it for this
review.
Golden Bull, by Marjorie Cowley
Reviewed by Noah B.
Imagine your parents have to send you away because there is no food to eat. Jomar, his younger sister Zafa and their parents are living on their farm and there is suddenly a major drought. Their family has to send Jomar and Zafa away. As they started their long journey to Ur Jomar and Zafa were captured by a Temple Officer named Malak. One night as Malak's men were playing a game a slave created a distraction so Jomar and Zafa could escape. A couple of days after the escape they reached the gate of Ur. They had to prove that they were going to be where Jomar was to be apprenticed useful to the city of Ur. When they arrived at the goldsmith's house the goldsmith and his wife were not expecting Zafa, so they made a deal that Zafa could stay for only one night. A theft happened at the goldsmith's and they thought that Zafa stole a lapis bead. Malak returns and he looks for Zafa to find out if she was the criminal who stole the bead. He wanted her to take a water test that would decide if she was guilty or innocent. It is up to your imagination to decide what happens.I liked this book because it had a lot of suspense and action. Zafa had to take the water test. It creates a very dramatic ending that was totally unexpected. I, also, liked the book because when the brother and sister got to the city gate of Ur it was very suspenseful to see if they would get in or not. I was waiting in anticipation to find out what was going to happen. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was very intriguing. I would also recommend this book to kids who would enjoy historical fiction because it was realistic but also fake.
Hittite Warrior, Joanne Williamson
Reviewed by Ari M.
When Uriah Tarhund, a boy who lives in the Hittite province of Arzawa, and his father, have to go to Hattusas to give their gift to the king, they are in for an unpleasant surprise when they get back. Their village had been sacked and burned by sea people, their name for greeks, and Uriah's mother and sister are dead. Two years later, Uriah's father is beaten and killed by two sea people. His last words were to go to Canaan and find his friend Sisera. Uriah finds a caravan heading to Canaan and joins it. When he saves one of the men's life, he is invited to stay with his family in Tyre. While he is there he meets Jotham, a Hebrew. tThe people of the city decide to sacrifice a child of a noble house to Moloch, because they want to stay safe from trouble around them. Jotham, who does not approve of the sacrifice, steals the child who is to be sacrificed, three year old Jabin. He takes Uriah with him and runs to the Hebrew tribe of Naphtali. He stays there with the famous Hebrews, Barak and Deborah. He learns that they plan to attack the great army of Sisera, the man his father wanted him to go to. Uriah is in a very hard situation. Should he obey his father and join Sisera, or should he stay with his new friends among the hebrews. I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5 because it is an outstanding book full of action, but it had a very difficult plot to follow. I recommend this book to anyone who is a strong reader and likes a lot of action.
Masada, the Last Fortress by Gloria D. Mikloitz
Reviewed by Isaac Becker
Masada, the Last Fortress is a great book for people who love history and fighting. The story of Masada is literally the story of Masada, from both points of view, the Zealots (rebel Jews) and the Romans. The story takes place in 72 C.E, after the destruction of the second temple. It is about a Zealot warrior named Simon, who is also the son of the Zealot leader Eleazar. It is also about a Roman commander named Flavius Silva. Both of them are narrators.
The story has a lot of war planning and even more building, and aggression. A certain person in history named Flavius Josephus, who was the only one to document the siege, and was originally a Jew, got captured by Romans, and then told the Romans almost all about the Jewish military and fighting style. This also happened in history. Also, one of the Romans, a man named Marius, actually burned two Zealots to death because they were confident in God. The story was very bloody, with lots of murder. However, this did probably actually happen. Zealots also used a lot of brutal, but extremely effective combat techniques, for example, avalanches, night fires, and at one point, pouring boiling hot water on soldiers working the battering ram.
You should read this story if you love history and want to learn more about the siege at Masada, but I would only give it a 2 star rating. The reason is, the book does not have much movement and is fairly predictable.
Sarah and after, Lynne Reid BanksReviewed by Sarah S
Sarah and After is about five very important women of the Jewish Bible, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah and Dinah. This story happens in biblical times, around 1800 BCE. It happens in Canaan, which is the holyland of the Jewish people (today, Israel). The first woman is Sarah. She was a very beautiful woman and was the wife of Avraham, who was the first person to believe in one God. Sarah was a wonder and there was nobody like her. It was a struggle for her to believe in Avraham’s God because she could not see Him. No one else was believing in him and she had no real proof that he was real. The next woman was Rebecca. She was the wife of Isaac who was Avraham’s only son with Sarah, even though God promised him he would have multiple children. Rebecca had twin sons; she named the oldest one Esau because of all his red hair and the younger one Jacob because of the way he was holding on to Esau’s ankle when he was born. She was very important to the story. She realized that Jacob, her younger son, should be the leader of Avraham’s Jewish nation instead of her older son Esau who was supposed to get the blessing. Leah and Rachel where the two wives of Jacob, Rebecca’s youngest son. Rachel was very unfruitful and only had two sons, named Joseph and Benjamin. Leah was the opposite and had many sons. But Dinah was Leah’s only daughter, which meant she was very important to Leah. The story clearly explains all of the struggles and hard times for all of these women. It was very interesting to read in detail about all of these women's difficult lives. I think you should read this book because I didn't realize before I read it how important these women are to my Jewish life and I would not be here if it weren't for their struggles. I rate this book 4 stars
Tirzah, by Lucille Travis
Reviewed by Aliah C.
Ever wonder what the Ten Plagues, and Ten Commandments would be like from the point of view of a regular person? If so then Tirzah is a great book for you! There is action, sadness, and happy times too! It all takes place in Ancient Egypt, on the way to Canaan… The main Character Tirzah hates being a slave, but she can’t get out of Egypt, until she hears about a man named Moses who is trying to free the Jewish people. Some people don’t believe that Moses was going to succeed even when they were walking on their way to Canaan. When they got to the Nile Delta was yelling, saying that Moses took them there to die. When they saw Moses pick up his staff they wondered what he was doing and suddenly the most amazing thing happened… I definitely say that everyone who is interested in sad/happy, action packed books should read Tirzah!
Victory on the Walls, by Frieda Clark Hyman
Reviewed by Micah I.
Have you ever thought about the time between the destruction of the First Temple and the Second? Did you think everything was in ruins? You were right, sort of. Bani son of Hacaliah, nephew of Nehemiah, Cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, has a dilemma. His uncle wants to move to Jerusalem for 11 years, leaving Susa, their hometown and city of the palace. He moves to Jerusalem and his uncle is charged with treason for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Will he be found guilty or not guilty? Also Nehemiah’s friend Oebuzus is the judge. Will he turn his back on his friend?
I would give Victory on the Walls a four and a half star rating. It’s a historical book that gives you an insight into the lives of people two-thousand years ago. There are different plots in two different sections, which makes it better in my opinion. The storyline is great, with an amazing climax. It’s a little bit hard to understand at the beginning, but once you get going you don’t want to put it down. It’s full of surprises and cliff hangers. You don’t know who’s the enemy and who’s your friend; anyone could rise to the occasion. Important things are happening everywhere; Susa, Jerusalem, Samaria, it could happen anywhere. All this makes Victory on the Walls special and you should definitely read it.