Sydney Taylor Award Winner
BEST OF THE YEAR
NPR · Kirkus · New York Public Library · Evanston Public Library
A compelling, tender story about friendship and community, grief and healing, and one indomitable girl who somehow manages to connect them all.
A long ago “accident.” An isolated girl named Aviva. A community that wants to help, but doesn’t know how. And a ghostly dybbuk, that no one but Aviva can see, causing mayhem and mischief that everyone blames on her.
That is the setting for this suspenseful novel of a girl who seems to have lost everything, including her best friend Kayla, and a mother who was once vibrant and popular, but who now can’t always get out of bed in the morning.
As tensions escalate in the Jewish community of Beacon with incidents of vandalism and a swastika carved into new concrete poured near the synagogue.so does the tension grow between Aviva and Kayla and the girls at their school, and so do the actions of the dybbuk grow worse.
Could real harm be coming Aviva’s way? And is it somehow related to the “accident” that took her father years ago?
Aviva vs. the Dybbuk is a compelling, tender story about friendship and community, grief and healing, and one indomitable girl who somehow manages to connect them all.
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Reviews
“An intimate look at a contemporary Orthodox Jewish community in this nuanced story of a girl regaining her footing after her father’s death.Aviva is an engaging heroine. Lowe portrays Aviva and Ema’s mourning with a gentle touch, gradually building to an ending that points toward spiritual and emotional healing, thanks to the steadfast support of their Jewish community, especially its women.”
Publishers Weekly
“Debut author Lowe offers an insider’s view of a close-knit Orthodox Jewish community where much of daily life is prescribed in gender-segregated activities. The dybbuk mystery is well-handled, as are the secrets surrounding Abba’s death, which Aviva has blocked from her consciousness. A compassionate look at grief and healing.”
booklist
“Aviva is a strong lead, both relatable and flawed. It is refreshing to see a story focused on an Orthodox child that renders that world realistically while also dealing with universal struggles. Both Aviva and her story are worth spending time with.”
foreword
“This emotionally complex novel set within a contemporary Orthodox Jewish community is full of immersive Jewish detail. The book creates a strong sense of the protagonist’s isolation-awkward, impetuous Aviva has difficult relationships with her classmates, and communication is strained with her mother, who lives with severe depression-but remains accessible while addressing its heavy issues. Unreliable narrator though Aviva ends up being, she’s a heart-rendingly sympathetic one.”
HORN BOOK (STARRED REVIEW)