FROM DUST, A FLAME

Hannah Kowalski is a normal teenage girl...at least, until she wakes up on her 17th birthday with snake eyes.

Hannah and her older brother, Gabe, have been moving around from state to state most of their lives; their mother never could manage to stay in the same place for long. When they land in Jamaica Plain, Hannah insists they stay so she can have some semblance of normality and a chance of academic success at Winthrop Academy, where she attends on scholarship. Unfortunately, when Hannah wakes up stricken by a centuries-old curse, a normal summer, let alone school year, is out of the question. When their mother disappears after disclosing that their family is actually Jewish, Hannah and Gabe take matters into their own hands. Together they journey to their mother’s hometown of Fox Hollow, New York, and with the help of their new friend, Ari Leydon, whose family is connected to theirs, activate a golem to help them on their quest to break the curse and find their mother. Based on Jewish folklore, this contemporary fantasy is a thrilling story of family, supernatural monsters, fabled heroes, and first love. Told in chapters alternately focusing on the present day, narrated in the first person, and flashbacks told in the third person, the story will captivate readers and keep them turning pages until its satisfying conclusion.

An enjoyable, suspenseful modern take on Jewish folklore.