Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: BLACK BIRD, BLUE ROAD by Sofiya Pasternack
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Aryssa Damron
In a distant land, in a distant time, a young Jewish girl will do whatever it takes to save her
brother from the leprosy that is eating away at him. She’ll defy her parents, her gender, and
she’ll even face the Angel of Death himself. BLACK BIRD, BLUE ROAD a middle grade novel by Sofiya Pasternack, is full of Jewish lore, of demons and angels and ravens bearing gifts, and at its core the love between a brother and sister.
“There was no one. No one to believe that Ziva could do the things she set out to do–like find a cure for her brother’s illness, or master a demon, or sway the Angel of Death, who she called malach ba-mavet. Ziva did two of those things, dear listener.”
Ziva and Pesah are twins, and Ziva is the only one who seems to care about properly caring for
her brilliant brother as he fights leprosy, loses his fingers, and battles the ostracization of his
community. When she discovers that her family intends to send him away to a colony, Ziva
knows she must take dramatic action. She packs a wagon and she flees with her brother,
setting out for a city and a doctor that she hope can help her find a cure. After a highway
robbery throws their plan entirely off course, Ziva must learn to trust a half-demon as she seeks to save her dear brother from the Angel of Death himself.
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This is a richly told story, reminiscent of many past Newbery winners , including CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD and THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON. The Jewish lore woven into the story is a beautiful addition to children’s literature as a whole, and Ziva’s motivations are intertwined with her experiences, her readings, and her knowledge of demons and angels and the wise judge Devorah. Ziva herself is the kind of Newbery protagonist you love to see—a head-strong girl who is dedicated to her family and to justice and yet has those child-like flaws, bias against things she’s been told are always bad, fear of death and the unknown, etc.
I was enthralled by this story-especially the breaks within the book told through a looming omniscient narration style.
“The garden had a tiny whisper of a path that wound in, so Ziva followed that. Almas and Pesah followed behind. They went deeper into the garden, and even though it had all the makings of a peaceful place, the hairs on the back of Ziva’s neck stood up.”
Pasternack has an excellent story here. Ziva is a stunning protagonist, and Pesah’s story is told
so beautifully here—especially at the end, and while I love what she was able to do in
incorporating Jewish legend and religious elements into the text, I worry that the lack of
embellished prose details is going to hold it back.
What do you think about Black Bird, Blue Road? This is definitely a sleeper title–one that I
hadn’t heard of until it made the list, but instantly fell into. I think anyone reading it will enjoy it, but is it the best of the year?
Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Please start with positive observations first; stick to positives until at least three comments have been posted or we reach 1:00 pm EST. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!
Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock
About Emily Mroczek-Bayci
Emily Mroczek (Bayci) is a freelance children’s librarian in the Chicago suburbs. She served on the 2019 Newbery committee. You can reach her at emilyrmroczek@gmail.com.
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Thanks for the intro Aryssa! I just re-listened to the audiobook and character development is what stuck out most to me. Ziva is a force to be reckoned with and because she is such a strong personality it’s easy to want to be on her side. As the book develops though we come to understand that she’s an unreliable narrator. I found myself comparing Ziva to Sai from the Last Mapmaker a lot, both impressionable young woman who may think they are grown up already.
“There was one, there was no one.” An epic journey with life-or-death stakes, a fierce main character with a passion for justice and a love for her twin brother, a culturally rich, unusual historical setting…plenty of elements here to recommend this as a potential Newbery book.
Ziva loves her brother Pesah, who has leprosy, and when she learns of her family’s plan to send him to a colony, she takes him and runs away, hoping to find a doctor who can help. This plan is thwarted, and a new destination declared: Luz, the only place on Earth where the Angel of Death can’t go. There’s a catch, of course, but headstrong, passionate Ziva plunges forward regardless – regardless, even, of what Pesah may be willing to face before she is.
It’s not Pesah, but Almas, a half-human, half-sheyd, who provides balance to Ziva, helping her see that anyone can do good in the world, not just the brilliant people, and that kindness is important too.
As for style, while Ziva is undoubtedly the main character, she isn’t the narrator; the narrator’s voice is present throughout, but their identity is revealed only at the end.
For readers not well-versed in Jewish tradition and lore, back matter includes an afterword, acknowledgments, and a glossary of Jewish/Hebrew words and terms as well as some other specialized vocabulary used in the book.
I would have missed this one if it hadn’t made the Heavy Medal list, and I’m so glad I read it. It’s on the long side, but I’d recommend it to strong readers of fantasy and historical fiction.
Strong theme: Pasternack does an in-depth job of helping Ziva come to terms with Pesah’s mortality, not through a miracle, but through helping Ziva work through the process of illness and loss. I think a theme that would be helpful for many readers in their own lives.
Memorable characters: Pesah’s gentleness and wide eyed view of the world balances Ziva’s fiery personality. Almas, as a half sheyd, exposes the prejudice that he has to endure, which helps Ziva grow in her sense of justice and single-mindedness. Ziva helps both Pesah and Almas deal with their own isolation and drives them along, and they help her deal with facing mortality. What an awesome trio that help one another grow.
Captivating plot: It reads like an adventure novel with the dangers of travel, and a race against time with the desperation of Pesah’s illness. I really enjoyed this book once the adventure began.
Unique Setting: Pasternack helps the reader learn about the tenth century Khazar Kingdom and also Jewish mythology.
While reading this book, I kept going back to the invitation to the reader from the omniscient narrator “Hello! Come in. Sit down. Don’t be scared.” In that first page, the reader is told that the main character will accomplish two of three things. As a reader, I kept going back to those three things to figure out which one would not come true. It kept me weighing different options as the book progressed.
What impressed me the most about this book was the way Pasternack developed the main character to learn one of the hardest life lessons: how do we walk alongside someone who is dying while not doing the walk for them, not running away, but bravely walking alongside them so they are not alone in their death? The description of Ziva and Pesah walking outside the city of Luz knowing where it will end is an image that will stick with me for a long time. “Don’t…” he said through heavy puffs of breath. “Don’t make me…go alone.” It is a powerful story about grief, letting go of a loved one, and learning that losing someone can leave a “hole in our heart, but with smooth edges” because we know we showed up and walked with that loved on their journey.
Jennifer,
I really appreciate how you describe one of the themes of this book: How do we walk alongside someone who is dying? It gets to how Pasternak developed such an important theme by using a literal walk to discuss a metaphorical “walk”. Kind of mind blowing, now that I think about. And like you mentioned, it allows us to see three very different characters develop and grow along the way, as they grapple with this most important question. Thanks for bringing this up!
This line brings up an interesting point that I’ve wondered about: “I worry that the lack of
embellished prose details is going to hold it back.” How does the actual writing of a novel, the prose, come into play in Newbery discussions?
I definitely think that we can and should discuss the actual prose. I think that not having “embellished prose details” isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I guess the question is, does this style of prose work in the context of the novel? Does the style help or hinder the story?
Great start to this discussion! As noted in the post above, our discussions will always start off with more positive comments. All of the books on the list have definite strengths and highlighting some of those at the beginning help to push discussion forward. Thanks to all of the first commenters! We open it up to all comments, including questions and concerns, after three comments are posted or 1:00 pm EST, whichever comes first. That worked out just right so far, and Rosie’s question, with reference to Aryssa’s introduction, is a good one to tackle: “Does the prose come into play?”
In the Newbery Criteria, members are directed to look for “distinguished writing.” At the same time, “appropriateness of style” is cited as a literary element. That “appropriateness” seems really important to me. I read it as meaning that you can’t just look at the technical excellence of the writing…it has to fit with the book and serve as an effective tool to develop characters, plot, etc., for a child audience.
Aryssa mentions the “lack of embellished prose details” in BLACK BIRD. The prose is less eloquent than something like THE OGRESS AND THE ORPHANS (from our list) or certainly OSMO UNKNOWN by Valente (not on our list), but that doesn’t necessarily detract from the book’s appropriateness or excellence of style. Comparing the prose in BLACK BIRD to THE LAST MAPMAKER could be useful. Even though BLACK BIRD is mostly told in third person, it sticks to Ziva’s point of view. As with MAPMAKER, it makes sense to me that the descriptions would be more straightforward because we’re seeing thing through the main characters’ eyes, and the language generally sticks to their own perceptions. Given that, does the text in BLACK BIRD do enough to bring Ziva’s world to life? Here’s where examples from the text can really help.
Here are a couple examples from BLACK BIRD where I think the prose is just right. This is when the sheyd Shabriri appears before Ziva:
“Something churned in the water, like it was boiling just in front of Ziva, and she stumbled backwards. A figure rose up out of the roil, with six wings spread wide and a seventh hanging limply to the side. She wore rags as clothing and no shoes, so Ziva could see her chicken feet plainly.” (p 144)
The description of Shabriri’s appearance is effective…I like the details of the seventh wing and the chicken feet. Shabriri is threatening and powerful, and Ziva feels that, but we also get evidence of Ziva’s defiance. A couple paragraphs later: “Ziva refused to cower behind Almas, even though she really wanted to.” When Shabriri insults her brother, Ziva is affronted: “Fools? Why was she calling Almas a fool? From Almas’s side, Ziva said, ‘You don’t have to be rude.'” (p 145)
I appreciate the way Ziva’s involved in this magical tale of demons, and her fear is real, yet she also retains her sense of justice and devotion to her brother. I think that mix of the fantastical with core human emotions and actions is one of the strengths of the book that comes through in the prose.
I wonder if more sensory details would have enlivened the writing a bit more? I appreciated the sticky-sweet flakiness of the baklava that appears a few times throughout the story and would have liked more about the smells, sounds and textures in Ziva and Pesah’s world.
Excellent comparisons. I do think OGRESS was more eloquent, as was MAPMAKER actually. BLACK BIRD seemed to have a lot more dialogue than the other two, though I could be remembering those incorrectly. Not that dialogue is bad, just in comparison.
Perhaps not for the HMAC, but I think a worthwhile comparison would be with SPARROWS IN THE WIND which is also about not backing down to the inevitable and thus faces similar authorial challenges but makes very different (and to me surprising and controversial) choices. In addition to plot and theme, the mythical/legendary setting also favor direct comparisons in the setting, information, and style criteria.
This is certainly a title that I would not have picked up without the benefit of this list, which I think is one of the things that makes this endeavor so much fun. I found Ziva to be a compelling main character, particularly due to the strength in her convictions. I found the 3rd person limited narration to be effective in the storytelling, particularly the reveal later in the story that Ziva and Pesah’s mother had been visiting him. As readers, we can expect that Ziva’s journey will end with a goodbye to Pesah, but you feel so deeply connected to Ziva’s feelings that you can’t help but retain some of her optimism throughout much of the story. No matter how prepared you are for the death of a loved one, it is still surprising and devastating.
I came into this book with no prior knowledge of the setting/time period, but I felt as though the novel gave enough information to keep me in the story without coming across as an info-dump, which can be a pitfall of books connected to mythology.
Thank you for a great overview of the book!
I think what stood out the most to me was the setting. I found myself deeply immersed in the descriptions of their travels and I thought Pasternack did an amazing job bringing the scenery to life. Prior to reading this book there was little that I knew about this time period and the region. The rich details about Jewish traditions also helped with understanding the setting and bring the reader into the story.
I agree with others above that this book dealt with grief in such a wonderful way that stayed true to the characters while also being authentic for the audience. So many books seemed to deal with this theme this year and I think Black Bird, Blue Road did it in such a beautiful way.
I agree with all of your analysis, Amanda. The setting was well developed and really came alive for readers. Using the Byzantine era is a risk with readers, considering that they won’t have much background to bring to the reading. However, Pasternack provides lots of opportunities throughout to give readers the background that they would need, as well as resources in the end that point to some of the cultural references. I also think that the theme was well developed through the plot of the story. I would add that the plot of the story also has great pacing and really pulls readers along. Unlike a lot of book that deal with weightier topics, this book is very plot forward. I look forward to getting this title to some of my 4th and 5th graders this year! Thanks again for your comments!
Somehow I too had missed this book! However, once I started, I could not put it down. The strength of this book certainly is the character of Ziva who has great aspirations to defy conventions and become a judge. She is unconcerned about others opinions and is not afraid to throw a punch to protect her brother! (I loved that part!) Her strength to champion the underdog and give a voice to the more timid is amazing for a child turning 12. The length she goes in order to find a cure for her brother is admirable and despite some foreshadowing from Almas who could hear whispers of the future, it had the reader hoping against fate. It saddens one to think her parents did not take action when it was obvious Pesah was suffering from pneumonia in addition to the leprosy. They even left her to amputate Pesah’s fingers. This is a genre all on its own – a nice blend of adventure, Jewish folklore and historical fiction. It may be one that requires some book-talking to have students pick it up but it is a definite winner!
I thoroughly enjoyed Black Bird Blue Road. Like others it’s not one I would have read had it not been for Heavy Medal. I think the characters are all well developed and the story is interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout. I would say the theme is done really well. You really feel the heartbreak of Ziva as she wants her brother to live. She has to learn to let him go. I found it interesting that two books that are heavily Jewish made the final list. I feel like besides world war two holocaust fiction theres not a lot. Maybe that’s just me having not read many. I have enjoyed learning more about Jewish culture.
Like many of the previous commenters, this book wasn’t on my radar and I am happy to have lived in the world and experienced the adventure that Pasternack created for her readers. Also like the previous commenters, I liked the structure with the episodic breaks that shifted narrative perspective. I thought that the change in voice showed depth and offered a cinematic feeling of zooming in and zooming out, which broke up the action in a meaningful way.
The concepts of loss, grieving and sacrifice are central and tenderly developed. Moreover, I really liked the sub-theme about perception versus reality that was developed through Ziva’s character arc: Ironic as she so wants to be a judge, Ziva is often headstrong and swift to make judgements (about her mother, about Almas, about the Angel of Death), but through experience she gains perspective and wisdom.
However, I didn’t like the end. While I found this story to be a gem of an Entwicklungsroman (a story of a character’s subjective growth, not full a coming-of-age story), I feel like it would be a stronger, more unified piece without the flashfoward to Ziva and Alma’s life and death together. This was the only part of the novel that felt forced and didn’t work for me. Nevertheless, overall I enjoyed the story and will be wholeheartedly recommending it.
Angela, I must agree with you about the ending. I feel as if BLACK BIRD would have continued its emotional gut punch if the flashforward scene had not been present. (I think of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins as I write this).
I like your comment about perception versus reality through Ziva’s character! That added an interesting dimension to her character and urged the reader to not always trust her first impression/gut judgment.
But I disagree with your comment about the flashforward scene – I really liked getting that glimpse into her future, especially because through so much of the book she couldn’t see a future for herself without Pesah. By providing that small glimpse we get to see that she could survive without him even though she never stopped missing and loving him. I feel like for those kids who are struggling with the loss of someone close to them, it could provide some hope to see someone grieve deeply and still come out the other side okay.
I agree with you completely, Angela, about the ending. I think it lost a bit of its emotional energy and felt a little too neatly tied together. It felt even a little trite. I admit that my preference is for endings where are some questions for the reader, so this might just be a matter of preference. Like you said, this won’t impact my recommending this to many readers! A terrific read with lots to think about!
I’m so glad I read this one, as I would have missed it if not for this list. It’s incredibly atmospheric and I often found myself cheering for Ziva, despite her contant stubbornness and impulsivity. I also really appreciated the introduction of leprosy and the effects it could have had on a family. Such a fresh topic to see in children’s lit.
Like everyone, I agree that this book was not on my radar. Well, it kind of wasn’t. I thought the cover and back matter looked interesting so I checked it out. Imagine my happiness when I discovered I could do double duty!!
But this book stayed with me. The question above about “lack of embellished prose” is an interesting one, because, in my opinion, BLACK BIRD had prose that worked with the narrative. I still could picture the world in which Ziva and Pesah lived. I felt connected to their journey and their heartbreak. I am one who struggles with “words for words sake.” I don’t need the entire background created. That drifts us into Dickens-esque territory and I cannot stand it. 😉
Strength of characters is another area in which I feel this book excelled. The scene in which Ziva has to remove Pesah’s finger. I felt her struggle. The sisterly pain and heartbreak of needing to do that along with the knowledge that, indeed, it MUST be done. Letting Pesah go when they arrived at their destination, the scenes of death….it was impactful. I think this book is a good one to recommend when we know a patron needs something tackling death and bereavement.
Personally, I rated this 5 Stars due to :
I couldn’t put it down
It was a mythology book I actually enjoyed
The strong characters
I also want to add that I personally found it refreshing to read a book with Jewish protagonists that was something other than the Holocaust/WWII.
For “Interpretation of the theme or concept”, I had a problem with giving Luz dystopian characteristics. It is a much different thing to technically get what you want but it’s not everything you imagined (so the choice to give it up is easier) vs. actually having the thing as you wanted it and choosing to give it up. To be truly heart-breaking, my imagined Newbery book would make the choice a real one and not one most readers could make.
(It can be done. In The Magician’s Nephew, Digory truly makes that choice, as it’s not till later that Aslan makes the decision palatable by telling him, “It would have healed her; but not to your joy or hers. The day would have come when both you and she would have looked back and said it would have been better to die in that illness.”)
Ziva has a strong personality, but I am not sure if “delineation of character” is a strength of this book. To me, “delineation of character” includes the author’s ability to shape the reader’s feelings about the character, and to be honest it wasn’t clear to me what the book’s intention was here. Ziva’s rationale for her actions changes not at all from page 6, “Her brilliant brother would come up with a remedy for his disease, cure himself, and then cure everyone else with it, too. She could feel it in her bones,” to page 272, “It’s not important that Pesah is a good person, and smart, and could create a medicine to cure people?” How are readers supposed to respond to this “single-mindedness” (to use Rox Anne’s word)? Is the reader meant to be with Ziva on this? I sort of feel like the book signals this, that Ziva is intended to be sympathetic and admirable in her stubbornness while others are naysayers. But the plot and theme also demand she actually be wrong and arrive at acceptance. A change has to happen, so I was frustrated by Ziva’s lack of development over the course of the book. While others here mention an arc, I didn’t feel stages of grief—it was more like a rock suddenly crumbling at the end, and I feel like the book just tried to have it both ways—that we are supposed to cheer both the rock’s rigidity and its collapse. I don’t think the book’s “delineation of character” pulled that off for me.
Agreed, Leonard about Ziva’s lack of development throughout the book. I kept thinking there would be a story arc about her slowly coming to terms with Pesah’s inevitable death. But no. Felt like a missed opportunity to me.
Interesting points, Leonard. I agree that while Ziva’s initial characterization is excellent, she doesn’t really change that much for most of the book. But I’m not sure that character development has to follow an arc. In this case, things happened to Ziva that might have shaken her single-mindedness, but didn’t…until the end. But those things that happened brought her closer to that point where, finally, change could happen. This seems similar in some ways to AVIVA VS THE DYBBUK, where she clings to her assertion that the Dybbuk is real until finally she can’t. At the same time, though, we did see Aviva change in other ways before that big change, especially with the shifts in her relationship with Kayla. In both books, it’s grief and loss that block the girls from facing the truth…anticipated tragedy in Ziva’s case, and suppressed in Aviva’s. That seems significant to me: they have really big hurdles to get past, and really can’t face them fully until everything builds up. For contrast, the lead characters in THE LAST MAPMAKER and HEALER AND WITCH change more gradually based on the things that happen to them, but they don’t have the same level of fear and sadness that Aviva and Ziva carry from the start.
Steven, AVIVA is a great comparison. I personally preferred the handling there, because the reality of the Dybbyk is just maybe up-for-grabs for most of the book. This uncertainty sets up the climax when the “dybbuk” grabs her. Up till then, the reader is given plenty of opportunity to suspect it’s all in Aviva’s head. When hit with that scene, I was genuinely shocked: “it’s real!?” So although the end may have been inevitable, I would say it’s an unexpected inevitability, and I think those kinds of ends are among the most satisfying and effective in literature. In contrast, I’d describe BLACK BIRD’s plot as expected inevitability, and books like that do make me impatient, like I’m just waiting for the characters to catch up.
Also, I would say the real danger Aviva finds herself in at the end nicely illustrates to the reader the harm inherent in Aviva’s suppression and the importance of breaking free of it. In comparison, what is the negative consequence of Ziva’s single-mindedness? A lot of people never reconcile themselves with death. BLACK BIRD comes awfully close to being the kind of book (there are plenty) where a person’s death mostly just serves as a literary vehicle for a protagonist’s life lesson learned. That makes me impatient too, especially when the writing also kept trying to make the reader sympathetic to the protagonist’s earlier actions and attitudes.
I think that’s a fair point about Luz. But I thought the character arc worked. I think she did change a little bit as she went—that belief went from absolute to strained. Like a lot of us are around illness and death—that feeling that if you repeat it enough and don’t let yourself doubt, they’ll be healed. So I think that belief gets more fragile as she learns more, but she keeps digging in with it because the only way to let go of it is to collapse. So it made sense to me that it was mostly all at once.
I really enjoyed Black Bird, Blue Road. It’s unique and handles grief so well. I think towards the middle it gets a little repetitive and the story is longer than it needs to be. I love Ziva and the author does a great job of showing her understanding her family and not just making assumptions about them.
This was such a wonderful surprise–didn’t know anything about it. It’s probably my favorite book so far. Read this all in one day, it just seemed to fly by. It’s so character forward, and nearly every chapter has a cliffhanger of sorts. Loved the mythology, really like that author Pasternack didn’t make the mistake that a lot of other authors do with mythology. Feel they try to imitate Riordan, who has character driven books with complex lore and mythology obviously, but it’s mythology that most people are familiar with. In my opinion, other authors try to copy that same energy, but with less familiar mythology, and it often slows the book down. Here Pasternack includes just enough to keep it interesting/informative, but that focus is on characters/plot/themes.
This is my top pick so far, and I can see someone fighting hard on the committee to keep it in the conversation. Feel like this gets an honor and everyone later is like “WhAt’S tHis BooK?” but it has just enough buzz to get on a shortlist, and the substance to stay there.
I am so surprised folks didn’t catch on to this book earlier – it was one of the rare ones I read just because I loved the cover so much! And then, I almost put it down because Ziva felt so one dimensional to me – just nonstop anger. But her later development, the ending, the revelation of the Angel of Death – wow! I haven’t read many middle grade books that deal with death so beautifully and lovingly. I am not Jewish but the Jewish religious mythology delighted me and I thought the author did a very fine job of drawing her readers into this worldview through the startling characters of Alma and the Angel. This ended up being one of my top picks this year.