Emi Watanabe Cohen’s sophomore novel travels from the most awkward surface tensions to the beautiful depths of Jewish culture and lore for a tale of magical and emotional discovery.
Faye has a tough time concentrating in School. It’s easier to be silent and fade into the woodwork than take on the challenges of kids at school who mock her biracial heritage, and her competitive family at home, none of whom are good listeners. Except possibly for her brother Shiloh, who tries to speak extra so she doesn’t have to. (Maybe a bit too much extra?)They have a private made up language that they call “Effalese” which is Japanese (from one side of the family) written in Hebrew letters (from the other side of the family.) And a thousand inside jokes.
But the family dynamic is shattered when their uncle and cousin from the Jewish side arrive unannounced to say that it’s time the children learn the secret family magic: Golem Crafting. And it seems Faye DOES have a gift for it, even more so than Shiloh. But will it truly be the thing that makes Faye feel whole? And will it heal the bitter rifts in the family?
GOLEMCRAFTERS
by Emi Watanabe Cohen
Emi Watanabe Cohen’s sophomore novel travels from the most awkward surface tensions to the beautiful depths of Jewish culture and lore for a tale of magical and emotional discovery.
On the same day Faye's brother comes home with a black eye, a package arrives from a relative they have never met. It's a slab of clay: some weird kind of bar mitzvah present?
The strange gift turns out to be an invitation to learn a craft that has been in their family for centuries. And it's not pottery.
Faye and Shiloh are driven to New York City by their grandfather for a spring break filled with magical instruction. But at night, they find themselves transported to a strange parallel world, where groups of innocent people are facing appalling hatred and violence. Are Faye and Shiloh destined to defend them?
How is that possible for a brainy, unpopular eleven-year-old and her vulnerable older brother?
It will take all the strength they can draw from their Jewish and Japanese heritage to not only crack the mystery of this alternate world but to find the power in them to confront the troubles of their present.
Type: Middle Grade Novel
Pages: 264
Format: Hardcover
Publication: November 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781646142699
About EMI WATANABE COHEN
Emi Watanabe Cohen wrote her first novel when she was twelve years old — the most complete draft she can find clocks in at 234,780 words. That’s over 1,000 pages! Thankfully, her editing skills have improved since then. Her more recent work involves Jewish and/or Japanese folklore, complicated families, and a dash of improbable magic. She is a graduate of Brandeis University, where she studied Creative Writing.
