This novel, geared toward older middle-grade readers, is about a Jewish girl growing up in rural Wisconsin in the early twentieth century. There’s a certain joy in reading about a slice of Jewish history that doesn’t often make it into children’s fiction, and Gittel is a fine example. The story is based on the real-life community of Eastern European Jewish immigrants who settled in Mill Creek, a small town in Wisconsin. The new immigrants faced many challenges, and they struggled with a harsh and unfamiliar climate. Nevertheless, they managed to adapt to their new lives as farmers and survive as a tiny community of Jews among Christians.
Gittel Borenstein, a member of this community, is a thirteen-year-old girl who is experiencing the ordinary dramas of the early teenage years — finding herself, feeling self-conscious about her looks, having a crush on a boy (who isn’t Jewish), and facing sibling rivalry and a new baby in the family — but she is also dealing with bullying and antisemitism. She’s a spirited, smart, and talented girl who loves music and Emily Dickinson’s poems. She is unlikely to be able to continue school beyond the eighth grade, as much as she would like to.
The story is sprinkled with bits of history. Gittel’s grandmother, Bubbe, reads the Bintel Brief in Yiddish. The town they live in is visited by suffragist Jane Addams, who is an inspiration to Gittel. Mama tells Gittel the story of their European shtetl and the Easter pogrom that led their family to immigrate to the United States. These historic details enliven the narrative without feeling didactic or forced.
Readers will appreciate the lively, unique, and relatable heroine of this coming-of-age story. Gittel and her family are characters that will be remembered long after one finishes reading.
