Week 44 Review: From Dust, a Flame

From Goodreads:

Hannah's whole life has been spent in motion. Her mother has kept her and her brother, Gabe, on the road for as long as she can remember, leaving a trail of rental homes and faded relationships behind them. No roots, no family but one another, and no explanations.

All of that changes on Hannah's seventeenth birthday when she wakes up transformed, a pair of golden eyes with knife-slit pupils blinking back at her from the mirror—the first of many such impossible mutations. Promising that she knows someone who can help, her mother leaves Hannah and Gabe behind to find a cure. But as the days turn to weeks and their mother doesn't return, they realize it's up to them to find the truth.

What they discover is a family they never knew, and a history more tragic and fantastical than Hannah could have dreamed—one that stretches back to her grandmother's childhood in Prague under the Nazi occupation, and beyond, into the realm of Jewish mysticism and legend. As the past comes crashing into the present, Hannah must hurry to unearth their family's secrets—and confront her own hidden legacy in order to break the curse and save the people she loves most, as well as herself.

My Review:
This was such a great read! Not a lot of books have a Jewish focus, and it was really great to read one that did! I loved watching Hannah learn about her heritage, and the secrets from her mom's side of the family, it was such an entertaining adventure!

This is a story about family, about history, about roots. Hannah hasn't met her mom's side of the family, it's really been her, her (adopted) brother, and their mom, since her dad died when they were young. And now that changes are occuring, her mom has disappeared, and they're told of their grandmother's death. Watching them meet and get to know these family members that they didn't know existed, trying to find out where their mom is, and dealing with the changes, it was all fantastic to read! 

We were told this story mainly from Hannah's perspective. But once and awhile, we'd get the story of her mom when she was a teenger, of the time right before she left her family and never looked back. Because what happened there, is why everything is happening now! 

I really enjoyed how things wove together, of how the one story that they were told, that had a version that was specific to their family was important to their family for a reason. It did suck that they had to go through that because of it, but the connections were cool! 

I had a great time reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Rebecca Podos! 

Author: Rebeca Podos 
Read: November 4th, 2022
Source: Edelweiss/Library
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a SAC 2022 Book and WoW Book! 
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: February 8th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars