Black Bird, Blue Road

by Sofiya Pasternack Narrated by Rebecca Gibel

Overview

In this historical fantasy novel, praised as a “rich, omen-filled journey that powerfully shows love and its limits*” and*“propulsive, wise, and heartbreaking,”***Ziva will do anything to save her twin brother Pesah from his illness-even facing the Angel of Death himself. From Sydney Taylor Honor winner and National Jewish Book Award finalist Sofiya Pasternack.

Pesah has lived with leprosy for years, and the twins have spent most of that time working on a cure. Then Pesah has a vision: The Angel of Death will come for him on Rosh Hashanah, just one month away.

So Ziva takes her brother and runs away to find doctors who can cure him. But when they meet and accidentally free a half-demon boy, he suggests paying his debt by leading them to the fabled city of Luz, where no one ever dies-the one place Pesah will be safe.

They just need to run faster than The Angel of Death can fly...

(*Publishers Weekly, starred review; **Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile

Set in the eleventh-century Jewish empire Khazaria, the story of 12-year-old Ziva and her twin brother, Pesah, is lovingly narrated by Rebecca Gibel. Pesah has leprosy. When their parents announce they are sending him away to die, the twins leave home to find a cure. Listeners hear urgency and desperation as they try to outrace Pesah's death, which he has envisioned will occur on Rosh Hashanah, and befriend a sheyd (demon) named Almas. Gibel makes each character distinct. She especially captures the twins as they grapple with death. Her pronunciation of phrases and names from many languages, including Hebrew, is masterful. This strong performance is not to be missed. L.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 07/25/2022

In this dazzling historical fantasy, Pasternack (the Anya and the Dragon duology) tells of a tender sibling bond set in the little-known medieval Jewish empire of Khazaria. In the city of Atil, newly 12-year-old Ziva bat Leah is desperate to keep her brilliant, beloved twin brother, Pesah, from dying of leprosy. Inventive Pesah is kept in a house of his own on the Jewish family’s property, but when the siblings’ doctor uncle recommends that Pesah be sent to a far-flung colony, Ziva packs the siblings up and hits the road, hoping to find a cure. They soon meet up with a half-sheydim boy with whom they travel, but they’re racing against time, and the long journey is shadowed quite literally by Malach hamavet—the Angel of Death himself. Pasternack shows how Ziva’s love of justice drives her, while depicting a world in which spirits are manifest, healers come in many forms, and a bold girl can literally bargain with the Angel of Death. Tenderly rendering Ziva’s feelings of responsibility—including around Pesah’s physical care and amputating his infected fingers and toes—Pasternack imagines a rich, omen-filled journey that powerfully shows love and its limits. A contextualizing afterword and glossary conclude. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

Pasternack shows how Ziva’s love of justice drives her, while depicting a world in which spirits are manifest, healers come in many forms, and a bold girl can literally bargain with the Angel of Death. Tenderly rendering Ziva’s feelings of responsibility—including around Pesah’s physical care and amputating his infected fingers and toes—Pasternack imagines a rich, omen-filled journey that powerfully shows love and its limits. — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Pasternak's historical fantasy weaves Jewish mythology and traditions into this heroine's journey that asks readers to contemplate issues of life and death. Readers will be intrigued by the ravens that follow Pesah everywhere, the details of the city of Luz (where no one dies), and Pesah's vision that the Angel of Death will visit him on Rosh Hashanah. This works as an adventure, but it should also prompt discussions about the ethics of preserving life at all costs.  — Kay Weisman — Booklist (starred review)

Pasternack’s story is rich in the rhythms, values, and deep magic of Jewish culture and life in the Turkic Jewish empire of Khazaria. It revels in an often overlooked mythology, deploying exciting fantasy elements with ease. More than simply an adventure, this is a story about grief and illness and arguing with the rules of the world, enduring and enjoying the living that happens between now and the end, threaded through with the profound, unshakeable love of two brave siblings. Propulsive, wise, and heartbreaking. — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Set in Khazaria, a medieval empire of the Eurasian steppes, this moving tale steeped in Jewish lore is a welcome addition to middle grade fantasy shelves. Ziva is a fierce, appealing heroine, driven by her deep love for her brother, a profound sense of justice, and an unwillingness to accept the status quo—qualities that serve her well but sometimes keep her from seeing those around her clearly. An omniscient narrator addresses the reader in interludes that lend the text a mythic feel, while the main narrative is a rousing adventure and coming of age story inflected by Ziva’s internal struggles. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

Pasternack (Anya and the Dragon) writes with a storyteller’s cadence without sacrificing liveliness, keeping emotions front and center (“She’d jab the Angel of Death in every single one of its eyeballs if that meant keeping Pesah safe”).  - SHOSHANA FLAX www.hbook.com — Horn Book Magazine

“A touching story about the lengths we go to to save those we love. A magical tale, beautifully told.” — Anne Blankman, National Jewish Book Award and Sydney Taylor Honor winning author of The Blackbird Girls

“A bit reminiscent of Madeleine L’Engle, a bit reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, this story… will keep young readers breathless until its heart-rending conclusion.”  — Susan Lynn Meyer, Sydney Taylor Honor winning author of Black Radishes and Skating With the Statue of Liberty

“Unforgettable… Cleverly weaves mythology and Jewish traditions to highlight the incredible courage and resilience of family.” — Chris Baron, author of All of Me and The Magical Imperfect

"A gripping story of two siblings that will do everything they can to save each other… Brilliantly crafted, heartbreakingly beautiful."  — Ally Malinenko, author of Ghost Girl

"A novel firmly grounded in Khazarian Jewish culture avoids the problematic trap of magical healing for Pesah; instead, Ziva’s and Pesah’s painful, heartbreaking acceptance of Pesah’s approaching death is thoughtfully and sensitively portrayed." — CCBC Choices 2023

Chris Baron

Unforgettable… Cleverly weaves mythology and Jewish traditions to highlight the incredible courage and resilience of family.

Susan Lynn Meyer

A bit reminiscent of Madeleine L’Engle, a bit reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, this story… will keep young readers breathless until its heart-rending conclusion.” 

Anne Blankman

Part fantasy, part adventure… a touching story about the lengths we go to save those we love. A magical tale, beautifully told.” 

Ally Malinenko

"A gripping story of two siblings that will do everything they can to save each other… Brilliantly crafted, heartbreakingly beautiful." 

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile

Set in the eleventh-century Jewish empire Khazaria, the story of 12-year-old Ziva and her twin brother, Pesah, is lovingly narrated by Rebecca Gibel. Pesah has leprosy. When their parents announce they are sending him away to die, the twins leave home to find a cure. Listeners hear urgency and desperation as they try to outrace Pesah's death, which he has envisioned will occur on Rosh Hashanah, and befriend a sheyd (demon) named Almas. Gibel makes each character distinct. She especially captures the twins as they grapple with death. Her pronunciation of phrases and names from many languages, including Hebrew, is masterful. This strong performance is not to be missed. L.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2022-06-08
For years Ziva bat Leah’s quest to cure her twin brother Pesah’s leprosy has consumed their lives.

When his health worsens, their parents arrange for him to be taken to a colony. But after Pesah has a celestial vision at their birthday party indicating that he will die on Rosh Hashanah, Ziva decides they must run away. Along with Almas, a sheydim, or demon, she rescues, they travel to the city of Luz, the only place the Angel of Death can’t go. Pasternack’s story is rich in the rhythms, values, and deep magic of Jewish culture and life in the Turkic Jewish empire of Khazaria. It revels in an often overlooked mythology, deploying exciting fantasy elements with ease. Ziva struggles with her fiery nature—stubbornness that is also an intense desire for justice. Her single-minded focus on saving Pesah blinkers her to the inevitability of death and the complexities of both their own fears and needs as she comes to understand them. Pesah is brilliant and gentle, kindhearted Almas faces prejudice for his demon nature, and the three form a charming traveling trio even amid fear and pain. More than simply an adventure, this is a story about grief and illness and arguing with the rules of the world, enduring and enjoying the living that happens between now and the end, threaded through with the profound, unshakeable love of two brave siblings.

Propulsive, wise, and heartbreaking. (afterword, glossary) (Historical fantasy. 9-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175830508
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/20/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,026,910
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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