Andy Warhol is a complete artist and the interviews with him are both revealing and witty.

I was reading some other reviews, and I think it's a good idea to write a more in depth review when I reread it before The Queen Of Fire comes out. However I must admit it took me way too long to finish this book. I have no idea why that is the case! It was full of action and I loved every minute of it. The only thing I can think of is that I just wasn't in the right mindset of an epic fantasy. I think that I should have read a couple of shorter romances first and then took this on. We will see when I do the reread.

The synopsis above essentially says it all. The Blood Lie is a rather short, extremely realistic, look at one Jewish boy's first look into what is now commonly termed "Religisim". When Daisy goes missing the townspeople look for someone to blame, and Jack becomes their target. Jack is shown that his religion can trigger people to hate him and it changes his whole perception of life.

 

What I did enjoy about Shirley Reva Vernick's take on these actual events is how innocent she shows Jack to really be. From the beginning of the story, his whole thought process is basically focused on Emaline and his music. Jack has big dreams. He hopes to remove himself from his tiny town. His thoughts are pure, and rather adorable at times. Then, when everything takes a turn for the worse, you can easily see how much it affects his psyche. Poor Jack. Just an innocent boy who is thrown into the middle of a blood libel.

 

Everything else about The Blood Lie was pretty cut and dry though. It read less like Historical Fiction to me, and more like Non-Fiction. I know that Vernick obviously had to make Jack's character a lot more vivid than the original story would have. Still, there is very little to the story that is overly dramatic or exciting. It moves at a nice pace, slowly inching along to the end. When I got there I was a little underwhelmed. I'm glad I read this. It provided me with new knowledge. However I didn't feel anything besides that about this book.

 

Truth be told this probably just wasn't a book geared for a reader like me. There is nothing wrong with the writing in The Blood Lie, or with the characters, or even with the pacing. It's just that the story is so realistic that it lost the wow factor that my fantasy based brain clings to. Therefore I still highly recommend this to others! If you like a realistic story line, if you are a fan of historically based books, this is one for you.

Blood Lie by Shirley Reva Vernick is not a book that might be recommended as a light beach read. Instead, it's the kind of book middle school English teachers love to use to force students to think outside of their comfort zone.

And that's a good thing.

This book uncovers the naked truth about prejudice and discrimination as it existed in the early 20th century in a small town in New York. The whole book covers four days -- four horrible days when the very existence of Jews in this small town is questioned and threatened.

It's Jack's sixteenth birthday and he's excited for a very important reason. He's going to audition in a few days for a scholarship to a prestigious music school in Syracuse where he can study cello and have a chance to make something of himself.

Jack's mother has an unusual friend, a woman who is not Jewish. Jenna Durham and Eva Pool became friends when they first moved into town and they have remained friends. It's Daisy, Jenna's young daughter who is the unwitting cause of the problem.



Continue reading on Examiner.com The Blood Lie by Shirley Reva Vernick - Chicago Young Adult Fiction | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/young-adult-fiction-in-chicago/blood-lie-by-shirley-reva-vernick-review#ixzz1aQmp4KJ0

A chilling story of anti-Semitism.