From Dust, a Flame by Rebecca Podos
Published by Balzer + Bray on March 8, 2022
ISBN: 0062699067
Pages: 416
Genres: Fantasy, Horror
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Hannah, her mother, and brother have always lived a life on the road. So when they finally settle in Massachusetts, she has high hopes that they will stay for a while – at least long enough for her to finish high school and get into a good college. But on her seventeenth birthday, she wakes up with eyes like a snake – the first of many physical changes that occur. Leaving Hannah and her brother Gabe alone, her mother tells them she will to get help for the strange things that are happening. Only she never comes back. After weeks alone, an obituary for their grandmother comes anonymously in the mail, and Hannah and Gabe agree that setting out to find their relatives in New York seems to be their only option.

This novel uses Jewish tradition and mythology to tell the story of three generations of women, a family curse, and real atrocities that occurred in the past. The importance of family comes across as the main theme in this clever blend of horror, fantasy and historical fiction. A good addition to any YA collection.

Reviewed by Lee Remick, York Middle School