Elyse Hoffman serves up a believable fantasy quest based on Jewish folklore, a unique plot involving biblical artifacts, and a lovable mute orphaned protagonist in Uriel. The story is set in WWII German-occupied Poland and opens with Uriel lying on the street of his ravaged Polish village, Zingdorf.
A car of Germans carrying Major Brandt and his conscripted linguist, Uwe Litten, drive by and the linguist shouts for them to stop. He gets out and stares at the carnage. He’s horrified to see dead bodies of old men, young women and men of marriageable age amid smoldering buildings, including a vandalized Synagogue.
Major Brandt stares out at the broken glass and furniture littering the streets, and finds it odd because he hadn’t ordered his men to take care of Zingdorf yet. He figures it is the work of the local anti-Semites.
Uwe, the linguist, spots the body of a boy about the same age as his own son. He imagines what the child thought as he died, and notices he is hugging a golden notebook against his chest. On the cover, written in large black letters is the name Uriel. Uwe slips the book into his pocket and starts to read it while riding in the back seat of the car as they travel to the house where they will be staying. The book is filled with stories based on religious fables penned in the child’s handwriting. The stories fascinate the man.
Uriel awakens and is distraught that his beloved golden notebook is gone along with everyone and everything in Zingdorf. Angels Raphael and Gabriel arrive amid the ruins and heal the boy, and learn that he can see them. They explain they couldn’t have come sooner because when in the presence of evil they experience debilitating pain. The angels tell Uriel that Michael, the Guardian Angel of God’s Chosen people is missing, and they have no idea where he is being held. The evil being perpetrated against the Jewish people has weakened the angel and they worry that the Angel of Death has captured him. They see Uriel as a child sent from Hashem to help. He is not an angel and can walk among the Germans without pain. They offer Uriel the opportunity to find and rescue Michael, and he accepts.
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This captivating YA story, builds with steady momentum. It had me hooked within the first few pages. As an Angel Finder, Uriel learns the evil people cannot see him, so when the German linguist, Uwe, can see him it is a surprise. Uwe becomes Uriel’s sidekick. He hides the boy in his room within Major Brandt’s house where Uriel is delighted to find that the linguist has his notebook. The two read the stories before bed, and a close relationship develops.
Uriel makes a deal with the Angel of Death to release Michael, but it requires several mini quests to gather items like David’s harp and Joseph’s cup. Each quest is a little more dangerous, and while Uriel occupies his day sneaking off on his quests, Uwe grows to become the brains, heart, and inner strength of the story as he is forced to work among the Germans as a translator.
Each page fed my hunger to know what happened next and created new hunger to know more. Just like real life, things are not cut and dried. Hoffman delivers a well-told tale that’s action-packed, original, unpredictable and closes with a satisfying end. I give it a solid 5 stars and recommend The Book of Uriel to readers young and old who enjoy quests for artifacts and the of good vs. evil. I think people who enjoyed reading The Paris Architect: A WWII Novel by Charles Belfoure would enjoy this story. But I offer a word of caution to parents of preteens, because the actions of war are gruesome and can be too much for those sensitive to the evils of anti-Semitism, war and related violence.
As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and I received The Book of Uriel as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #Blackberry Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.
About Author Elyse Hoffman
Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. She loves to meld WWII and Jewish history with fantasy, folklore, and the paranormal. She has written six works of Holocaust historical fiction: the five books of The Barracks of the Holocaust and The Book of Uriel.
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