Beinoni

A Jewish boy struggles with his duty as a protector of the world in this byzantine fantasy from Lowe (The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman). Ezra Safran is the Nivchar, someone destined to fight the gurya, a fiery beast of indeterminate form, on the night of the Nivchar’s mitzvah. If the Nivchar defeats the gurya, the world will enter an 80-year period of peace and stability known as Beinoni time; if the Nivchar loses, violent horrors will be unleashed. As his bar mitzvah nears, Ezra worries his lifelong training won’t be enough to win against the beast. When he narrowly escapes a kidnapping attempt and news stories begin cropping up about emerging wars and diseases, he is certain that Beinoni time is ending. But his rabbi father refuses to acknowledge his concerns. Ezra soon befriends orphaned troublemaker Aryeh, and together, with help from Aryeh’s foster sister Miriam, the boys investigate Ezra’s would-be kidnapper, and they stumble upon a much larger conspiracy that will test Ezra’s devotion to his destiny. Though the expository prose can be somewhat dense, the characters’ tender relationships and Lowe’s astute examinations of the weight of duty and the perceived price of peace make for a complex and thoughtfully rendered fantasy adventure. Ages 8–12. Agent: Tamar Rydzinski, Context Literary. (July)