Review: Entertaining, Mind-Provoking Novel
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2013
From the start of the preface to the last chapter of Book 5, Pittman's writing has an air of truth that is both fragile and compelling.  The novel is a fun insight into the daily life of Ruthie Pincus, an "almost ten year old" girl growing up in Brooklyn during a trying time, with a family with deep connections to persecution and revolution.  Pittman's attention to detail in the plot makes the entire novel realistic, as she focuses on things that a normal girl would (and often gets forgotten about in novels), such as the way her mother washes dishes or her intense focus on collecting things, which perfectly captures Ruthie's innocence.The chapters appear more like separate vignettes, which makes it interesting to jump from one topic to the next and allows the novel to progress at a reasonable pace.  Even though it handles complicated concepts, such as religious tension, mental illness and the reality of death, telling the story through Ruthie's eyes adds a unique perspective that makes it suitable for young adults.  Very rarely do you find such real emotion and are able to follow the sudden shift from joy to sadness, but Pittman successfully accomplishes both.  Using humor, such as Ruthie struggling to figure out why collecting meat fat isn't acceptable behavior, Pittman manages to tie multiple plot points together into a fantastic, coming-of-age Brooklyn story.