The Light of the Midnight Stars

Starred review from April 1, 2021

Rossner's tale combines Hungarian folklore with the Jewish mysticism of the Kabbalah to tell a story of love and death. Dragon-riding rabbis and their fire-breathing daughters attempt to change the course of history, only to become victims of it, over and over again. The story begins in a tiny village deep in a Hungarian forest, where the daughters of the local rabbi, a magical descendant of King Solomon, try to keep the darkest of magic away from their village home. They are forced to flee when their attempts fail and they are blamed for a resulting tragedy. As refugees, they attempt to hide themselves, their religion, and their magic far, far away, only for evil to again pursue them in their new home. Each of these magical daughters of earth, fire, and the stars falls in love, but in the end their tragic fate is to become legend. VERDICT Highly recommended for lovers of Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver and her "Scholomance" series, as well as readers who enjoy their fantasy steeped in myths from infrequently represented people and places.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2021
Rossner (The Sisters of the Winter Wood, 2018) has crafted a masterful tale blending Jewish mysticism, fairy tales, and history in this story about three girls who wield the sacred magic of King Solomon's descendants. Each of the sisters presents her perspective as they grow from squabbling siblings to a unified front in the face of adversity. Hannah, the oldest, has supernatural abilities with healing and plants and assists their father as his scribe. Sarah, brooding and angry, has an untameable flame within her that accidentally burns their garden, though she eventually learns to control it--somewhat--from one of her father's apprentices. Levana daydreams about the stars, connecting with them intimately while studying with her father at the synagogue. When tragedy strikes their family and they are forced to flee, they adopt new names and move past their infighting to find the best path forward for their struggling family. This spectacular coming-of-age story shows the evolution that each of the sisters moves through to find their ending.

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