Introduction
As I mentioned in my last post, my middle grade work-in-progress, Out of the Flame, has morphed into a time travel novel. The reason is simple. I love sharing history with tweens and teens and time travel is more appealing than straight historical fiction. The execution is not. Now I have to learn how to write a book that combines the fantastical element of time traveling, plus information from two historical periods, with all the normal things like engaging characters, a believable plot, and conflict that will lead to a satisfying end. But, there’s nothing like a writing challenge to keep a writer’s brain going, so here I am with a review of the first mentor novel I read, Jane Yolen’s amazing book, The Devil’s Arithmetic.
I hope this blog post will introduce you to a worthwhile Holocaust novel as well as some notes about about writing time travel–in case it’s on your writer’s bucket list to try.
Summary
Set in New York City in the 1980’s, the story opens with Hannah Stern at her family seder opening the door for Elijah. She has taken part of the Passover meal many times but this time is different: when she walks through the door, she is in the German/Polish border in 1942 and is mistaken for Chaya Abramowicz–an orphaned Polish girl.
Hannah is confused–where is she and who are the people around her who call her Chaya? Initially, the narrative includes a lot of her questions as memories of the family she left in New York are still very clear in her mind. Over the novel, these memories get increasingly more vague as her life in the past becomes her new normal.
As a tween, Hannah has heard stories about the Holocaust and has relatives who suffered through the atrocities of concentration camps. Therefore, when she realizes where she is and that Nazi soldiers are rounding up her new friends and family, she has a huge dilemma: how can she stop these awful events from happening? She is smacked in the face with the same thing that the reader experiences: a young girl can’t stop time or change history.
Having just recently visited Dachu, I could picture the crowded barracks, the barbed wire stretching from one guard tower to the next, the “Work Shall Make You Free” sign and the chimneys of the crematorium. These are pictures which I took while I was there; the first one is from a video of what the camp looked like. Now there are only a few recreated barracks to walk through.
Unfortunately, The Devil’s Arithmetic, is piercingly true. Yolen wrote in the Epilogue:
“There is no way that fiction can come close to touching how truly inhuman, alien, even satanic, was the efficient machinery of death at the camps.” (p. 169)
Yet, in this immersive classic Jane Yolen brings today’s readers into a time period that many would prefer to forget. This travel back in time accomplishes its purpose: readers learn and remember.
How Jane Yolen Handles Time Travel
- I was surprised by how much Hannah reflects on her past in New York City when she goes back in time to Poland. I hadn’t thought about how (obviously!) confusing it would be for a character to time travel. Since Hannah “becomes” Chaya, a young girl who was very sick with cholera, her lapses into references about her former life all get blamed on being a part of her sickness. It was a very clever way of bringing a character into the past.
- Hannah’s dilemma of wanting to tell her new relatives about what is happening is very real. It prompts me to wonder: If you traveled back in time, what would you want to warn people about?
- I had to read the ending a few times to have it make sense to me. It brings together both the fantasy of time travel and the reality of what Hannah witnesses in the past.
Conclusion
This book is high on my list of books to recommend to teens and adults for its historical authenticity. How much of Yolen’s methods will I use in writing Out of the Flame? That remains to be seen.
How about you? Have you read The Devil’s Arithmetic? Do you have a time travel book to recommend? Please leave me a comment below.
Want more great books for middle grade readers? Check out Greg Pattridge’s MMGM blog.
Teaching.
Thanks for visiting my blog, Sarah.
Can’t believe I’ve never read The Devil’s Arithmetic! I’m excited to see how “Out of The Flame” develops. Great title. Maybe your character’s transitions are suggested by the title? I listened to a time travel audio book that was intriguing. Forgot the exact title but I will find it and send you a text.
Joyce- you HAVE to read it. You’ll be amazed. That won’t be how the time travel happens (out of the flame) but boy, that does sound intriguing! Thanks for commenting.
I didn’t get to teach this book but we had a class set (30 books) of The Devil’s Arithmetic at my school for the middle school to use thanks to my ability to finesse the Scholastic Book Club bonuses and points when I was managing the orders for several classes. This was one of the books I ordered as a class set. An excellent book for so many reasons. I did have the opportunity teach the play version of The Diary of Anne Frank with my eighth graders as the reading specialist.
I recently read The First State of Being, by Erin Estrada Kelly which has a time travel element and the character mentions how important it is not to alter anything in the past so that they won’t have their own time period to return to. It’s handled well, Erin Estrada Kelly won the Newberry for this book so my description doesn’t do it justice, lol.
Thanks for your comment. The Diary of Anne Frank is definitely a companion book to The Devil’s Arithmetic. Thanks for the recommendation of the First State of Being. I’ll put it on my TBR list.
I haven’t read this time travel novel, but it sounds good. I’ve always loved historical fiction and time travel. Good luck with your manuscipt.
Thank you, Natalie.
I read this book several years ago and absolutely loved it. It is harrowing, but such an important story. The character arc is one to study. I also visited Dachau many years ago as a teen, but we saw the movie first, and I was so overwhelmed by that I couldn’t look around the grounds afterward.
Good luck with your time travel! I’ve never written a time travel story, but I think juggling basically two plots (present day and the past) would be challenging! But you don’t grow without a challenge, right! I’m sure it will be wonderful!
I can imagine that visiting Dachu as a teen could be overwhelming. it was for my sister and I too. We’ll see how the time travel goes. One step at a time!
I haven’t read this book before, but your review makes me want to read it. Every Holocaust story is shocking… and important. It’s overwhelming that anyone could treat another human like they were treating then. Thank you for sharing.
You won’t regret reading It, Marci. It’s a quick–albeit painful–read.
I love time travel stories set in the past. This will be a must read for me thanks to your insights. An important story for young and old. Happy MMGM!
Yes, Greg. You HAVE to read it. Quick read, but powerful.
I didn’t know about this book but I have read some of Yolen’s work and it’s all been good. I hadn’t thought about time travel books as a sneaky way to do historical fiction! Now you’re giving me ideas–and maybe more sense that I might like such a book.
How fun if I inspire you to try your hand at time travel, Rebecca!!!
I haven’t read this. I’m pretty sure I have a copy somewhere. I’ll look for it. Thanks for the review.