Review by Booklist Review
Just before Mirka's stepmother, Fruma, leaves her in charge of her little half sister, Layele, she hints that she saw some strange things in the woods when she was a girl, and Mirka should definitely never go there. Naturally, Mirka's unassailable curiosity wins out, and with Layele in tow, she starts hunting in the forest for magic and finds it. Thanks to a magic hairband, Mirka and Layele see 35 years into the past, and they watch Fruma find a wish-granting fish, whom she cleverly traps. But in the present, that fish wants revenge, and he's kidnapped Layele for leverage. Deutsch seamlessly integrates details about Mirka's Jewish Orthodox traditions into this third Hereville adventure, which is packed with puzzles, magic, and some comical sibling conflict as well as some touching family scenes. His colorful cartoonish artwork is packed with outsize emotions, but there are also moments of quiet contemplation, as when Mirka and her stepmother observe Shabbos while worried about Layele. Middle-grade comics fans, regardless of their religious backgrounds, will be charmed by spunky Mirka.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-In a third adventure in the Orthodox community of Hereville, Mirka learns more about her stepmother when she meets a magic fish whose powers are held in check by a wish Fruma made when she was a teenager. The fish takes Mirka's stepsister, Layele, hostage, making Mirka the "worst babysitter ever." A mix of humor and drama, with plenty of suspenseful chases and battles, this is an enjoyable and absorbing read. Cartoon-style illustrations with bold, clear lines and a limited color palette highlight Deutsch's deft use of the comics medium. At one point Layele, enchanted by the magic fish, dissolves into a school of fish that bombard Mirka with statements reflecting her conflicted feelings about their relationship. Dynamic paneling heightens the action and emotion in many scenes. In one, Fruma transforms into a giant redwood. A close-up of Mirka's shocked face is layered over smaller panels sequencing the transformation. On the next page, panels bleed into a wide view of Mirka running to the rescue. This sophistication and subtlety extend to the depiction of Mirka's relationships, particularly the push and pull with her stepmother. Fruma is argumentative and unsentimental, but she is a reliable and caring adult in Mirka's life. This stand-alone volume should appeal to readers of other graphic novels starring plucky female characters such as Raina Telgemeier's Sisters (Scholastic, 2014) and Vera Brosgol's Anya's Ghost (Square Fish, 2014), as well as fans of humorous adventures such as Jeff Smith's "Bone" series (Scholastic) and Shannon Hale's Rapunzel's Revenge (Bloomsbury, 2008). VERDICT An entertaining graphic novel adventure in which Mirka learns more about herself and her family relationships.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Mirka is stuck babysitting her pesky six-year-old half-sister Layele while the rest of the family is away from their all-Hasidic community. Fruma, Mirkas stepmother, leaves strict orders to stay out of the woods, where bizarre magic always seems to happen (Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, rev. 11/10; Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite, rev. 11/12) and where Fruma saw things when she was Mirkas age. Of course, Mirka does go into the woods, dragging Layele with her, and before long shes wheedled the troll from the first book out of a hair elastic with time-travel capabilities (the illustrations denote the time travelers by superimposing them onto the landscape in transparent purple and white). The girls encounter a wishing fish, the same one who lost a battle of wits with a young Fruma (then called Fran and dressed in modern garb) and who now has a wicked plan to gain power by controlling and kidnapping Layele. Though the expressive and often humorous illustrations in this graphic novel do much to convey each scenes tone and highlight important characters and objects, words make the world go round here. (Check out Mirkas punctuation-marked skirt!) Speech bubbles wind in and out of the variably sized panels, and the eventual solution involves verbal gymnastics as much as heroics and compassion. shoshana flax (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After previously battling a troll and then a meteorite, fearless, stubborn Mirka returns for a third outing, this time to save her family from a vengeful magical fish. Rather than battling monsters, precocious Mirka, a young Orthodox Jewish girl living in a large blended family, is told that she must spend a day babysitting her stepsister Layele. Determined to eke out some excitement, Mirka takes her charge into the woods that, only moments earlier, her stepmother, Fruma, had warned her about. In the woods, Mirka and Layele encounter her old opponent, the troll, who gives Mirka a hairband that allows her to see the past. With it, she learns that Fruma had made a deal with a very tricky, wish-granting fish but left her trapped in a lake for eternity. Naturally, the girls happen upon the fish, and she tricks young Layele into bringing her home, determined to exact her revenge upon Fruma. This time, Mirka must fight a battle without weapons and confront the vindictive fish with new weapons: kindness and logic. Deutsch has created a wonderfully inventive world in which fantastic creatures believably reside alongside a religious community; Mirka is a delightfully flawed heroine that nearly anyone can relate to and enjoy. Backgrounder Wallace and colorist Richmond augment Deutsch's busy panels, providing a pleasingly earth-toned setting for Mirka's latest adventure. This consistently clever and thoughtful series hasn't lost a particle of momentum. (Graphic fantasy. 8-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
