THE WITCH OF WOODLAND

Dara Rosenberg's pacing could be best described by the name of this audiobook's main character: Zippy. Fast pacing perfectly expresses the way Zipporah Chaya McConnell has moved through her life. Now, however, seventh grade brings roadblocks and challenges. Rosenberg brings out the confusion in Zippy's first-person narration as her "part-time" Jewish parents nudge her to become bat mitzvahed; her best friend, Bea, chooses mature friends; and, most perplexing, Zippy's witchy practice produces a girl with wings who doesn't know her identity. Is she an angel or a dybbuk, and why overnight does Zippy know Hebrew? Rosenberg fills her narration with a sense of questioning that never slows the momentum as Zippy comes to understand her own identity. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2023]