The Devil’s Arithmetic, is a historical fiction novel written by Jane Yolen. I thought that this book was written superbly, and it really captured the ominous feeling of the Holocaust very well. An interesting part of this book are when the main character, Hannah (Chaya), came back from the supernatural dreams and then appreciated her Great Aunt Eva and Grandpa Will more than she ever had. The characters, and settings are so easy to visualize because of the great writing the author gives you to read. Some confusing things was when the author made some of the character’s talk in Yiddish, but later on I’ve discovered there was a glossary in the back of the book with all the Yiddish words defined. A unique factor that makes this book fascinating is the element of supernatural with historical. Some people may think these two elements of writing are hard to combine, but when you have such a rich history in a culture it seems very easy to use.

In the beginning of the book, Hannah, the main character, travels from a friend’s house to a Seder at her relatives’ house at the end of Passover. She then does all the traditions and celebrates the holiday, but did not really appreciate what the holiday meant. On one of the traditions it says for someone to open the door to let the prophet of Elijah in their home. Instead of Hannah being in reality she gets transported to the 1940’s, during the Holocaust. As Hannah completes the opening of the door, she sees a dark figure in the distance on a beautiful spring day. The surrounding area looked scattered with sunlight. The grass was a vivid green, and the smell of the field was strong. A man by the name of Shmuel comes inside and gave her a hug. He recognizes her, but it was the opposite for Hannah. Then, a woman by the name of Gitl is standing in the kitchen with an apron on, baking a cake for Fayge and Shmuel’s wedding. The next day they all go to the wedding of Fayge and Shmuel when all of a sudden, the Nazis show up and forcefully put them all into trucks and then into cattle cars. If the Jewish prisoners disobeyed, they’d be shot in the blink of an eye and killed. Find out what happens next by reading the book!

This book is meant for older people, around the ages of 14 and up, since there are some very strong themes like death, suffering, and love, all based around the historical happenings of the Holocaust. I would rate this book 8.5/10 because of the strong writing but a little unclear vocabulary (the Yiddish). I would recommend this book to anyone with a passion for history and powerful storytelling, because it is told wonderfully!