Puppet

Title: Puppet
Author: Eva Wiseman
ISBN: 0887768288

Plot Summary: Julie, a young girl growing up in Hungary at the end of the 19th century, deals with poverty, hunger, and domestic violence in her daily life. When her best friend is found dead, the villagers blame the local Jewish community. In the course of the murder trial, Morris Scharf, a young Jewish boy who is the son of the defendant, is coerced, tortured and bribed into giving testimony against his father. Although Julie understands the pressures with which Morris is faced, she decides she must overcome her father's wrath, the community's disapproval, and her own fear in order to tell the truth.


Critical Evaluation: Although this book is based on true events, elements of the plot and characters feel overly melodramatic and unrealistic. Julie's abusive, alcoholic, philandering father, for example, is a two-dimensional, snarling villain, and Julie's own tribulations are almost too full of pathos to be believed.  The dialogue is stilted and frequently overwrought, and the conceit of having the Jewish characters speak to the Hungarian ones in broken English - ostensibly, to indicate that it is not their mother tongue - feels increasingly artificial. Younger readers may appreciate the chance to learn about the dangers of mass paranoia and prejudice, as well as to see how suicide was dealt with during the era. However, older or more sophisticated readers, although they may appreciate the story itself, will probably find its telling in this account overly simplistic.


Reader's Annotation: Julie is a poor girl from a 19th century Hungarian village with very little to enjoy in her life: her home life is brutal, her work hard, and her belly often empty. When a Jewish man is wrongfully accused of killing her best friend, Julie must weigh the physical and social dangers of testifying in his favor against her desire to make sure the truth becomes known.

About the Author:

Genre: Fiction: Historical

Curriculum Ties: European History, World Religions


Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: In Hungary, the name "Morris Scharf" is another term for "traitor."
Approach: Character and plot-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Morris betrays his father, his religion, and his community. Why does he do it? Things that are done, said, given to or taken from him in order to get the testimony the prosecution wants. It doesn't work, and his father goes free - explore reasons why this happens. Discuss other historical traitors: Benedict Arnold, Quisling, etc. Why did they do what they did, and how has history judged them?

Hook: Morris's father is prosecuted for "blood libel" - the belief that Jews murdered Christian children in order to use their blood in religious ceremonies.
Approach: Plot-based
Ideas for Booktalk: Stigma against suicide, need to blame someone for Esther's death. Jewish community keeps to selves, has own language, clothing, customs, and religious beliefs. Insularity a form of protection, but paranoia plus ignorance on the part of Christian villagers leads to conspiracy theories. Many such theories are still around today - what motivates people to perpetuate them, and why?


Reading Level/Interest Age: Junior High

Challenge Issues: Violence, character death, anti-Semitism.
Religious and ethnic prejudice, although more overt in the 19th century, is unfortunately still prevalent today, as are bigoted conspiracy theories. Julie is overworked by her employer and abused by her father, but the society of the day allowed such things to happen to children without discussing them openly or giving consequences to adults. The issue of suicide is particularly important to young people today, as they face at least as many hardships and challenges as they did in Julie's day. Although the themes and imagery in this book may be inappropriate for more sensitive readers, it is nonetheless important for younger readers to learn the lessons of tolerance and justice this book attempts to teach.


Why I Chose This Book: For all its literary flaws, this book tells a story of prejudice, mass paranoia, and injustice that is still resonant and relevant today. It takes a difficult, complex, often disturbing true story and attempts to make it accessible to young readers, and for the most part succeeds in so doing. The fact that the lessons it teaches are still relevant today is, to my mind, argument enough for keeping it on Young Adult reading lists.