By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

If you have ever adored a novel, you sometimes approach the author’s next work with trepidation. After all, is it possible for them to succeed in enchanting you a second time? That was particularly true in the case of Sacha Lamb, whose first book “When the Angels Left the Old Country” was a Stonewall Book Award winner, a Sydney Taylor Award winner, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book and a National Jewish Book Award finalist. It was also listed as a best of the year by NPR, the New York Public Library and Kirkus. (Read here.) While Ariel Kaplan’s first book in The Mirror Realm Cycle, “The Pomegranate Gate,” didn’t win any awards, readers of that exciting work have been impatiently waiting for the second in the series. (Read here.) Those who loved both those books as much as I did will be happy (thrilled, jumping for joy?) to learn that their second works are also a delight. 

The opening of Lamb’s second novel, “The Forbidden Book” (Levine Querido), left me a bit confused as first because its plot requires readers to puzzle exactly what has happened to its main characters. For example, why did 17-year-old Sorel Kalmans leap from her window to escape an arranged marriage? It’s clear that the marriage was not a love match, but rather a political arrangement between her rich father, a leader of the Jewish community, and the local Chasidic rabbi, who controls the more religious members of their town. Sorel’s groom-to-be, the rabbi’s son, could barely look her in the face when they met. But running away seems an unusual response in a novel that takes place during a time when women had few rights. 

At first, her escape seems a success. Sorel disguises herself as a young man and takes the name of Isaac Jacobs. It soon becomes clear, though, that was a mistake because there is another Isaac Jacobs living in their town and a great many people seem to want him dead. Although Sorel originally planned to leave the area, she finds herself enmeshed with learning why people want Isaac dead. With the help of Sam, a peddler who seems to be following her everywhere, and Adela, a friend of the original Isaac, Sorel not only wants to find Isaac, but discover what his disappearance means to the larger Jewish community. 

In the beginning, it wasn’t clear why “The Forbidden Book” was labeled a fantasy, readers soon learn it includes several mystical elements, including a dybbk, angels, a mysterious dog and a book humans and otherworldly creatures want for different reasons. While to say more would spoil the plot, the story quickly became absorbing and includes some surprising revelations. The ending was wonderful, with the author successfully tying together all the different aspects of the plot.

Although “The Forbidden Book” is a standalone novel, the same is not true for Kaplan’s “The Republic of Salt” (Erewhon Books): while readers can puzzle out parts of the plot without having read the first book in the series, it would be difficult. (If you are a big fan of fantasy with Jewish content, feel free to put this review down and order the first book in the series before continuing.) The story takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and, in the first novel, the Jewish characters were traveling from Spain to new, hopefully more hospitable homes. However, a few of them, including Toba and Naftaly, stumble into another a mirror realm of the human world where magic is real. Toba and Naftaly discover they are part human/part Mazik, which means they can perform magic due to their Mazik blood. What they also learn is that a full-blooded Mazik is looking to take over not only the mirror realm, but the human world, something that would spell disaster for both worlds.

The end of the first book left human and Mazik characters traveling toward the human and Mazik versions of the city of Zayit, where they hope to prevent its takeover in both worlds. However, unexpected problems arise, including demons and other mythical creatures who might be able to save or destroy each world. This is, of course, an oversimplification shown by the fact the novel opens with a five-page listing of the characters found in both worlds, and four pages explaining the different geographical locations featured. While no plot summary of the first novel is offered, these pages help readers reorient themselves. 

The most important thing about “The Republic of Salt” is how quickly its 500-plus pages flew by and how absorbing it was. The characters – from both worlds – come to feel like friends and it’s crushing when something bad happens to them. This is only the second book in the series and even though it leaves many questions unanswered, my final question was a simple one: when will book three be published?