The Inquisitor’s Apprentice

This was really cute and unique. A perfect blend of tenement historical fiction, with really spot on accurate Jewish American history with a kid's fantasy book, with all the bells and whistles of typical YA fantasy.

Major props for the creativity - this is probably the only book ever written to combine a Dybbuk and Thomas Edison in more or less the same plot. Also, the magic feels well thought out with a clear culture of how magic is and isn't used and how this varies among the upper and lower classes. Finally, the tenement culture felt familiar and true to the historical nonfiction that I'm familiar with.

The weakness was the pacing - the entire book feels like a build up to the “to be continued” that occurs at the end. I think it probably would have been more satisfying to wait until the series was finished and read it all at one go.