Review: The Art of Exile

The Art of Exile

by Andrea Max

Margaret K. McElderry Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2025

Category: Young Adult

Reviewer: Laura Schutzman

 

Buy at Bookshop.org

Ada Castle is a senior in high school whenher family sends her to Rome for a specific mission. The problem is, she does not know what her mission is until she meets a man by the statue of David, named Michaelangelo or Michael for short. Ada’s whole life is changed by this supposedly chance encounter. After she is kidnapped and then rescued by Michael, he informs her that she is a Sire (magic user) with a special power to manipulate and heal the world through “Hai” the lifeforce. He recruits her to go to a special school, Genesis, to hone her talent. Upon arrival Ada is faced with a dilemma: do what the family expects of her and steal the texts of this secluded sect, or try and do what she wants, selfishly improving her skills to be an alchemist?

The book is the first of a series, so it ends on a little bit of a cliffhanger with some of the stories not wrapped up. Written for a young adult audience, this book includes romantic scenes and violent imagery.

Judaism is very present in this book. It is woven nicely into the story and does not feel like an afterthought at all. The main idea of the book is that Ada has “Hai”, a lifeforce just like the Jewish concept of Haim - life. There are multiple instances where there are references to Jewish history like the Holocaust and the blood libels in Europe, which enhance one's understanding of the backstory of Genesis. The terms relate to things like the school Genesis, the sacred texts called the Testaments, and even that there are five of them are clearly connected to Judaism. One of the characters is even named Korach, who ends up being rebellious just like the biblical version. This book is appropriate for a non-Jewish reader as the Jewish aspects help the story, but are not necessary to understand the plot.

 

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN REVIEWING BOOKS FOR THE SYDNEY TAYLOR SHMOOZE? CLICK HERE

 

Reviewer Laura Schutzman is a Jewish Librarian at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County. She is an active member of the Association of Jewish Libraries as publications chair and book reviewer. She was previously a member and committee chair of the AJL Jewish Fiction Award Committee.