Book Review | The Length of a String

Summary: The Length of a String

Imani knows she’s adopted and decides that for her bat mitzvah, she wants the gift of getting to know her birth parents, but breaking the news to her loving white Jewish parents isn’t as easy as she expected. When she finds her great-grandmother’s diary documenting her experience of fleeing Luxembourg for New York City during WWII, Imani develops a stronger appreciation for her family.

The Good

I was dubious as to whether I would enjoy reading this since part of the story is written in epistolary format — in the form of Anna’s (Imani’s great-grandmother’s journal entries and letters to her family). Thankfully, it worked well, and I enjoyed hearing it narrated while listening to the audiobook. Despite being essentially told from two points of view, I never found myself wanting to skip Imani’s or Anna’s parts of the story, even though, at times, Anna’s felt more suspenseful.

This book explores interracial adoption in a beautiful way (although I can’t speak entirely to the representation since the author is Jewish and not Black). Imani’s feelings about wanting to learn about her birth family without hurting her adopted parents’ feelings are so relatable, and it’s even harder because, being Black, she’s constantly reminded that she doesn’t fit the bill of what most people expect a Jewish girl to look like. She eventually has to come to terms with those emotions and get the support of her family.

Finally, a major part of this book is the historical element and the sprinkles of mystery in Anna’s 1940s storyline. The author does a fantastic job spotlighting Luxembourg (a rarely mentioned European country in middle grade books) and showcasing what life was like for Americans of Jewish descent in 1940s New York, where Anna settles down.