The Papercutter by Cindy Rizzo is a YA dystopian novel with a focus on Jewish youth trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation.
It’s the future and the USA has split in two, the God Fearing States (GFS) and the United Progressive Regions (UPR). When the separate countries were formed the GF promised religious freedom but denied climate change while the UPR took a tough stance on climate change and encouraged scientific developments.
Judith is living in an Orthodox Jewish community in the GFS. We get to experience what it’s like for her to be a young woman who is not at all interested in the idea of finding a husband and getting married, despite the pressure from family. She is an artist and really only wants to work on her papercuts.
She also has the ability to see people’s souls and tell whether they are good or evil. Through her point of view we see the escalating hate and violence towards Jews. We also get introduced to Jeffrey and how good his soul is.
Jeffrey wants out of the GFS. He knows he is gay and is sick of being forced into a box he doesn’t want to be in. He signs up for a pen pal program that connects teenagers between the two countries and is paired up with Dani.
Dani is a lesbian living in the UPR. She has a lot of typical teenage problems like a break up with her girlfriend, educational pressure and political interests being piqued. When she is connected with Jeffrey she is given a long list of things she may not talk to him about including sexuality and politics.
When Judith works out a way to send messages to Dani using a code in her papercuts they teenagers start to develop a resistance against the anti semitism happening in the GFS. But how much of a change can three teenagers make?
The World
Rizzo took time to really build the world. We experience the traditions and community of the Orthodox Jews, the fears and building anxiety in the community and the weight of expectations for the teenagers. You get a real sense of a community steeped in tradition and old ideals needing to rise up against the hate brewing around them.
The author imagined some interesting technological and political advances in the UPR specifically while the GFS had a stagnated technological sector.
I don’t know enough about the USA to gauge whether or not this future would exist were the two parts of the country to separate but it made for an interesting thought exercise.
Heads Up
The synopsis is clear that this YA novel is not just about Judith but also a young gay guy named Jeffrey. It blurred the lines for me in terms of calling it a sapphic book. I felt like as the book went on the story shifted away from Judith and Dani more towards Jeffrey who ultimately ended up being the main character. I would call this more of a queer YA novel with a male lead and strong secondary female character than a sapphic story, despite the fact that the only real romance is a very small moment between Judith and Dani.
Also noted on the synopsis is that there is sexual violence from one male teen to another and while it’s not explicit or prolonged it does have a lasting effect on Jeffrey and he has to deal with his trauma around it a couple of times.
Also worth mentioning is that this is the beginning of a series and the story ends on a little bit of an incomplete note.
The Conclusion
The Papercutter features a cast of interesting, different young people with a good amount of representation of the rainbow family.
There are also some magical elements which elevate the story, such as Judith’s ability to read souls. I liked how Rizzo juxtaposed a dystopian world with old traditions and then added things like fresh technology and cool superpowers.
If you are looking for a serious Young Adult novel about queer teens and a divided US then this is an interesting read. There is a strong story about young people becoming involved in fighting for their rights, lives and liberties.
Excerpt from The Papercutter by Cindy Rizzo
On most Saturday nights, once Shabbat ends, I can resume what I think of as my normal life. There’s an old wooden table in the basement of our house that I’ve been able to claim as my art desk. Long ago, when I was in kindergarten, a papercut artist came to our school. She told us a story about Rabbi Shem Tov who lived in the 1400s. He was writing a book when his inkwell froze solid, so he continued to write by cutting the letters out of paper with a knife. From that day on I was entranced by the idea that words and pictures could be created by cutting paper. While most of my papercuts look like something everyone would recognize, like a scene from the Torah or the words of a psalm, I still think of papercutting as an almost secretive art form.
Every now and then I figure out a way to include little coded messages in the background of a picture, just to prove that I can. It’s fun and something I share only with Hannah.
Hannah also is the only one who knows about my gift of seeing neshamah. And even though she says that you don’t need a gift to know that Yetta Freundlich has no soul, she is always eager to hear about other people who have revealed themselves to me.
Today after synagogue, the afternoon drags on. I read for a while and take a nap, but I’m restless, my hands itching to grab hold of a pencil or a pair of scissors, both forbidden on Shabbat.
While I normally retreat to my art desk after Shabbat ends, tonight is different. I’m not able to look forward to a few hours of quiet creativity. Instead, as the sun sinks lower into the sky, I am dressing to go out, my mother and older sister hovering.
“Yes, I think that navy skirt looks good. It has a nice line. What do you think, Shuli?” My sister nods and hums her agreement. “It’ll go well with the white blouse, the one with the navy buttons.”
I feel like a mannequin, something in the center of the action but ignored.
When my younger sister calls out from another room, my mother goes running. I can feel my body loosening up, the tension in my shoulders gone as soon as my mother leaves the room. I love her and there’s ways in which we are not at all different. We both love Hashem and try to obey His commandments. We are homebodies who feel most comfortable in our small domains. We even look alike; both short with soft round bodies and dark curly hair. Mine reaches right below my shoulders while my mother’s is above hers usually covered by a tichel , the scarf that all married Orthodox women in our community wear.
Even with our similarities I am always feeling at odds with my mother. She loves my papercuts and she oohs and ahhs over the finished product, but she frowns upon all the time I spend at my art table working on them. She is always reminding me that once Shuli is married I will be next. When she says that I give her a weak smile because I cannot feel any of the joy that comes through in her words.
Shuli places her hands on my shoulders. “Your first mixer. Are you excited? Nervous?”
I’m not sure either describes my feelings. Mostly I’ve been hoping to suddenly come down with some dread disease like last year when I was bedridden with the flu.
“I-I don’t know.”
Shuli squeezes my shoulders. “It’ll be fine. Look how it worked out for me. I met David there two years ago when we were your age and now we’re getting married in a few months. I pray the same thing can happen for you.”
I force a smile and a little nod, grateful that it’s enough to satisfy my sister. When she turns to walk a few steps back, she doesn’t hear what I whisper as quietly as possible. “Please Hashem, don’t answer Shuli’s prayer.”
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Series
The Split Series
The Papercutter
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781642472479
Publisher: Bella Books
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