The Girl with 35 Names is an adventure, that takes place in another time, yet provides lessons for the present. Where love and hate meet face to face. We are taken on a mystic journey that takes us from sweet cakes to brutality beyond words.
When the main character, Molly, was born in the small Russian village of Zhitomir, she was given 35 names by friends and family. This was an act of love for Molly and for remembrance of those who came before, that their names would live on.
War and hatred are never far away. Surely the men and women of Zhitomir knew this all too well. Soldiers on the battlefield would take the dog tags of dead comrades so that their names would not be lost. This was an act of love and remembrance in a battlefield of hate. Surely, the men of Zhitomir knew this all too well.
This is the world that Molly’s parents, Ari and Moriah, grew up in and suffered through. Their need to protect Molly and the 35 names was paramount. Her parents and village would help to conceal past horrors from Molly, and instill in her the need to give love freely to all, and to work hard for family and those in need. Moriah would teach Molly these lessons, so that Molly would see and learn from these lessons and gifts. These lessons would help prepare Molly, and her 35 names for the future, for when the “winds of change would begin to blow.”
When Molly and her husband escape to America, she brought with her the lost glasses that could give her the ability to change people and see them differently. The reality is that Molly was the one that changed things. Her passion to help others would change the new village and everyone in it.
In the end, this is a book for all ages, we are never too young or too old to make other people smile. Readers should not be fooled by the ease of read, or the lack of big and important words. The lessons taught here by Molly and Moriah are thought provoking and filled with passion and emotion. An important lesson for all.