Thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC of this book.

This was an interesting story that was well told and an engaging read. I enjoyed it.

In a Nutshell: A decent book for middle-graders. Was strictly okay for me. Not bad, not great.

Story:
Poland, 1927. Young Jacob has been kept in the local orphanage for Jewish children by his uncle after his parents died. His life is decent here, with many friends and with his mandolin for company, but it is still an orphanage after all. One day, a well-to-do American arrives with a promise of a new life in Canada at a Farm School. (The only way Jews were allowed entry in Canada was if they were farmers.) Jacob and his friends are thrilled at this opportunity to break away from their staid lives. The long journey to Canada proves to be quite eventful and their subsequent life in Canada also throws many challenges their way. But with his friends and his mandolin by his side, Jacob surmounts every obstacle in his new life bravely.

This is the first time ever I have hardly anything to say about a book. Somehow, nothing from it made a mark on me. Jacob, some of the orphans and some of their guardians are the primary characters and they are decently written. The narrative is decently fast-paced. The Jewish boys’ adventures on the ship and Canada are interesting. But once I was done with it, seriously, nothing stayed with me. I don’t know if this counts for or against the book. It was a one-time read in every sense of the word.

I heard this as an audiobook and I’m sorry to say, the narrator didn’t add to my experience. There was nothing bad in his performance and he did enunciate well. But his voice, with its soft and soothing tone, was almost like a lullaby for me. Kids might find his voice working better for them as he sounded like a benevolent grandpa narrating a bedtime story. But I struggled to stay awake and had to crank up the audio speed to keep my eyes open and my brain working. (But as is evident in this review, my brain ditched me big-time.)

I suppose the biggest plus point in favour of this book is that it is based on true events, as is confirmed by the epilogue. Go for it if you want an interesting story about Jewish orphans making a new life for themselves in Canada.

My thanks to Second Story Press and NetGalley for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Jacob and the Mandolin Adventure, by Anne Dublin (audiobook), was such a great book for middle schoolers. The atrocities children endured during the war are not sugarcoated but also not delivered in a way that would cause nightmares. I enjoyed the story and was disappointed when the narrator announced "Epilogue". I was not ready for it to end. When you listen to this one, listen through the epilogue as it provides even more historically correct information to support the basic story you have just read.