Ruth Tenzer Feldman
Seven Stitches
Welcome to Portland, Oregon, 2059. It’s been a year since the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake wreaked havoc with the city and devastated the Oregon coast. Meryem Einhorn Zarfati, who lives with African American-Vietnamese relatives in a house they’ve opened to earthquake survivors, is still searching for her lost mother when a time-traveler insists that Meryem must save Izabel, a young girl enslaved in sixteenth century Istanbul. Freeing Izabel is not enough. She needs a home. Izabel thinks Meryem is magical, thanks to Meryem’s use of the Internet. But what works in Izabel’s world can’t help the destitute father and daughter living in a van in Meryem’s neighborhood. A story of hope, loss, and resilience, Seven Stitches joins The Ninth Day and Blue Thread in The Blue Thread Saga.
For ages 12 and older ISBN: 978-1-932010-88-6 Support your local, independent booksellers. My favorites in Portland, Oregon: Two bookstores in my Oakland, California neighborhood:Find other independent booksellers at Bookshop.org. Seven Stitches is also available in electronic form through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. |
Read an Excerpt (PDF)
Discussion Questions (PDF)
A Few Reviews
“In Seven Stitches, Ruth Feldman is equally adept at evoking the past and imagining a future Portland, with compelling characters in every era.”
— Sara Ryan, author of Queen of Hearts
“In a world full of books with tacked-on diversity, here is one that’s multicultural to its core. Readers with an appreciation for Jewish and Muslim history will find it a welcome mirror, and those unfamiliar will be awakened to an era of more peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims. . . A thoroughly modern time-travel story with the heart of A Wrinkle in Time. . .That rarest of things, a hopeful postapocalyptic story that would do the #choosekind movement proud.”
— Rosanne Parry, author of Written in Stone
“A warm, heartfelt and intelligent book with relatable characters, an engaging mix of history and imagination, and a touch of magic.”
— Robyn Bavati, author of Within These Walls
"The story weaves together racial issues, homelessness, slavery, personal loss, the ethics of government intervention, adoption and much more along the time and space continuum through the saying on the tallit, Zedek Zedek tirdof, Justice, Justice you shall pursue."
— Drora Arussy, The Jewish Book Council
Discussion Questions (PDF)
A Few Reviews
“In Seven Stitches, Ruth Feldman is equally adept at evoking the past and imagining a future Portland, with compelling characters in every era.”
— Sara Ryan, author of Queen of Hearts
“In a world full of books with tacked-on diversity, here is one that’s multicultural to its core. Readers with an appreciation for Jewish and Muslim history will find it a welcome mirror, and those unfamiliar will be awakened to an era of more peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims. . . A thoroughly modern time-travel story with the heart of A Wrinkle in Time. . .That rarest of things, a hopeful postapocalyptic story that would do the #choosekind movement proud.”
— Rosanne Parry, author of Written in Stone
“A warm, heartfelt and intelligent book with relatable characters, an engaging mix of history and imagination, and a touch of magic.”
— Robyn Bavati, author of Within These Walls
"The story weaves together racial issues, homelessness, slavery, personal loss, the ethics of government intervention, adoption and much more along the time and space continuum through the saying on the tallit, Zedek Zedek tirdof, Justice, Justice you shall pursue."
— Drora Arussy, The Jewish Book Council
© 2023 Ruth Tenzer Feldman