Ari Goelman’s The Path of Names is a charming if somewhat complicated  take on the summer-camp mystery novel, infused with Kabbalah mysticism and Gematria, a form of Jewish numerology based on the Hebrew alphabet.

When 13-year-old Dahlia Sherman is forced to attend Camp Arava where her older brother, Tom, works as a counsellor (and where her mother hopes she’ll “meet some nice Jewish kids”), all the magic- and math-obsessed girl wants is to work on her tricks and get through the three weeks unscathed.

Unfortunately, upon her arrival Dahlia sees two girls “shimmer” through the walls of her cabin. Then she dreams about a teen named David Shank who discovered the 72nd name of God in the 1940s. Her dreams are actually Shank’s memories: he has possessed Dahlia in the hopes of preventing an evil organization called The Illuminated Ones from learning the ancient name. 

While Dahlia tries to perfect her sleight of hand, Goelman does so metaphorically, occupying his protagonist with typical camp drama – sibling rivalry, a creepy caretaker, mean girls, and a pesky boy who tells everyone that he and Dahlia are going out – while directing her through the intricate mystery.

Dahlia is a strong protagonist, and readers will love her independence and inquisitiveness. Yet Goelman’s large cast of supporting characters – a series of one-liner-spewing cameos who supply comic relief but don’t advance the action – is distracting.

The plot is completely convoluted, but it works. Goelman manages to balance numerous storylines seamlessly integrated with Jewish mysticism, creating a modern tale tangled with ancient mystery, complete with an heroic and electrifying ending.