My favorite thing about books, and the reason I would plow through 10+ novels a week as a kid, is the way they let you experience something new and exciting without actually leaving your home. I would go on adventures, travel to Mars, and visit ancient civilizations, all without leaving my cozy bed. Sarah Kapit’s contemporary MG novel, The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family, took this a step further. Forget going someplace new, I got a chance to inhabit the head of someone vastly different from myself and see what the world is like through their eyes.
In fact, the narrator of this neurodivergent tale of family secrets switched between two of the Finkel sisters, Caroline and Lara, both of whom are autistic. Lara, the older sibling, has overtones of a modern Harriet the Spy, as she brandishes her notebook of observations and attempts to become a detective. It is quickly apparent to readers that she is actually looking to find her place in a family undergoing several significant upheavals.
Caroline, on the other hand, is confused about her older sisters new independent streak, despite vying for some independence of her own at school. Although Caroline must use assistive technology to speak, she has convinced her new middle school to let her attend classes without a para and is determined to prove she can make friends on her own, without Lara’s or the school’s help.
Several members of the Finkel family are neurodivergent, including Dad whose ADHD impacts the sisters multiple times, and it is fascinating to see this through Caroline and Lara’s eyes. Their voices are unique, their perspectives fresh and gripping. They each make mistakes and seek to make reparations in their own unique fashion, based on their personalities and strengths. This allows the reader to appreciate their individuality as well as their bond as sisters.
Books can do so many things, but at their hearts, they usher the reader into the narrators particular universe. In this case, the adventure may not have taken me very far geographically, nor were the stakes the stuff of the apocalypse, yet I was taken out of my comfort zone, into someones else’s, and am grateful for the experience. Middle grade readers will find much to love in these pages.
E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the /u.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.
In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust
by: Jeffrey Veidlinger
Metropolitan Books, October 2021
480 pages
review by: Felicia Grossman
In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust by Jeffrey Veidlinger is a work of non-fiction positing that the genocide which took place in the Pale of Settlement following the Russian Revolution was a dress rehearsal for the Holocaust. This particular era of Jewish bloodshed is often overlooked, eclipsed by the Holocaust or lumped in with the wave of pogroms in the Pale of Settlement following the assassination of Alexander II in 1881. Further, until recently, Soviet documents detailing it were hidden and, per this book’s thesis, it is not politically convenient for the world to remember. This history is personal to me as I’m partially descended from teenage survivors of this particular genocide.
The book pulls no bunches in its descriptions and thus trigger warnings are necessary for descriptions of murder, violence, rape, torture, and antisemitism.
I found the book dense but necessary. It centers a corner of the world, whose population is divided into warring political factions—Bolsheviks, Russian Nationalists, Ukrainian Nationalists, Polish Nationalists, who each join together—soldiers and civilians—to slaughter their Jewish neighbors in what is now primarily Ukraine, as well as Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic states. Each political faction blamed Jews for their past woes and claimed “the Jews” conspired with whichever political movement they disliked the most.
In truth, though Jewish activists existed within each of the various political factions, most of the Jewish population lacked firm political inclination because, as my great-grandfather once said, we were “too poor for opinions.” Further, the Jews living in the Pale lacked political influence, except, as often happens with antisemitism, to act as a unifier for disparate gentiles to come together and slaughter.
The book describes each major political movement with nuance and complexity, while also explaining how hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered in the name of so many disparate ideas—communism, western-style democracy, self-determination, etc.
While the book spends significant time relaying the events and their roots, the author focused equal or more time on the world’s response to these events focused not on saving lives but on their own political interests.
Of particular note, it was clear that Jews in the United States knew of the danger and became concerned over the killing. However, American interests aligned with that of a democratic independent Poland. And, to those ends, refused to even use diplomatic pressure to stop the bloodshed, instead adopting the antisemitic position proposed by Polish leaders at the time—that the Jews were “exaggerating,” and secretly aligned with the Bolsheviks or the Russians or the Germans and thus merely seeking to undermine Poland and the west.
Additionally, the book recounts how Polish politicians successfully used the Tulsa Massacre to push back against the idea of American moral authority. It is reiterated that this was duplicated by Germany during WWII, who were prepared to use the specter of Jim Crow to undermine any objection that the west might have had to its treatment of Jews.
There is also an excellent discussion of the limited options for refugees and how western countries amended their laws to prevent Jewish refugees from this particular genocide from immigrating. Further, U.S. immigration laws in 1921, 1922, and 1924 were aimed directly and specifically at limiting the number of Jews admitted into the U.S. and most certainly contributed to the death toll in the Holocaust.
As previously stated, the book carefully lays out the case that the world’s response to this particular genocide set the table for the Holocaust and that response is why several hundred thousand became six million. Moreover, a direct line can be made from the antisemitic theories espoused by the world then and the antisemitism of today.
Further, this book makes a subtle argument against people who argue that the Holocaust is only remembered because it involves Jews (implying the deeply antisemitic idea that Jews have special power and privilege). It is clear from the actual history outlined that Jewish genocide (or antisemitism for that matter) is only notable when it can be used for the political benefit of gentiles. While the Holocaust can be laundered to bolster the western claim to a moral high ground during WWII, this genocide cannot, and thus it and the hundreds of thousands of people who died are forgotten.
The biggest criticism I have with this book, is that it lacks certain historical context for readers. While it discusses the Pale of Settlement, and generally alludes to the fact that the Jews of the Russian Empire were required to live there under draconian rules governing their lives, I think, despite the length, most readers probably needed more information. I’m not sure one can understand the period without an acknowledgement that the systemic discrimination of Jews was one of the ways the Tsarist Russia held onto its territories and quelled rebellions from other ethnic minorities prior to the revolution.
Further, I’m not sure one can understand the position of the Jews in the Pale without discussing that while some of them lived in those territories before the partition of Poland in the 18 th century (first arriving in the 15 th century after a series of expulsions in the west), many Jews were “resettled” in the Pale from elsewhere in Russia in the late 18 th and 19 th centuries.
These details don’t excuse the behavior of the various gentile groups. Nevertheless, they would give a particular context to how Jews were always seen as foreign and not necessarily considered to have a place in any of the proposed new nations, demonstrating the fine line between anticolonial self- determination and ethnonationalism. However, given the considerable length of the book, such would’ve most likely been very difficult.
All and all, the book, while not easily read by a casual reader or a reader without some context, is still an extremely well-done, well-researched, and important book. Its thesis is relevant today, on a variety of fronts, from fighting antisemitism to understanding how even the best ideals can be used to commit evil acts.
Felicia Grossma is the author of historical romance, usually featuring Jewish protagonists and lots of food references. Originally from Delaware, she now lives in the Rustbelt with her family and Scottish Terrier. When not writing romance, she enjoys eclairs, cannolis, and Sondheim musicals. She is represented by Rebecca Podos of Rees Literary. Her next release, A Groom by Midnight is scheduled for Spring of 2023. Check out her website!
When I review a book, I typically dive into the pieces of the plot that I identified with or the character traits and experiences that mirror my own. It’s what people have come to expect from BookishlyJewish. I’m going to do something different with my review of Aviva vs. The Dybbuk. Today, I’m going to flip over the book and discuss the author photo first.
Is this bizarre? Maybe. But I hope you’ll bear with me, because that photo let me know in one instant that I was going to love these pages. The author is rocking a shell and a sheitel. She wrote her dedication, to her parents, in lyrical Hebrew. It’s OK if you don’t know what some of the words I’m using mean. Very few people do. The point is, this was a book written by someone who either grew up ultra orthodox or lives in such a community now. The story reflects that upbringing and those values, and traditional publishing actually picked it up. HUZZAH!
There is no question in my mind that this story will hold up next to any mass market book. The narrative, about a girl named Aviva who lives with her mother above the community ritual baths after the death of her father in an antisemitic attack, is poignant and heartwarming. It has all the necessary plot beats for a strong emotional character arc. We watch Aviva deal with her mothers depression, feeling alienated from her classmates and even her struggles with the mischievous Dybbuk (Jewish spirit) that lives in the ritual baths. We immediately bond with this girl for whom school is “kind of not my thing.” A lonely outcast that loves sports and her mother.
All of this is great, but what hooked me, was that Aviva has her adventures in the setting of a very traditional orthodox girls school and community. When there is a sport mentioned it is not football or lacrosse. It’s Machanayim (yes, orthodox schools have a lot of made up sports with funky names including gaga and belts too!). Aviva and her nemesis must plan a females only Bat Mitzvah Bash not a co-ed prom or homecoming. And most importantly, her community is always, always there for her.
Judaism is not meant to be practiced alone. It is a religion of community. No one Jew can complete every mitzvah in the Torah – it is literally impossible, as some are for priests, others for Kings and yet still others are exclusively for women. This is presumed to be by design – God’s way of showing us that we are intended to survive together. To exist as a unit, constantly seeking to aid and assist one another. When Aviva and her mother struggle, there was never a doubt in my mind that the community would lift them up. In an unexpected touch, when the community itself is faced with antisemitism they are bolstered by members of other marginalized groups.
I read this book over the course of one Shabbat day. The words and setting and tone were as familiar to me as the air I breathe. It contained all the good in my childhood laid out for the world to see and appreciate. The Dybukk turned out not to be what I was expecting, but I didn’t very much care. The story was more than enough. It was exceptional.
I want more of this type of representation in publishing. Authors should be free to use the words and experiences of their own communities, not just in the MG space but also in YA and adult books. I would read it forever. Because, as Aviva would say, “it’s kind of my thing”.
Note: I received an arc of this book from the publisher after I asked for a reviewer copy.
E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.
I am so thrilled that BookishlyJewish has been chosen to participate in the Sydney Taylor Book Awards blog tour this year. The Sydney Taylor Awards are presented each year to outstanding works of literature written for children and teens. I got to catch up with Hannah Reynolds, author of Summer of Lost Letters , which was named a 2022 Sydney Taylor YA Honor book.
Read the interview below! To learn more about the Sydney Taylor Books awards you can visit their website or check out the Association of Jewish Libraries website and blog.
BookishlyJewish: Can you describe the process of writing Summer of Lost Letters? Was there any particular inspiration?
Hannah: I set out to write a fun, banter-filled romcom, because that’s what I like to read. I especially enjoy fish-out-of-water stories, so I wanted to drop my heroine — Abby — on an exclusive New England island for the summer, where she’d be slightly overwhelmed but determined to find her footing. I also love a little Nancy Drew-esque sleuthing, and opposites-attract romances, so I knew I wanted to write a story with both of those.
But the backbone of the book, the bond between mothers and daughters, was inspired by my own relationships. Specifically the one between my grandmother, my mother, and me — a Holocaust survivor, a child of survivors, and a grandchild. There’s a lot of complexity around the communication (or lack-thereof) between generations: the silences kept, the worries, the generational trauma. There’s also a lot of joy and closeness. So in between all the flirty banter and kissing and skinny-dipping in THE SUMMER OF LOST LETTERS, I wanted to write a story grounded in something deep and strong, something that rang true to my own experiences — the unconditional love between mothers and daughters.
BookishlyJewish: Who is the ideal audience for your book and what do you hope readers take away from it?
Hannah: Most of all, I want teenagers to connect with my books, with the feeling of figuring out your place in the world, whether that’s your family’s past or your own future. But I like to think, since THE SUMMER OF LOST LETTERS is so inter-generational, that anyone can really enjoy it. I want all readers to come away happy – my goal in writing is to make readers laugh and smile and to feel sheer delight. Romance stories are so powerful and so optimistic and uplifting, and I think we need more of that in the world.
BookishlyJewish: What does being a Sydney Taylor honor book mean for you and Summer of Lost Letters?
Hannah: I was really honored and blown away to get this award — it really means the world to me. Abby’s family history and her relationship with Judaism is so similar to mine, and this felt like a really validating acknowledgement of my experience. There’s so many different ways to be Jewish, and I hope that this Sydney Taylor Honor Award means more readers will find their way to THE SUMMER OF LOST LETTERS, and see themselves in it.
BookishlyJewish: when did you know you wanted to be a writer? To write Jewish books?
Hannah: I’ve always wanted to be a writer — I remember drawing “illustrations” in kindergarten and telling my mom the words I wanted to accompany each page (the stories were usually about magic puppies and princesses). The Jewish aspect of my books is just as long-standing — it never occurred to me not to write Jewish characters! I love exploring themes of identity and belonging, and for me, a lot of that is tied to being Jewish. Also, there’s so many cool, hidden pockets of Jewish history — I hope I get the chance to explore plenty more of them.
BookishlyJewish: I like to end all my interviews by asking the author if they have a favorite Jewish book or author. Do you?
Hannah: There’s so many great Jewish books getting published these days! A few I’ve read recently and really enjoyed are The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, and Milkfed by Melissa Broder.
Hannah Reynolds is the author of The Summer of Lost Letters, out now, and Eight Nights of Flirting, out October 25, 2022. She grew up outside of Boston, where she spent most of her childhood and teenage years recommending books to friends, working at a bookstore, and making chocolate desserts. Hannah received her BA in Creative Writing and Archaeology from Ithaca College, which meant she never needed to stop telling romantic stories or playing in the dirt. After living in San Francisco, New York, and Paris, she came back to Massachusetts and now lives in Cambridge.
Whistle written by E. Lockhart and illustrated by Manuel Preitano, made headlines as it introduced DC’s first new Jewish superhero in decades. She lives in Gotham City, and the youthful comic has much in common with Batgirl. With riotous curly hair, Willow Zimmerman is seen holding up a poster for school funding on the first page, emphasizing her political drive, in the finest Jewish tradition. Within a few pages she’s collecting signatures, dragging a new friend to Rosen Brothers Deli, and hugging him when she hears he’s been orphaned.
Willow also describes Gotham’s old Jewish neighborhood, which once had 500 synagogues. As it happens, her mother’s a professor of Jewish culture and history. Inserting an old Jewish quarter in Gotham City feels much like the retro World War II comics written decades later and the eventual outing of characters like the Thing and Magneto as Jewish—later salutes to the Jewish creators and attempts to add more multiculturalism, but welcome and fitting nonetheless.
Willow also works at an animal shelter and helps her mom who’s struggling with a brain tumor. She soon finds herself tangling with Gotham’s well-known villains. It’s nice to see a teen facing real-life problems so awful she considers criminality, instead of staying squeaky clean like golden age characters. And when she’s troubled, she goes to synagogue. As such, Willow feels real, relatable and teenaged, dealing with modern problems and fads much like the beloved Ms. Marvel. Though only this solo graphic novel has arrived, the character has much potential.
Valerie Estelle Frankel is the author of over 80 books on pop culture, including Hunting for Meaning in The Mandalorian; Inside the Captain Marvel Film; and Star Wars Meets the Eras of Feminism. Her Chelm for the Holidays (2019) was a PJ Library book, and now she’s the editor of Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy, publishing an academic series for Lexington Press. Book one, Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy through 1945, has just arrived. Once a lecturer at San Jose State University, she now teaches at Mission College and San Jose City College and speaks often at conferences. Come explore her research at www.vefrankel.com
One day maybe I’ll be less blown away by how much I identify with Rachel Lynn Solomon’s characters. I’ve been making a point to read more books with rep I can relate to, but Rachel’s books feel intensely personal for me. I am grateful to read about Jewish families and Jewish characters finding love, and also to read about characters who describe depression in a way that sounds so much like my own experience.
Weather Girl is a vivid and fun romance between Ari and Russell, who work at the same news station in Seattle. Ari is a meteorologist and Russell is a sports journalist, and they team up in an attempt to improve their work environment by encouraging their bosses (who used to be married) to get back together, “Parent Trap” style. If this plot makes you wary, I can tell you that the way it plays out in this book is definitely fun and it won me over.
Russell has a 12 year old daughter who is in preparation for her bat mitzvah. He also has some insecurity around being fat. Arielle (Ari) has a fraught history with her mother’s depression and her father’s abandonment of their family, so even though Ari takes antidepressants and goes to therapy, she doesn’t open up about it with anyone, even her former fiancé. I can’t speak to being a parent, but I am familiar with a lot of impacts of depression and seeing Russell and Ari develop trust and chemistry was a delight that felt very true to life. They stumble along the way, but they find their way back to each other. Their intimate scenes together also reflect their vulnerabilities and their honest appreciation of each other. (Slight spoilers: I was thrilled to see both mutual masturbation and lube on page in this book, I personally interpreted their inclusion as being related to Ari’s depression.)
This was a strong winner for me, I was really invested in these characters. I tend to really enjoy when a character’s career is discussed, and in this book we get glimpses of both MCs careers and then some! It was the perfect balance of details without alienating the reader. Experiencing Russell’s daughter’s bat mitzvah on the page through Ari’s eyes was so meaningful. There is a bit of a secondary romance as well, which was a cute bonus. This is my third book by this author and it solidifies that I will gladly read anything she writes, and I am particularly excited for her future adult romances.
Note: The reviewer received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley
Charlotte is a reader, reviewer, and bookstagrammer who fell in love with the romance genre and never looked back. She works in technology and lives in Southern California with her spouse and their mischievous cat, Sascha. Keep up with her reading and recommendations under Charlottelovestoread on Instagram and Twitter.
What would happen if the United States split into two countries, each fully expressing its own values and rejecting those they disagree with? The Jewish YA novel The Papercutterby Cindy Rizzo expores this question, along with a another: what would happen to the Jews in these divided states?
The teens in this story live one generation after a great split in American society. The G-d Fearing States (GFS) have promised the Jews religious freedom, and virtually all Orthodox Jews settled there. The United Progressive Regions (UPR), a bastion of technology, environmental consciousness and gender fluidity, is the home of liberal Jews. The state of Ohio is divided, so when Binyamin Fine chose to become more religious, he moved, married and has raised his family in the GFS in southern Ohio. His parents and teen younger sister, Dani, live in the north.
A pen pal program is established to bridge the cultural and spiritual gap between GFS and UPR Jews, and liberal Dani is paired with Jeffrey Schwartz, an Orthodox teen boy in the GFS. He and his friends, the Orthodox teens of the GFS, are often devoted to their faith, skeptical about their country’s dogmas, and frightened by increasing acts of anti-semitism in the country where they were promised safety.
One of Jeffrey’s friends, Judith Braverman, is gifted at the Jewish art of papercutting, creating extraordinary and intricate designs. She can also see people’s souls and know whether they are good or bad. Jeffrey has the most powerfully good soul she has ever seen. He also has a secret. He’s gay, and hiding it in a community that would never accept him for who he really is.
As Dani and Jeffrey correspond through the penpal program, the teens conceive of a way to communicate by code, using Dani’s technology and Judith’s papercutting skills. Soon, their efforts play an important role in communications between Jewish communities, which might just be needed to ensure all of their safety.
The Papercutter is an unusual novel in that many of the most important characters are gay and lesbian. As a straight woman, I found their experience compelling and well-developed. Being queer is certainly not always easy, even in communities that welcome it — nearly impossible in those that do not. For that reason, I think the book is an important read for queer Jews, who will surely see themselves in it — and for all other teen Jews, who will gain a deeper understanding of the experience.
Today, we can see the enormous political and cultural rift between Orthodox and liberal Jews, which parallels the polarization in American society and around the world. And yet, when it comes down to it, we’re family. This story, in which teen Jews of different religious perspectives take care of one another, helped me believe in the unity of the Jewish people, and that we can look to each other and look out for each other in times of danger, in spite of our differences. If only it didn’t require danger for us to see that we’re really one people. May it one day be so.
Content note: the book contains one brief memory of sexual assault of a male teen by another male teen.
Evonne Marzouk grew up in Philadelphia and received a B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University in the Writing Seminars program, with a minor in Religious Studies. She has worked on international policy and communications projects for two decades as an employee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. From 2004-2014, Evonne founded and served as executive director of Canfei Nesharim (recently merged with GrowTorah), an organization that teaches Jewish wisdom about protecting the environment, and she co-edited Uplifting People and Planet, a collection of Jewish environmental core teachings, published in 2014. Her first novel, The Prophetess, was published by Bancroft Press in 2019. Follow her on instagram at @StillEvonne.
You are a Jew first, an American second. Be grateful for this country but you will never be safe here. Don’t stand up and make waves, support whoever is in power, be sure they do not notice you. Revolution is bad for Jews, no matter which side you are on, they’ll ultimately blame you.
This is the stuff of many Jewish childhoods in the diaspora, especially following the Shoah. For the children of displaced people and the grandchildren of survivors bed time stories feature villains that are all too real and dreams are to survive and be safe. Because safe feels like the best one can hope for and survival was a duty to the Jewish people.
Keep you head down. Stay safe.
This is also the prevailing wisdom in 1956 Hungary, the setting of Katherine Locke’s powerful historical fantasy “This Rebel Heart”. When the story begins Csilla Tisza is preparing to flee Hungary, a country that first abandoned her family to the Shoah and then murdered her parents for being “Zionists” despite her fathers loyalty to the communist party. Csilla does not have time for idealisism and political movements the way her father did. She’s too busy “keeping careful the way she used to keep Shabbat”. Because in her reality “disappeared” is a verb that the government perpetuates on its citizens for no apparent reason. In her world, living to see tomorrow saps all of her energy. As her aunt puts it, “survival is a siege”.
When unrest in Poland sparks protest in Budapest, Csilla has no intentions of being swept up in the hysteria. She intends to leave. To survive. Until she meets an unassuming engineering student who demands more of her and an angel of death that reminds her that she, and her past, are so much more than her present.
Csilla takes to the streets in the face of unacceptable tyranny, much like our youth of today have done. She knows that she is unlikely to succeed. She sees the antisemitism and hatred for Jews spreading within fringes of the very movement she helped to form, and she still stands her ground and protests. Cries out for a country to be lawful and just even though it has never demonstrated an ability to do so in the past. She shows up for a country that has never shown up for her. Because, to paraphrase our sages, if she doesn’t show up, who will? If she is only for herself, then what is she? If not now, when?
These are the questions that Jews across the world have been asking over and over these last few years. These are the questions that have sparked intense debate across communities. The older generation, their scars still bleeding from watching other idealistic movements ignore the antisemitism in their midst -sometimes even using political upheaval as an excuse to purge themselves of Jews- advise waiting it out. But our youth insists on standing up. .
Because if kids can’t dream of bigger and better, then what really is the point? Because we are Americans AND Jews and one of those things should not have to take precedence over the other. Because there will never be a country that is “ours” but that does not mean our traditions are less important, our roots less firm, our duty to do what is right less sacred.
To be a Jew is to belong to nowhere and everywhere all at once. To be a Jew is to do what your heart knows is right, even if you have a “rebel heart” like Csilla.
Along the way, Csilla, her student, and her angel, somehow manage to walk arm in arm through the streets of Budapest and share the most romantic vibes despite the fact that their world is crumbling around them. Another thing they share in our common with the youth of today. The world may feel like it is ending, like every new day brings a new challenge and threat to our existence, and yet human acts of kindness and love still prevail.
I know it’s “historical fiction,” but this is a story for our time. Or maybe it is a story out of time. Belonging to every instance in which a person decides to stand up for what they know is right in the face of overwhelming odds stacked against them, despite the sad fact that often Jews are made to suffer disproportionately for their protests, even when our side “wins”. Because there’s a little Rebel heart in each of us, if only we learned to listen.
Note: I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher by requesting it through NetGalley
E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.
If you meet me in my home, my long sleeves and accent will cause you to make certain assumptions about me. If you stumble upon me at work, the string of letters after my name will lead you to an entirely different set of assumptions. However, many of you are here because you’ve met me online, through social media, where the snippets I post, have given rise to yet a third set of assumptions.
Which one is true? All of them. Or none of them. Depending on the day. Because defining myself and reconciling that image with the stereotypes the world thrusts upon me is complicated. It is a predicament I share with high school senior and resident slacker, Amalia Yaabez, the protagonist of Brianna Shrum’s delightfully quirky novel, Kissing Ezra Holtz (And Other Things I Did For Science).
Amalia has always thought of herself as an artist, so when her applications to art school are denied, she must redefine herself. In the process, she joins a bunch of AP classes and has the misfortune of being paired with her long time nemesis, Ezra Holtz, on a sociology project. Although Amalia- the proverbial wild child- has been bickering with straight-laced, Valedictorian-candidate, Ezra since their B’nei Mitvzah, observing him in his natural milieu of academia has Amalia viewing him in a new light. A sexy light. A light that makes her entirely uncomfortable.
As the book progresses, Amalia and Ezra confront many of their previous assumptions about each other. The manner in which they do so alternates between hilarious and hot, concluding with the most creative use of the word “levitically” you’re likely to find this side of the Talmud.
In the efforts of full disclosure, I am more of an Ezra than an Amalia. I’m not usually invited to parties, yet alone greeted as the savior of them. My idea of living dangerously is leaving less than ten minutes early for an appointment. And the science project that Ezra and Amalia performed had me seriously itching to teach the class about the ethics of human experimentation. Yet somehow, I still fell in love with Amalia as a person. Because I know what it’s like to have people think they know me based on a few limited interactions and labels. I know what’s it like to have everything I’ve ever wanted taken away by some arbitrary committee. Most of all, I appreciated watching Amalia internalize the fact that wanting something different than everybody else doesn’t make her less deserving of love. It makes her truthful to herself, which is a conclusion Ezra helps her reach.
I had a mini melt down over the sociology experiment. They don’t have an IRB. Students are experimenting on their peers after a quick nod of approval from a teacher who doesn’t even seem to have reviewed all of the materials. That dude should be fired, yesterday. I didn’t even spot informed consent. Yet, when my blood pressure cooled down, (admittedly still a work in progress), I was able to suspend my disbelief, stop railing about the inadequacies of the American educational system, and enjoy how unexpected and different this book was.
Ezra also helps dispel certain stereotypes with his observance of Judasim. There’s a mistaken and harmful notion out there that reform Jews are somehow less strict, that being reform allows them to break whatever rules they want. Ezra Holtz, who is so much more of a stickler than many Jews I know, proves that all wrong. It is a joy to see him represent reform Judaism on the page through both Shabbat and the high holidays.
This book is full of small surprises like that. Representation that is baked into the characters and plot rather than inserted as an afterthought. I promise, if you read it, you will find your horizons broader for having done so. And you will have a Damn Good Time. I did.
E Broderick is a physician and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.
Each and every Jewish book is a gift, but I am especially excited to welcome these debut books in 2022. I hope they are the start of long and healthy careers for the Jewish writers that created them with love. If you hope for that too, consider per-ordering and reviewing when you get your copy.
A young girl practices the Four Questions on her apartment balcony, and finds a way to bring the neighbors together for Passover even during the separation of a pandemic.
In the new country, Shirley and her family all have big dreams. Take the family store: Shirley has great ideas about how to make it more modern! Prettier! More profitable! She even thinks she can sell the one specialty no one seems to want to try: Mama’s homemade gefilte fish.
But her parents think she’s too young to help. And anyway they didn’t come to America for their little girl to work. “Go play with the cat!” they urge.
This doesn’t stop Shirley’s ideas, of course. And one day, when the rest of the family has to rush out leaving her in the store with sleepy Mrs. Gottlieb.Shirley seizes her chance!
Kohei Fujiwara has never seen a big ryū in real life. Those dragons all disappeared from Japan after World War II, and twenty years later, they’ve become the stuff of legend. Their smaller cousins, who can fit in your palm, are all that remain. And Kohei loves his ryū, Yuharu, but.
.Kohei has a memory of the big ryū. He knows that’s impossible, but still, it’s there, in his mind. In it, he can see his grandpa – Ojiisan – gazing up at the big ryū with what looks to Kohei like total and absolute wonder. When Kohei was little, he dreamed he’d go on a grand quest to bring the big ryū back, to get Ojiisan to smile again.
But now, Ojiisan is really, really sick. And Kohei is running out of time.
Kohei needs to find the big ryū now, before it’s too late. With the help of Isolde, his new half-Jewish, half-Japanese neighbor; and Isolde’s Yiddish-speaking dragon, Cheshire; he thinks he can do it. Maybe. He doesn’t have a choice.
In The Lost Ryū, debut author Emi Watanabe Cohen gives us a story of multigenerational pain, magic, and the lengths to which we’ll go to protect the people we love.
A young girl grapples with her grief over a tragic loss with the help of a new perspective from Hebrew school and supportive new friends in this heartfelt middle grade novel about learning to look forward. Twelve-year-old Daisy and Ruby are totally inseparable. They’ve grown up together, and Daisy has always counted on having Ruby there to pave the way, encourage her to try new things, and to see the magic in the world. Then Ruby is killed in a tragic accident while on vacation, and Daisy’s life is shattered. Now Daisy finds herself having to face the big things in her life–like starting middle school and becoming a big sister–without her best friend. It’s hard when you feel sad all the time. But thanks to new friends, new insights, and supportive family members, Daisy is able to see what life after Ruby can look like. And as she reaches beyond that to help repair the world around her, she is reminded that friendship is eternal, and that magic can be found in the presence of anyone who chooses to embrace it.
A long ago “accident.” An isolated girl named Aviva. A community that wants to help, but doesn’t know how. And a ghostly dybbuk, that no one but Aviva can see, causing mayhem and mischief that everyone blames on her.
That is the setting for this suspenseful novel of a girl who seems to have lost everything, including her best friend Kayla, and a mother who was once vibrant and popular, but who now can’t always get out of bed in the morning.
As tensions escalate in the Jewish community of Beacon with incidents of vandalism and a swastika carved into new concrete poured near the synagogue.so does the tension grow between Aviva and Kayla and the girls at their school, and so do the actions of the dybbuk grow worse.
Could real harm be coming Aviva’s way? And is it somehow related to the “accident” that took her father years ago?
Aviva vs. the Dybbuk is a compelling, tender story about friendship and community, grief and healing, and one indomitable girl who somehow manages to connect them all.
An #OwnVoices debut middle-grade novel in the vein of Aru Shah that gives traditional Jewish folklore a modern twist. Naomi is preparing for her bat mitzvah when she receives a mysterious gift: a Golem that obeys her every command. When the Golem gets out of control, Naomi and her friends are sent on an adventure to set things right before the Golem accidentally brings about the end of the world. Publication is scheduled for fall 2022; Stephanie Hansen at Metamorphosis Literary handled the deal for world rights.
Hoodie Rosen has recently moved to the town of Tregaron, where members of his Orthodox Jewish community are looking to build a new home. But the town’s mayor and many of the people who live there aren’t all that thrilled about it, and are in fact blocking them at every turn. Hoodie isn’t so bothered, though–he’s leaving the worrying to the adults who spend their days thusly engaged. He’s got studies at the yeshiva to avoid, basketball to play, and a supermarket full of delicious imported British kosher Starbursts to eat.
But when he meets–and falls for–Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary, he discovers a couple of minor problems. First, as a good yeshiva boy, he’s not really supposed to talk to girls, especially girls who aren’t Jewish. And second, Anna-Marie’s mother just so happens to be Tregaron’s mayor and the leader of the effort to stop Hoodie’s community from living in the town.
Hoodie’s family, friends, and rabbis all see his friendship with Anna-Marie as a betrayal of their traditions–he’s siding with the enemy, they say, the people who are against them. And with the weight of centuries of Jewish oppression on their shoulders, that’s not something they take lightly. But Hoodie doesn’t understand why everyone can’t just get along. After all, isn’t befriending Anna-Marie a great way to bring the sides together?
When a string of antisemitic crimes comes to Tregaron, though, Hoodie finds himself caught between two worlds. And when those crimes escalate to deadly violence–the kind with hate-filled manifestos, carefully picked targets, and fully loaded guns–the town and its factions must all face the truth, Hoodie included.
In this ripped-from-the-headlines story, debut author Isaac Blum delivers a perfect blend of wry, witty writing and a deeply important topic that will resonate well beyond the community it describes.
A YA novel with a voice reminiscent of a (queer) Isaac Bashevis Singer story, about Uriel the angel and Little Ash the demon, centuries-long study partners in their small shtetl, who decide to travel to America (a place that turns out to be more complicated than they expect) with two young women who are deeply connected.
Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable. A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules. So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be “just friends.” But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can’t risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.
Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture.
Fans of the Hallmark Channel and Gilmore Girls will adore this delightful rom‑com about a city girl who goes in search of small-town happiness, only to discover life—and love—are nothing like the TV movies.
Emerging journalist Adina Gellar is done with dating in New York City. If she’s learned anything from made-for-TV romance movies, it’s that she’ll find love in a small town—the kind with harvest festivals, delightful but quirky characters, and scores of delectable single dudes. So when a big-city real estate magnate targets tiny Pleasant Hollow for development, Adi knows she’s found the perfect story—one that will earn her a position at a coveted online magazine, so she can finally start adulting for real . . . and maybe even find her dream man in the process.
Only Pleasant Hollow isn’t exactly “pleasant.” There’s no charming bakery, no quaint seasonal festivals, and the residents are more ambivalent than welcoming. The only upside is Finn Adams, who’s more mouthwatering than the homemade cherry pie Adi can’t seem to find—even if he does work for the company she’d hoped to bring down. Suddenly Adi has to wonder if maybe TV got it all wrong after all. But will following her heart mean losing her chance to break into the big time?
Burdened by a troubled history with her mother, Elizabeth struggles to raise her own teenage daughter differently. She wants to celebrate when Belle receives a fabulous opportunity miles away in New York City, but is concerned that this move will prolong the estrangement between them. Even worse, it would entail Belle being raised by her grandmother-the person from whom Elizabeth has purposefully distanced herself.
Belle is certain that everything will be better once she gets to the big city, and Grandmother Lillian intends to vicariously enjoy Belle’s success. Left back home, Elizabeth focuses her energy on a young girl who has been removed from her home by social services and, unlike Belle, wants nothing more than to be mothered.
While the individual journeys of these women lead them back to one another, the sudden disclosure of a long-buried secret threatens to keep them apart forever.
Caroline Goldberg Igra’s From Where I Stand explores the challenge of being a mother, the frustration of being a daughter, and the heart-wrenching complexity of being both.
Escape Route is set in New York City during the tumultuous late 1960s. Told by teenager Zach, a first-generation son of Holocaust survivors and NY Mets fan, who becomes obsessed with the Vietnam War and with finding an escape route for his family for when he believes the US will round up and incarcerate its Jews. Zach meets Samm, a seventh-generation Manhattanite whose brother has returned from Vietnam with PTSD. Together they explore protest, friendship, music, faith, and love during a time littered with hope and upheaval around the globe.
