The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Beinoni by Mari Lowe Levine Querido, 2025 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess   Buy at Bookshop.org In this unique take on the “chosen one” trope, 12-year-old Ezra has been trained since birth to fight a monster. If he succeeds, he will keep the world “beinoni”—in an in-between-state in which nothing terrible can happen. But after Ezra is nearly kidnapped at a classmate’s bar mitzvah, bad things begin to happen in his neighborhood and in the larger world—things that should be impossible in a “beinoni” time. Meanwhile, Ezra himself is falling out with his best friend, falling behind in school, and falling in with a bad influence—foster kid Aryeh, who spreads chaos wherever he goes. His life feels like it’s spiraling out of control, and no one will tell him why. But his pursuit of the truth will make him question everything he’s been told about his place in the world. Ezra, his family, and his friends are all Orthodox Jews, and the depiction of his community is deep and aut...

Neshama by Marcella Pixley Candlewick (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2025 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Heather Matthews   Buy at Bookshop.org Sixth grader Anna Fleischman has a "Shayna Neshama," a beautiful soul, according to her Bubbe Esther. Anna, however, is more focused on the souls of those around her – more specifically, the ghosts that she can see and hear. As she interacts with these spirits, her classmates deem Anna as scary, leading to social isolation and bullying. Anna’s home life isn’t much better, with an emotionally distant and cruel father. Anna finds solace spending Shabbat and the weekends with Bubbe, learning about her aunt Ruthie. Ruthie, who died at eleven years old, appears to Anna and requests to enter her niece’s body to “finish what [she] started,” in exchange for giving Anna “the strength [she] need[s] to stand up to [her] father, to the horrible girls and shortsighted teachers,” so that both girls can “find some peace.” Upon striking the de...

A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff Dial Books for Young Readers (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2025 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Lisa Trank   Buy at Bookshop.org Told in first person, A World Worth Saving tells the story of A, a 14-year old transgender boy who is struggling to live his truest life against the wishes of his parents. They force him to attend meetings of SOSAD, “Save our Sons and Daughters," a conversion group that is part of a nationally led movement.  A and his friends discover that the transphobia displayed by the SOSAD leaders and parents is the result of possession by sheydim (demons). A meets an otherworldly being - a new kind of golem, one made out of trash instead of clay - who tells A that he will have to repair the world. The golem also teaches A its own valuable lesson from prior failed attempts to repair the world: asking for help. With the help of the golem, other trans and genderfluid teens, and a friendly rabbi who provides essential info...

  The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines by Mo Netz Clarion Books (imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org For the last year, Mama and 11-year-old disabled Jerry have been bouncing between motels with cheap prices and wheelchair access in order for Mama to chase seasonal work. It's the only way they've figured out to make ends meet since Dad's death. Homeschooled, Jerry's chief companion has been her imaginary friend: a tiny dinosaur named Paul. Mama tells Jerry that at the Slumbering Giant motel, they'll stay for good. Mama has been hired to clean rooms and do repairs at the motel. Her job includes some kind of mysterious work at night in the very forest that she's told Jerry to stay away from. Late at night, Jerry awakes to strange static on the radio, and voices muttering messages about "the Witch of the Woods" and "Guardians." Mama sleeps through the noise. The next ni...

The Things We Miss by Leah Stecher Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Seventh grade is NOT a good time for J.P. (Joan Phyllis). Her father has recently died, her beloved grandfather, Pop Pop, has a recurrence of cancer, and mean girl Miranda is determined to body shame her at school whenever the chance arises, be it in PE, the cafeteria, and even at the mall. Only her best friend Kevin, with whom she shares a passion for the sci-fi comic book and tv show “Admiral K” can bring her some semblance of happiness, especially when planning for the opening of an “Admiral K” movie. In an attempt at an escape from her unhappiness, J.P. climbs up to a neighbor’s old treehouse and discovers a secret: it is a portal through time, roughly allowing her to “skip” 3 days. Her body is present but her memories of those days are gone! What a perfect way to get through the school year! Or is it? Sure, the tedium and torture are avoided...

Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield Bloomsbury, 2024 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sylvie Shaffer Buy at Bookshop.org Phoebe Mendel has been living August 6th over and over again. Some days it’s not THAT bad, but when her IBS is flaring, it’s terrible. Still, she’s sort of settled into a routine and accepted her Groundhogs’ Day fate, despite it meaning she’s no closer to the appointment she has scheduled with a gastroenterologist she hopes will take her seriously instead of blaming her tummy troubles on her weight or her anxiety. It’s not that she isn’t also fat and anxious, but she knows neither of those is the reason she’s often doubled over on the toilet or curled up with a heating pad. So she’s just living August 6th over and over, trying to avoid IBS triggers, and spending time between her mom’s place and her dad’s.  But all that changes when her childhood bff/crush, Jess, a nonbinary lesbian with autoimmune arthritis, enters her time loop too. Over a matter of days (t...

The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb Levine Querido, 2024 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Beth Gallego Buy at Bookshop.org Lamb’s sophomore novel (after 2023 Sydney Taylor Award-winner When the Angels Left the Old Country) is a fascinating dive into Jewish mythology and life in the Pale of Settlement. Sorel Kalmans, daughter of a well-to-do lumber merchant, is seventeen and engaged to the eldest son of the Esroger Rebbe. The marriage is meant to unite the local Jews, both Hasidic and Maskilic. The night before the wedding, Sorel makes an impulsive decision to run away instead. She disguises herself as a young man and gives her name as Isser Jacobs. But there is a real Isser Jacobs, and he is in serious trouble with some very dangerous people. In addition to escaping her own life, Sorel also must solve the mystery of what has happened to Isser and why. Sorel has led a sheltered life, protected by her father’s wealth and power. Her education has not prepared her for the reality of life in Es...

Golemcrafters by Emi Watanabe Cohen Levine Querido, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Heather Matthews Buy at Bookshop.org Faye and her older brother, Shiloh, are straddling two cultures at once. Patrilineal European Jews with a Japanese American mother, the siblings struggle to feel that they belong anywhere. Faye doesn’t feel that she belongs in the Asian Student Association or the Jewish Student Association, and both she and her brother face regular antisemitic bullying. However, through the gift of clay sent by their Zeyde, Faye and Shiloh end up spending their spring break in New York City, learning the skill of crafting golems. Over the week with Zeyde, Faye discovers her own powers and abilities, as well as the indominable spirit of her ancestors. Ultimately, Golemcrafters is a story about generational trauma, but more importantly, a story about generational strength.    Faye and Shiloh interact with multiple instances of historic and contemporary antisemitism. Thes...

Night Owls by A.R. Vishny HarperTeen (imprint of HarperCollins), 2024 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Kathryn Hall Buy at Bookshop.org I am not usually a fan of horror or vampire culture. I have not read or viewed any of the Twilight or Buffy series, as drinking blood seems unhygienic and inadequately nutritious as a sole food source as well as socially disadvantageous, but A.R. Vishny’s skillful writing won me over completely to Night Owls , if not vampirism. I was not aware of the legends of Jewish vampires dating back nearly a millennium. Vishny has done her homework researching estries, the shape-shifting female Jewish owl-demons that are the main characters of this very enjoyable book. The setting is New York City, the plot moves briskly with plenty of romance (both straight and Sapphic), cinematic references, humor, magic, suspense, and just a hint of horror. I highly recommend this for all middle grade and young adult and adult readers, not just vampire aficionados. The Jewish ...

Tale of the Flying Forest by R.M. Romero, illustrated by E.K. Belsher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org Anne Applebaum lives in Silverthorne with her parents. One night, Mrs. Applebaum tells Anne that while pregnant, she dreamed that she would have not one child—Anne—but two—Anne and a son, Rainer. Anne believes that this missing twin is the reason she's always felt slightly empty. When 11-year-old Anne’s mother dies, her inattentive father leaves Anne to mourn on her own. Her greatest consolation is the book her mother gave her, The World to Come . The book follows the adventures of the seven Jewish prophetesses as well as seven witches who live in the magical realm of Bei Ilai, where they fight the evil Lilith the Nightshade Queen. After baking challah one lonely day, Anne shares some with a crow. In thanks, the crow tells her that her brother lives, but that he is currently in three pieces, all of th...

Benji Zeb Is a Ravenous Werewolf by Deke Moulton Tundra Books, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Mozer Buy at Bookshop.org Benji Zeb is stressed about his upcoming Bar Mitzvah and worried about the local bully, Caleb, who he secretly likes. He discovers that Caleb's stepfather, Mr. Rutherford, is plotting to shut down his family's kibbutz and wolf sanctuary by releasing the wolves, unaware that the wolves are actually Benji's family, descendants of the first werewolf from the Torah. As it says, "Benjamin is a wolf, he will prey; in the morning he will devour plunder, and in the evening he will divide the spoil." (Genesis 49:27). When Caleb turns into a wolf and arrives at the sanctuary, Benji's new priority becomes saving Caleb from his stepfather. The more they work together and learn about the motivation behind Mr. Rutherford's attack on their community, the more Benji learns to overcome his anxiety and find his own voice. While the book is a ...

Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy Katherine Tegan Books (imprint of HarperCollins), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org Two very different boys. One (literally) never-ending bar mitzvah weekend. Finn and Ezra seem to have nothing in common, except that both boys are inexplicably trapped in a time loop that has them living their bar mitzvah weekends over and over and over and… Ezra is the middle child in a large Orthodox family, feeling like an afterthought even at his own bar mitzvah. Finn is the suffocatingly adored only child of secular Jewish parents. Ezra is laid back, avoidant, and hasn’t done much to end his time loop… until he meets Finn, who is competitive, likes to be in charge, and is determined to get to the bottom of the problem. Even if some of Finn’s ideas for how to escape the time loop strike Ezra as a little dubious, it doesn’t really matter, does it? No matter what they do, time will always re-set. Or will it...

Nightmares in Paradise (Ring of Solomon series) by Aden Polydoros Inkyard Press, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Kathryn Hall Buy at Bookshop.org Nightmares in Paradise is a sequel to Ring of Solomon , the first middle grade novel from Polydoros, and can be read independently, although it is better to read both sequentially. Zach Darlington has recovered from his encounter with Ashmedai, the King of Demons. When his annoying little sister Naomi disappears with his flaming sword, he and his friend Sandra call on Ashmedai to help them find her. Adventures ensue: strange beasts attack, bullies experience Biblical consequences, and the good guys win. Zach is bullied by several kids at school, who surmise that he is gay, although he has not come out even to his parents yet. The book is well written and an enjoyable read. There are two completely different types of Jewish representation in this book. Zach and his family are contemporary California Jews who prepare Ashkenazi food and ...

Rebecca Reznik Reboots the Universe by Samara Shanker Atheneum Books for Young Readers (imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org Rebecca Reznik Reboots the Universe is a sequel to Naomi Teitelbaum Ends the World . It follows Becca Reznick, a supporting character in Book One. While the plot focuses again on fantasy elements from Jewish legend and folklore, the focus of this book is the significance of becoming “a spiritual adult” after one reaches bar or bat mitzvah. Early on in the book, Rabbi Levinson visits the kids' post-b’nai mitzvah class at Hebrew school. He suggests that having reached their teenage years, the members of their class are developing the ability to see morality with greater nuance and subtlety. Becca struggles with this as a young person on the autism spectrum. Despite her age, she tends to see issues as black and white. Does this mean that she’s doomed to remain immature? Since the events of ...

Last Canto of the Dead (An Outlaw Saints Novel) by Daniel José Older  Rick Riordan Presents/Hyperion (imprint of Buena Vista Books, Inc), 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Kathryn Hall Buy at Bookshop.org Last Canto of the Dead is the second volume of the Outlaw Saints fantasy series by Daniel José Older. It can be appreciated without reading the first volume, but I highly recommend reading the excellent Ballad & Dagger first for the background and to preserve the chronology. Mateo Matisse and Chela Hidalgo are teenage human embodiments of immortal spirits, fighting to save the people and culture of their island San Madrigal, recently resurrected fifteen years after sinking beneath the Caribbean Sea. The three cultures of San Madrigal derive from the pirates, the Sefaradim and the Santeros (an Afro-Cuban mix of Yoruba religion/folklore and Roman Catholicism). When the island sank, most of the population emigrated to Little Madrigal in Brooklyn, where political differences ...

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson Roaring Brook Press (imprint of Macmillan Publishers), 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Cheryl Fox Strausberg Buy at Bookshop.org The best way to get what you want in the fantastical land of Enderlain is to win the Illinir - a magical horse race that is as dangerous as it is prestigious. Win this race and anything you want, you shall have - even a boon from the King, himself. With such rewards on the line, it’s hard to resist putting your life on the line to win. Enter the team of outcasts - Mikira (the rider), Arielle (the magician), and Damien (the mastermind) who know that they can win because they have huge things to lose and a lot riding on victory. For Mikira, winning the Illinir will not only bring her the fame and fortune to keep her family’s farm, but will give her the ability to free her father from forced indentured servitude. For Arielle, a Kinnish refugee, winning means having the ability to earn an honest living as a licensed encha...

Hollowthorn (A Ravenfall Novel) by Kalyn Josephson Delacorte Press (imprint of Random House Children's Books), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Kathryn Hall Buy at Bookshop.org Hollowthorn 's cover is exquisite and made me eager to read this sequel to the author's novel Ravenfall , which I have not read. I very much appreciated the excellent summary of Ravenfall provided before chapter one. Hollowthorn is told from three viewpoints: 13 year old Anna, 14 year old Colin, and Ravenfall, the magical inn that Anna and her family run as a bed & breakfast in Wick, Oregon. All of the major characters, and most of the minor ones have some sort of supernatural abilities. Anna and Colin used their magic after the murder of Colin's parents to rescue Colin's brother Liam in the previous book. Now, a little more than a month later, in Hollowthorn Anna and Colin join Henry (Anna's father) and Salem (a Raven, but human) on a quest to prevent Ashmedai, the Jewish Lord o...

Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros Inkyard Press (imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org   Wrath Becomes Her is a fantasy novel about the Shoah but also a reflection upon self-determination and personhood. During WWII, Ezra hides in a barn in Lithuania. There he creates a golem, Vera. He tells her, "An ordinary golem is created from pure elements, the same dust from which HaShem shaped the first man. But to create you, it involved power gained from going against all our commandments (page 32)." Indeed, Ezra has used the eyes, nails, tongue, and teeth of his murdered daughter, Chaya, in order to fashion Vera. Why? To avenge Chaya’s death. With her incredible strength, Chaya’s memories, and immunity to many weapons, Vera was created to get even with the Nazis. However, Vera doesn't want to be a mere instrument of Ezra's revenge. She wants to know: Is she more than an unholy monstrosity, more than ...

Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton Tundra Books, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus Buy at Bookshop.org When someone mentions vampires, the first thing that comes to mind is a scary vision of the undead drinking a person’s blood by sinking their fangs into the neck. We have learned that from watching movies. Don’t Want to Be Your Monster brings the reader a very different version of vampires. Victor and Adam are brothers but not because they were born to the same parents. They are brothers who are vampires living with their vampire mothers, and another vampire sibling, Sung. Mom is a nurse, working the night shift, in a hospital which gives her access to blood to bring home to share with her family. Mama is an astronomer at the local university. When a rash of murders start to happen in the small town where the Rossi vampire family lives, Adam and Victor both become involved in finding the serial killer. Victor seems to be interested in young murd...

Lion's Legacy by L.C. Rosen Union Square & Co., 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Tennessee Russo is a young adventurer, sharing Indiana Jones style quests with his archaeologist father and filming their expeditions for a reality show. When he realizes that his dad's methods are not entirely ethical, the pair argue and Ten goes to live with his mom. Two years later, dad returns and convinces Ten to join him in a quest for the legendary (fictional) Rings of the (real) Sacred Band of Thebes, an ancient Greek army made up of pairs of male lovers. Proudly gay Ten is eager to reclaim queer history and share it with the world. Dad, Ten, and translator/love interest Leo face danger and magic in their search for the Rings, and mend family hurts along the way. L.C. Rosen states in an opening author's note that his purpose is to challenge the erasure of queer history that happens so often. He successfully achieves that goal, with a highly e...