The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Salt & Honey: Jewish Teens on Feminism, Creativity, & Tradition Anthology edited by Elizabeth Mandel with JGirls Magazine, illustrations contributed by teen artists and photographers Behrman House & JGirls Magazine, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Eva L. Weiss   Buy at Bookshop.org This kaleidoscopic anthology brings to life authentic voices of American teens (ages 13-19) who explore their lives, emotions and coming of age through the prism of their identity as Jews. They express themselves through essays, poetry, illustrations and photographs. If the thematic division of the six chapters is a bit blurry, the overarching motif is unmistakable. This collection is a jubilant anthem to diversity and inclusion, written by "self-identifying Jewish girls, young women and nonbinary teens." Teens are also editors of their contributions, drawn from JGirls magazine. A teen with cerebral palsy matter-of-factly shares the accommodations needed to celebrate her bat mitzv

Those Summer Nights by Laura Silverman Margaret K. McElderry Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sarah Blattner Buy at Bookshop.org It’s the summer before her senior year, and Hannah Klein has just returned from a year at Mountain Bliss Academy, a boarding school in the north Georgia mountains for troubled teens. Last summer Hannah lost everything that mattered to her: the ability to play soccer due to an injury, her bubbie to cancer, her best friend Brie Bradley, and her parents’ trust. Hannah turned to self-destructive behaviors: she took partying too far one night and almost got behind the wheel of her car while intoxicated. Her bestie Brie took her keys, drove her home, and notified Hannah’s parents. But now Hannah is back in Atlanta, and she must prove herself to her family, her friends, and most of all, to herself. A main theme in the novel is taking ownership for your actions by repairing harm. While working with her brother Joey at Bona

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Emily Roth Buy at Bookshop.org A Million Quiet Revolutions is a stunning novel in verse that tells a profound love story. At the beginning of their senior year of high school, Oliver and Aaron are realizing that their relationship is deeper than a lifelong friendship, and they are both beginning the process of coming out as trans. After history buff Oliver discovers a story of two Revolutionary War soldiers who may have been trans and may have lived together after the war, he and Aaron choose to pay tribute to the soldiers by adopting their names. Oliver, who is white and Jewish, finds that his parents immediately support him and affirm his identity, while Aaron’s more conservative Puerto Rican and Catholic parents have a hard time using the correct pronouns and often deadname him. Although it would be easy to view Aaron’s parents as the villains of this story, Glow succeeds at cre

Berliners by Vesper Stamper Knopf (imprint of Random House), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Ronda Einbinder   Buy at Bookshop.org In WWII Berlin, fifteen-year-old Rudolf is given the Hitler Jugend uniform and told to be on the lookout for Jews in critically-acclaimed author-illustrator Vesper Stamper’s latest novel Berliners . Rudolf doesn’t give it much thought until he discovers his crush is Jewish and turns her in. Later when Rudolf meets scared teen Ilse, he realizes he must do what he can to save her. She will be his redemption. When unfaithful Ilse discovers she is pregnant, they reluctantly decide to wed. This page-turning story fast-forwards the reader to 1961 when twins Rudi and Peter are fifteen and follow the mantra "twins against the world." Peter is a creative thinker, popular and smart. Rudi is jealous of his twin and believes in the words of the socialist party. When the parents split up, Rudolph escapes to West Berlin just before the Berlin Wall is bui

A Visit to Moscow Adapted by Anna Olswanger from a story by Rabbi Rafael Grossman, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg West Margin Press, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Jeanette Brod Buy at Bookshop.org In the summer of 1965, a group of American rabbis visit the Soviet Union to meet with Soviet Jews. Rabbi Rafael Grossman, a member of the delegation, goes in search of the brother of one of his congregants. He finds a hidden child. Zev is a beautiful and fragile four-year-old boy who peeks out from behind a curtain. He has never been outside. He has never met a stranger. His parents believe that the only way the boy can stay safe and remain Jewish is to avoid the prejudice on the streets and the ostracism in the schools, where Shabbat observance would be impossible and unkosher food would be served. The Rabbi helps the boy and his family emigrate to Israel. That is the central story of this hauntingly illustrated graphic novel for older readers. The story begins and ends with Zev seem

The Honeys by Ryan LaSala PUSH (imprint of Scholastic), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Stacey Rattner Buy at Bookshop.org Right from the start, you know that the elite sleepaway camp in this story, Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy, is not like any camp you may be familiar with. It’s no Ramah or Tel Yehudah, that’s for sure. Mars’s twin sister, Caroline, is deep in the heart of the culture of Aspen, especially her cabin and friends, the oldest girls in camp, called The Honeys. These are her people. This, of course, is relatable to anyone who has attended or sends their own kids to camp. But when Caroline runs away from camp and in an unfortunate series of events, dies suddenly at home, genderfluid Mars, who never completely felt comfortable at camp, makes the decision to return to Aspen and find out what really happened . Aspen is filled with history and connections. Some we learn right away; others a bit later. Who can Mars trust? Who is friend? Who is foe? While trying to figure

Ballad & Dagger (An Outlaw Saints Novel) by Daniel José Older Rick Riordan Presents (imprint of Disney Publishing), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Aleah Gornbein   Buy at Bookshop.org As readers of Jewish books, we are intimately familiar with the theme of diaspora. So jumping into Daniel José Older’s Ballad & Dagger where the focus is on the close-knit community of Little Madrigal is like settling into a well-worn couch, no matter the magical elements at play. Sixteen years ago, the Carribean island of San Madrigal sank, and the pirates, Cuban Santeros, and Sephardic Jews who lived there escaped to Brooklyn to keep their blended culture alive. Mateo Matisse, our protagonist, is now a regular teenager who loves music and lives with his Tía Lucia while his parents travel for work. Not one for the spotlight, he just wants to get the attention of Gerval, a popular local musician, at the annual celebration, the Grand Fete. However, when Mateo witnesses the rabbi’s daughter c

The Counselors by Jessica Goodman Razorbill (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Meg Wiviott Buy at Bookshop.org Goldie Eastman can’t wait to return to Camp Alpine Lake, the only place she feels safe, loved, and at home. Her senior year was disastrous, filled with love and lies, and secrets she’s kept from her best friends Ava and Imogen. But will this year’s summer be the same as those in the past, as Goldie, Ava, and Imo work as counselors, or will the secrets she’s kept ruin their friendships forever? Jessica Goodman’s young adult novel, The Counselors , brings to life the joys, comradery, and appeal of summer camp. Until, that is, a local boy is found dead on the grounds of Camp Alpine. Goldie knows this is no accident and knows she must find the truth behind the murder. What she uncovers is that the truth can be ugly—and that she’s not the only one keeping secrets. The Counselors is a quintessential story about summer camp (or as I imagine summe

See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon Simon & Schuster, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Ronda Einbinder   Buy at Bookshop.org It’s Wednesday, September 21, and Barrett Bloom’s first day of freshman year at the University of Washington. She awakes in her dorm room to learn that her high school nemesis is her new roommate. She messes up her dream job interview for the Washingtonian college paper. She meets Miles Kasher-Okamoto (the son of the physics professor, no less, of whom she is not too fond and accidentally pepper-sprays) before knocking down a tiki torch and setting a frat house on fire. Wouldn’t you want a do-over after that kind of first day of college? Well, Barrett magically gets thirty first days of school when September 21 repeats over and over again. Award-winning author Rachel Lynn Solomon embarks on a journey back in time in See You Yesterday, a page-turning story traveling repeatedly through one day with the protagonist, who experiments with various ways

My Fine Fellow: A Delicious Entanglement by Jennieke Cohen HarperTeen, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Stacy Mozer Buy at Bookshop.org My Fine Fellow is a thoughtful retelling of My Fair Lady that takes on issues of gender norms and the treatment of Jewish people in England, with the feel of The Great British Bake-Off . It's the story of Elijah Little, a poor boy who is hawking food in an 1830s England where going to culinary school and becoming a gentleman chef is as revered as being royalty. When Helena Higgins discovers Elijah, she decides to make him her project in order to graduate from high honors from the Royal Academy. She bets her friend, Penelope Pickering, that she can turn Elijah from a street hawker to a gentleman. But Helena doesn't know that Elijah is Jewish and that makes a difference in 1830s England. My Fine Fellow is a fun read, especially if you know the story of My Fair Lady and love cooking. The story feels true to the time period in language and

This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke A Borzoi Book/Alfred A. Knopf (imprint of Random House), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sarah Blattner Buy at Bookshop.org Living with her Tante Ilona, a Holocaust survivor, in post-WWII Budapest, Hungary, Csilla Tisza’s life rests on the edge of a knife, cutting between the truths and lies about her parents’ deaths and the false exoneration for their crimes. Csilla must decide if she will stay in Hungary and fight or flee to safety. Constantly under surveillance by the ÁVH, the State Protection Authority, Csilla knows you can be “disappeared” for a range of suspicions. While being followed one morning, she finds safety in Azriel, a suspiciously friendly stranger who doesn’t quite sound like a Hungarian. Meeting Azriel is not by chance; however, because he is bound to Csilla and her friends as they light the flames of revolution. Several literary attributes stand out in This Rebel Heart . The Duna River is a magical protector of Csilla, calling

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero Peachtree Teen, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Evonne Marzouk Buy at Bookshop.org The Ghosts of Rose Hill is a beautiful and magical story, told in verse that is as entrancing as the tale itself. Ilana’s parents, immigrants from Cuba and Prague, are desperate for her to be successful in America. So when her grades slip and PSAT scores don’t meet the goal, Ilana is sent from her home in Miami to live with her aunt in Prague for the summer. Away from her violin, parties, and her friends, her parents hope she’ll be able to focus better on studying and improving her test scores. Instead, when Ilana discovers an overgrown Jewish cemetery behind her aunt’s cottage on Rose Hill, her summer becomes about clearing the cemetery… and though her aunt warns her not to speak to them, the ghosts she meets there. Benjamin, with blue eyes like the sea, befriends Ilana while she cares for the cemetery and shows her the secrets of Prague. Pearl is a young chi

Once More with Chutzpah by Haley Neil Bloomsbury YA, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Evonne Marzouk Buy at Bookshop.org Tally and Max are eighteen year old twins recovering from a tough year. Max was involved in a tragic car accident, in which he survived but the drunk driver did not. Will a winter youth trip to Israel through their synagogue help them get back on track? Narrator Tally is intending on it. Her goals for the trip include helping her brother out of his grief-stricken depression and supporting him to apply to attend Boston University with her. As the story progresses, Tally begins to accept her own grief as it relates to Max’s accident as well. Tally is introduced to Israel through the iconic moments of most Israel teen tours: a swim in the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, a kabbalistic lesson in Tzfat, the Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem, camel-riding and camping in a Bedouin tent, climbing Masada at sunrise, and putting notes in the Western Wall. The participants also

Boys of the Beast by Monica Zepeda Tu Books (imprint of Lee & Low), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org The familiar theme of growth and bonding during an American road trip gets a fresh treatment in Boys of the Beast . Three estranged teen cousins from a mostly Latinx family meet up at Grandma Lupe's funeral and then drive her inherited car, nicknamed "the Beast," from Portland, OR back to Albuquerque, NM, with side adventures in Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA and Phoenix, AZ. While three first-person voices can be a lot for readers to keep track of, nerdy gay Jewish Ethan, sincere evangelical Christian Matt, and traumatized stoner Oscar are well-rounded and sympathetic characters, all worth rooting for. Each boy is on a quest, though they may not realize it at first. Ethan's quest takes them to San Francisco where he can finally meet the boy he's fallen in love with through texting; Matt wants to see USC where he dreams of

From Dust, A Flame by Rebecca Podos Balzer + Bray (imprint of HarperCollins), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sarah Blattner Buy at Bookshop.org With a scholarship to Winthrop Academy in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, bookish Hannah Kowalski secures the stability she craves for herself and her “theater kid” older brother Gabe. But the foundation begins to crack on the eve of Hannah’s seventeenth birthday, when her mother reveals that she is Jewish, the first of her many secrets. The next morning, Hannah awakens to golden, snakelike eyes staring back at her in the mirror. Soon after, Hannah grows wolflike canines, and Malka departs on a quest to find a healer to ensure Hannah’s safety. A one-week trip turns into three, and that’s when a family death announcement arrives in the mail. Close siblings, Hannah and Gabe set out on a mission to find their mother and the family they never knew in the quaint village of Fox Hollow, New York, where they discover their Jewish family roots. Whil

Not sure which book should get your vote? Here are the reviews to help you decide: Alma Presses Play by Tina Cane Reviewed by A.R. Vishney As If on Cue by Marisa Kanter Reviewed by Rebecca Levitan Bluebird by Sharon Cameron Reviewed by Meg Wiviott The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros Reviewed by A.R. Vishney Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler Reviewed by A.R. Vishney Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli Reviewed by Meira Drazin Last Witnesses by Svetlana Alexievich Reviewed by Meg Wiviott The Last Words We Said by Leah Scheier Reviewed by Michelle Falkoff Lessons in Fusion by Primrose Madayag Knazan Reviewed by Heidi Rabinowitz Lucy Clark Will Not Apologize by Margo Raab Reviewed by Stacie Ramey The Papercutter by Cindy Rizzo Reviewed by Dena Bach The Poetry of Secrets by Cambria Gordon Reviewed by Cheryl Strausberg Rebel Daughter by Lori Kaufmann Reviewed by A.R. Vishney Some Other Now by Sarah Everett Reviewed by Cheryl Strausberg Strange Creatures by Phoebe North Revie