The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen
Author: Isaac Blum
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2023-10-17
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0593525833

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD! A WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD WINNER! The Chosen meets Adam Silvera in this irreverent and timely story of worlds colliding in friendship, betrayal, and hatred. Hoodie Rosen's life isn't that bad. Sure, his entire Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up and moved to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, but Hoodie's world hasn't changed that much. He's got basketball to play, studies to avoid, and a supermarket full of delicious kosher snacks to eat. The people of Tregaron aren’t happy that so many Orthodox Jews are moving in at once, but that’s not Hoodie’s problem. That is, until he meets and falls for Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary—who happens to be the daughter of the obstinate mayor trying to keep Hoodie’s community out of the town. And things only get more complicated when Tregaron is struck by a series of antisemitic crimes that quickly escalate to deadly violence. As his community turns on him for siding with the enemy, Hoodie finds himself caught between his first love and the only world he’s ever known. Isaac Blum delivers a wry, witty debut novel about a deeply important and timely subject, in a story of hatred and betrayal—and the friendships we find in the most unexpected places.

Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win

Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win
Author: Susan Azim Boyer
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2022-11-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1250833698

Most Anticipated YA by Buzzfeed, BookRiot, Epic Reads, Publishers Weekly, and more! A fresh spin on the cult-classic Election meets Darius the Great Is Not Okay in Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win when an international incident crashes into a high school election, and Jasmine is caught between doing the right thing and chasing her dream. It’s 1979, and Jasmine Zumideh is ready to get the heck out of her stale, Southern California suburb and into her dream school, NYU, where she’ll major in journalism and cover New York City’s exploding music scene. There’s just one teeny problem: Due to a deadline snafu, she maaaaaaybe said she was Senior Class President-Elect on her application—before the election takes place. But honestly, she’s running against Gerald Thomas, a rigid rule-follower whose platform includes reinstating a dress code—there’s no way she can lose. And she better not, or she’ll never get into NYU. But then, a real-life international incident turns the election upside down. Iran suddenly dominates the nightly news, and her opponent seizes the opportunity to stir up anti-Iranian hysteria at school and turn the electorate against her. Her brother, Ali, is no help. He’s become an outspoken advocate for Iran just as she’s trying to downplay her heritage. Now, as the white lie she told snowballs into an avalanche, Jasmine is stuck between claiming her heritage or hiding it, standing by her outspoken brother or turning her back on him, winning the election or abandoning her dreams for good. Told with biting insight and fierce humor, Susan Azim Boyer's Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win is a fresh, unforgettable story of one Iranian-American young woman’s experience navigating her identity, friendship, family, her future, and a budding romance, all set against life-changing historical events with present-day relevance.

The Judgment of Yoyo Gold

The Judgment of Yoyo Gold
Author: Isaac Blum
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2024-10-15
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 059352585X

A smart and powerful story set in the Orthodox Jewish community about what it means to fit in, break out, and find your own way, by the award-winning author of The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen. This book is Gossip Girl + My Name Is Asher Lev + I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Yoyo Gold has always played the role of the perfect Jewish daughter. She keeps kosher, looks after her siblings, and volunteers at the local food bank. She respects the decisions of her rabbi father and encourages her friends to observe the rules of their Orthodox faith. But when she sees her best friend cast out of the community over a seemingly innocent transgression, Yoyo’s eyes are opened to the truth of her neighbors’ hypocrisies for the first time. And what she sees leaves her shocked and unmoored. As Yoyo’s frustration builds, so does the pressure to speak out, even if she can only do so anonymously on TikTok, an app that’s always been forbidden to her. But when one of her videos goes viral—and her decisions wind up impacting not only her own life but also her relationship with the boy she’s falling for—Yoyo’s world is thrown into chaos. She is forced to choose which path to take, for her community, for her family, and most importantly, for herself. Award-winning author Isaac Blum returns with a new novel that asks what it really means to be part of a community—and what it means to break free.

Liar & Spy

Liar & Spy
Author: Rebecca Stead
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2012-08-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375899537

The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me: a story about spies, games, and friendship. The first day Georges (the S is silent) moves into a new Brooklyn apartment, he sees a sign taped to a door in the basement: SPY CLUB MEETING—TODAY! That’s how he meets his twelve-year-old neigh­bor Safer. He and Georges quickly become allies—and fellow spies. Their assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer’s requests become more and more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: how far is too far to go for your only friend? “Will touch the hearts of kids and adults alike.” —NPR Winner of the Guardian Prize for Children’s Fiction Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more!

Challenging Antisemitism

Challenging Antisemitism
Author: Mara Lee Grayson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2023-04-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475864841

Challenging Antisemitism: Lessons from Literacy Classrooms provides theoretical framing and historical context for understanding contemporary antisemitism and offers teachers curricular ideas and practical strategies to address antisemitism and amplify Jewish voices in secondary and post-secondary literacy classrooms.

Too Many Golems

Too Many Golems
Author: Jane Yolen
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2024-04-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1797219227

Award-winning author Jane Yolen brings us a delightfully humorous tale inspired by Jewish folklore of a well-intentioned but mischievous boy who accidentally summons ten golems. “A truly original story that charmed me from start to finish. This book put a big smile on my face!”— Lesléa Newman, author of Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and National Jewish Book Award "A delightful reimagining of Jewish folklore! Magic that will captivate children of all backgrounds."—Ruth Behar, Pura Belpré Author Award winner and author of Tía Fortuna's New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey, a Sydney Taylor Notable Book The rabbi’s son, Abi, has a habit of getting in trouble. It’s not on purpose, and usually, they’re harmless accidents. But this time, Abi has stolen a scroll from the synagogue—to practice his Hebrew!—and is not ready for what, or rather, who will show up at his front door as a result. The golems Abi summons may look monstrous, but we soon learn they are only there to help! With beloved author Jane Yolen's signature wit and delightful illustrations by Maya Shleifer, Too Many Golems conveys the unexpected joy of magical accidents and the importance of being a good neighbor to all. A REIMAGINED JEWISH TALE: A fresh spin on a classic Jewish folktale reinvents the original narrative into one that emphasizes kindness, community, and friendship. Readers will laugh along as, instead of battling enemies, these golems tackle an even stronger foe: Hebrew lessons! ENCOURAGING MESSAGE: With a deep understanding that learning any new skill can be a difficult and even anxiety-inducing experience, this story acknowledges every struggle and reassures readers that even without the help of magical creatures, their goals can be achieved through perseverance. IMAGINATIVE & FUNNY: Brought to life by two Jewish creators, author Jane Yolen and illustrator Maya Schleifer, this comical story of a boy who means well but can't seem to stay out of trouble will delight parents and kids with its charming illustrations, witty text, and pure imagination. CELEBRATES KINDNESS: Readers will find a warm message that showcases the importance of showing kindness to everyone, regardless of where they come from or what language they speak. PERFECT FOR COMING-OF-AGE CELEBRATIONS: The outrageous tale of Abi's battle with Hebrew is one that many Jewish children will relate to as they begin Hebrew school or embark on their Bar/Bat Mitzvah journey, making this an essential pick for parents and gift-givers. Perfect for: Parents and grandparents Teachers and librarians Bar/Bat Mitzvah gift-givers Anyone looking for picture books celebrating Jewish culture Fans of Jane Yolen Fans of such classics as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Where the Wild Things Are

The Search for Us

The Search for Us
Author: Susan Azim Boyer
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2023-10-24
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 125083371X

“A sharp-witted and illuminating, impressive sophomore novel.” - Isaac Blum, author of the award-nominated The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen Two half-siblings who have never met embark on a search together for the Iranian immigrant and U.S. Army veteran father they never knew. Samira Murphy will do anything to keep her fractured family from falling apart, including caring for her widowed grandmother and getting her older brother into recovery for alcohol addiction. With attendance at her dream college on the line, she takes a long shot DNA test to find the support she so desperately needs from a father she hasn’t seen since she was a baby. Henry Owen is torn between his well-meaning but unreliable bio-mom and his overly strict aunt and uncle, who stepped in to raise him but don’t seem to see him for who he is. Looking to forge a stronger connection to his own identity, he takes a DNA test to find the one person who might love him for exactly who he is—the biological father he never knew. Instead of a DNA match with their father, Samira and Henry are matched with each other. They begin to search for their father together and slowly unravel the difficult truth of their shared past, forming a connection that only siblings can have and recovering precious parts of their past that have been lost. Brimming with emotional resonance, Susan Azim Boyer's The Search for Us beautifully renders what it means to find your place in the world through the deep and abiding power of family.

All-American Muslim Girl

All-American Muslim Girl
Author: Nadine Jolie Courtney
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2019-11-12
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0374309507

A Kirkus Best Book of 2019 A 2021 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book Nadine Jolie Courtney's All-American Muslim Girl is a relevant, relatable story of being caught between two worlds, and the struggles and hard-won joys of finding your place. Allie Abraham has it all going for her—she’s a straight-A student, with good friends and a close-knit family, and she’s dating popular, sweet Wells Henderson. One problem: Wells’s father is Jack Henderson, America’s most famous conservative shock jock, and Allie hasn’t told Wells that her family is Muslim. It’s not like Allie’s religion is a secret. It’s just that her parents don’t practice, and raised her to keep it to herself. But as Allie witnesses Islamophobia in her small town and across the nation, she decides to embrace her faith—study, practice it, and even face misunderstanding for it. Who is Allie, if she sheds the façade of the “perfect” all-American girl?

When My Heart Joins the Thousand

When My Heart Joins the Thousand
Author: A. J. Steiger
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2018-02-06
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 006265649X

A heartbreaking debut YA romance featuring a neuroatypical girl with a tragic history and the chronically ill boy trying to break the vault encasing her heart. Alvie Fitz doesn’t fit in, and she doesn’t care. She’s spent years swallowing meds and bad advice from doctors and social workers. Adjust, adapt. Pretend to be normal. It sounds so easy. If she can make it to her eighteenth birthday without any major mishaps, she’ll be legally emancipated. Free. But if she fails, she’ll become a ward of the state and be sent back to the group home. All she wants is to be left alone to spend time with her friend, Chance, the one-winged hawk at the zoo where she works. She can bide her time with him until her emancipation. Humans are overrated anyway. Then she meets Stanley, a boy who might be even stranger than she is—a boy who walks with a cane, who turns up every day with a new injury, whose body seems as fragile as glass. Without even meaning to, she finds herself getting close to him. But Alvie remembers what happened to the last person she truly cared about. Her past stalks her with every step, and it has sharp teeth. But if she can find the strength to face the enemy inside her, maybe she’ll have a chance at happiness after all.

All the Best Liars

All the Best Liars
Author: Amelia Kahaney
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2022-04-05
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 125031271X

Amelia Kahaney's All the Best Liars is a dark, modern psychological thriller and coming-of-age story about obsession, manipulation, and the intensity of those first friendships that take hold of you and never let go Tic-tac-toe, three girls in a row. Nine years old and inseparable. Friends for life, or so they think . . . Best friends Syd, Rain, and Brie grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in the stifling California desert, desperately wishing for a way out. When a deadly fire is set two weeks before the end of high school, nothing will ever be the same. In the end, each of them will escape—but not in the way any of them expects. One will do it by dying, another by lying, a third by taking the fall. With gorgeous, taut prose and twists to the very last page, All the Best Liars alternates between the present and the past to unravel the truth behind the fire and the cost of the secrets at the heart of their friendship.