Hello and welcome back! This week we’ve decided to talk about something we are both passionate about – books! With summer just a few weeks away, you may have a little more time on your hands to read. Here is our list of ten books we’ve loved/can’t wait to read, and we hope you’re going to love them too.
If you’re interested in any of the titles on this list, there’s a link to the book’s page on bookshop.org under each description. On bookshop.org you can select your closest independently owned bookstore to support them with your purchase. Make sure to support your local independent bookstores!
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This is the story of an orphan girl named Liesel living in Germany during World War II. She learns how to read in her new home and develops a love for books. Money is hard to come by, so Liesel has to get her books from wherever she can, however she can. Even if it means stealing from Nazi book burnings and the mayor’s wife’s library. She learns even more from the Jewish man her foster parents are hiding in their basement. As if that wasn’t enough to pique your interest, the book’s narrator is Death himself. This is a book Marissa had to read her freshman or sophomore year of high school in English class, and her whole class fell in love with it. She’s read it multiple times since then too, it’s one of those books that never gets old. A favorite of both of us, The Book Thief is an exciting page-turning adventure that you don’t want to put down.
Interested? Purchase it here.
Burning Girls & Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
This book is a collection of short stories about fierce women who are at the margins of society. One of the stories, “Among the Thorns”, is about a young woman in seventeenth century Germany who is trying to avenge the murder of her father. The second story is called, “Emma Goldman Takes Tea with the Baba Yaga”. The title story, “Burning Girls”, is about Jewish immigrant sisters who come to America after fleeing from antisemitism in their hometown. The excitement of these three stories being from different genres and the book’s tagline, “When we came to America, we brought anger and socialism and hunger. We also brought our demons,” makes this a book that Amanda can’t wait to read.
Interested? Purchase it here.
The Color of Love: A Story of A Mixed-Race Jewish Girl by Marra B. Gad
Marra B. Gad’s biological mother was white, Jewish, and unwed, her father was black, and she was adopted by a white Jewish family. Being mixed-race and Jewish, she has struggled in all of the spaces she’s been in; feeling not “black enough”, “too Jewish”, and even not “Jewish enough”. To make things worse, Marra’s family cut out relatives who could not be tolerant of the color of her skin; including her Great-Aunt Nette. Later in life Marra discovers that Great-Aunt Nette has Alzheimer’s and chooses love instead of revenge. With a recommendation from Amanda’s rabbi, we can’t wait to read this one.
Interested? Purchase it here.
Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
Lara, a Jewish daughter of a Russian mother, is over the moon when Chase, the guy she’s been crushing on all of high school, starts talking to her and maybe even flirts with her. However, she can’t stop thinking of the romantic summer she had with a girl named Jasmine,a Syrian Jew. What is Lara going to do when Jasmine shows up as the new student at her school? Hey Alma describes the book as “think Grease, but gay and way less problematic?” We’ve both been wanting to read more LGBTQIA+ stories and can’t wait to read this one.
Interested? Purchase it here.
I Want to be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom
From the creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend comes this laugh out loud memoir about feeling out of place. Through her writing about all of the times she’s felt different, Rachel Bloom discovers that she really isn’t different at all. All of this discovery is presented in unique essays and even a musical (yes a musical – which is available on her website for you to listen to while you read). Amanda read this in a book club and not only found it hilarious, but also very relatable.
Interested? Purchase it here.
Justice, Justice, Thou Shalt Pursue by Ruth Bader Ginsburg & Amanda L. Tyler
We all know who Ruth Bader Ginsburg was – an advocate, a fighter for justice, and a Jewish icon. Justice Ginsburg and Amanda L. Tyler worked together to share Ginsburg’s life story and many previously unpublished works written by Ginsburg. Included in these works are notable briefs and oral arguments, speeches and opinions. Just three weeks after this work was submitted as a manuscript to the publisher, Justice Ginsburg passed away. The title Justice, Justice, Thou Shalt Pursue comes from the line in the book of Deuteronomy that was hung on the wall of Justice Ginsburg’s chambers and accurately describes her dedication to all American people. Having read My Own Words by Ginsburg late last year, Amanda is excited to add this to her pile of books to read.
Interested? Purchase it here.
The Light of Days by Judy Batalion
We often hear stories of brave young men fighting in World War II, but what about the women? This book tells the true story of a group of women, some still teenagers, who “helped transform the Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis.” These women flirted, bribed, and even killed their enemies to help those in need. The story is so much more than that; it’s also a story of friendship, bravery, and the fight for freedom. You know we love stories about badass women here at MPT, and we can’t wait to get our hands on this one.
Interested? Purchase it here.
The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning
This story is told from the perspectives of two women, Romy Bernfeld and her granddaughter Alexandra. Romy’s story is about how she fled Vienna with her parents after Kristallnacht to live in Shanghai. Alexandra’s story begins when she moves to Shanghai from Australia for work and begins looking into her family’s history there. The more she uncovers, the more she learns about her grandmother’s story. You don’t often hear stories about Jews who fled to places like Shanghai, so this is a story we are excited to read.
Interested? Purchase it here.
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
In 1945 Germany, eighteen year-old Zofia Lederman has barely begun to heal from the trauma she endured three years ago. She and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to survive the Holocaust. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, she and her brother were sent in a line to the right, away from the gas chambers, and the rest of her family was sent to the left, toward the chambers. We follow Zofia as she tries to find her brother again and meets others who are trying to piece together their lives after a painful past; including Miriam who is searching for her twin brother she was separated from. Reviews of this historical fiction novel describe this work as sad, yet hopeful and we cannot wait to read it.
Interested? Purchase it here.
Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed
Jamie Goldberg is volunteering with his local state senate and is happy as long as he doesn’t have to speak to strangers. He especially doesn’t want to go door-to-door. Maya Rehman is going through a bit of a rough time this Ramadan, and her mother suggests she goes political canvassing with a guy she doesn’t know (Jamie). Jamie and Maya now have to navigate their new cross-cultural romance. We are very excited about this book and can’t wait to follow along with Jamie and Maya.
Interested? Purchase it here.
Looking for more suggestions? Check out the following lists on Goodreads:
We hope you enjoyed our summer reading list! Be sure to let us know if you read any of these and what you thought. Also let us know what your favorites are! We love adding to our to-be-read piles.
This is also going to be our last post for the summer. Amanda is off to camp in a few short weeks, so we’re taking time off to enjoy the summer. We plan to be back right after the High Holidays in September! It gives us time to not only relax and recharge and plan fun stuff for next year. Until then, you can choose a book from this list to hold you over.
We hope you have a wonderful, safe, and happy summer!
Love,
Amanda & Marissa