ŷ������

I am reading four books, two on audio and two in the hard copy. I saw one comment expressing incredulity at the idea of reading a number of books at once, but I seem to be able to keep them straight!

Also, and can't remember if I mentioned it before, I read a first and second memoir by the same person, Helen Fremont.
/review/show...
/review/show...

I have two books on the way. Because, really, don't have a thing to read.... 🤣

I just finished "Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife" by Francine Prose. I highly recommend it!

Stacey wrote: "Dara Horn Review

Who Doesn’t Love Roald Dahl?
By Dara Horn
November 15, 2020
Roald Dahl’s The Witches
HBO Max, 106 minutes

There’s nothing quite like the realization that what you thought was an ..."

Lori wrote: "So interesting! I didn’t know about this Grossman either nor the historical context of these two writers. But Babel’s short stories are brilliant."

Back in the mid-80s, my brother (then in 5th grade) read an article where Dahl was upfront about being anti-Zionism. He and his classmates wrote a letter to Dahl, and received a reply to the effect that he'd always been anti-Zionism, and was now fully anti-Jewish. This, he blithely said to to a group of 5th grade kids in a Jewish school. I threw out every Dahl book we had, and made sure my own children knew that we don't read Dahl.
Unfortunately Margaret Wise Brown was also Antisemitic, although she couched it so genteely, as "I have a Jewish problem", perhaps so as not to crush Esphyr Slobodkina. I tossed those books, too.
Who wants to read books to your kids by authors who would hate them for no reason?

Perlie wrote: "...Back in the mid-80s, my brother (then in 5th grade) read an article where Dahl was upfront a..."

Awful! -- his response to those kids, Perlie!

I didn't know that about Margaret Wise Brown, and in fact had to google to remember what she wrote. I did read Goodnight Moon to my children, and they're reading it to theirs....
Perhaps it's fitting that there is a parody of Goodnight Moon, and I've read it to my grandchildren too.
Goodnight Bubbala: A Joyful Parody

Now, that sounds cute -- and a good antidote to Antisemitsm :-)!

Perlie wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Dara Horn Review

Who Doesn’t Love Roald Dahl?
By Dara Horn
November 15, 2020
Roald Dahl’s The Witches
HBO Max, 106 minutes

There’s nothing quite like the realization that what you ..."

I had no idea about Margaret Wise Brown.
Oh no....I just bought GN Moon as a gift.
I'm sure it will perfectly understood when I ask her to please toss the book out, as another will be replacing it.

Perlie, how did you know that?
I am not shocked anymore at those who are antisemitic, but am a little surprised both admitted it. Why? Because it tells me that having a problem with jews is primary, not secondary to holding their fans which dictate royalties.
That may very well a hint as to the answer of the sincerity of Dahl's family apology.
Jan asked me "who" was the apology directed to?
No idea, but It wasn't long between the first article and the apology I pasted from the magazine.

Jan wrote: "Perlie wrote: "...Back in the mid-80s, my brother (then in 5th grade) read an article where Dahl was upfront a..."

Awful! -- his response to those kids, Perlie!

I didn't know that about Margaret ..."
i hope all the members of this group know about PJ Library which sends monthly age appropriate books with Jewish content to kids from 6 month up.
However i am really posting to ask more about Margaret Wise Brown. I googled her after reading about her anti-Semitism in this chain but didn't find much. Was it the biography that revealed it or are there other sources?

Hi everyone! I'm a new group member so sorry if I do this wrong. I recently read "The Night Journey" by Kathryn Lasky. This book has been on my shelf ever since I was a child, although I can’t remember who gave it to me. I finally decided to read it (I’m in my 20s) as I’ve been reconnecting with my Jewish identity and longing to know more about what my great grandparents�� lives were like when fleeing the Russian Empire. This book, although fictional, provided me with a wonderful image of the courage they must have had. I loved this book so much that I am mailing a copy to my 11 year old cousin as we speak.

Welcome, Samantha. Glad to have you aboard!
That seems like the perfect book for you to have read. ☺️

Samantha wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm a new group member so sorry if I do this wrong. I recently read "The Night Journey" by Kathryn Lasky. This book has been on my shelf ever since I was a child, although I can’t reme..."

Thank you, I'll add that to my list of books to read. I am also connecting to being Jewish. On that same vein is a nice true story called "the Soup Has Many Eyes" by Joann Rose Leonard. From Shtetl to Chicago - A memoir of one family's journey through history.

In todays climate of anti-semitism, it is certainly nice to see a small
moral move on behalf of an online business.
Curious if this article will be the only public announcement.


Etsy removes ‘Camp Auschwitz�� shirt from its online store
JANUARY 12, 2021 5:33 PM
Etsy
(Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

(JTA) �� Etsy has removed a T-shirt with the phrase “Camp Auschwitz�� on it after images of a rioter involved in the deadly Capitol insurrection with the same words on his sweatshirt circulated in recent days.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum tweeted at the e-commerce company, which sells customized craft items, saying that the shirt it found on the site was “painful to Survivors[sic] and disrespectful to the memory of all victims of Auschwitz.��


The man in the sweatshirt at the mob riot has been identified as Robert Keith Packer. His sweatshirt also contained a translation of the infamous phrase on the Auschwitz gate, “Arbeit macht frei�� (“Work brings freedom��), and said “Staff�� on the back.

“Etsy’s long-standing policies prohibit items that promote hate or violence, and we are vigilantly monitoring the marketplace for any such listings that may have been inspired by recent unrest,�� an Etsy spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.

Etsy was not the only company to remove shirts with the phrase from its site �� Teespring and TeeChip also took them down, according to Newsweek. Teespring added that it will make a donation to the Auschwitz museum.

Over a million Jews and others were killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.

BY GABE FRIEDMAN

HOW COULD ETSY EVEN PUT THAT T SHIRT UP IN THE FIRST PLACE?? DISGUSTING

So discouraging, people are already forgetting.

I knew that about Dahl and Brown - if I threw out their books I'd probably have to throw out more than half my books.

Mark Twain was anti-Semitic until he wasn't - about the time of the Civil War. Hard to predict who will become anti-anti-Semitic and who will not.

Many, many, many authors are anti-Semitic I'm sure I don't need to say that.

Jan wrote: "Perlie wrote: "...Back in the mid-80s, my brother (then in 5th grade) read an article where Dahl was upfront a..."

Awful! -- his response to those kids, Perlie!

I didn't know that about Margaret ..."

try googling her "and antisemitism" and you may find more

Hi Denise!!
Your comments are appreciated.
This was the picture shown on the front page of many newspapers on January 7th, the morning after the Capitol Bldg. was stormed. The man wearing a black Sweatshirt with white print
"Camp Auschwitz " opened Pandoras Box again, showing his allegiance to the White Supremacist movement.
Of all the px taken that day by the press, this was the one chosen.
It is actually a frightening move on behalf of the media when you think about what the purpose was at the Capitol.

Stacey wrote: "Hi Denise!!
Your comments are appreciated.
This was the picture shown on the front page of many newspapers on January 7th, the morning after the Capitol Bldg. was stormed. The man wearing a black S..."

Indeed it is frightening.

Denise wrote: "Jan wrote: "Perlie wrote: "...Back in the mid-80s, my brother (then in 5th grade) read an article where Dahl was upfront a..."

Awful! -- his response to those kids, Perlie!

I didn't know that abo..."
years ago when i first got into mysteries i read books by the major English writer, dorothy sayers. She tossed around racist and anti-semitic phrases in all fo her books because she assumed ,probably correctly, that they reflected the dominant culture and so no one would notice anything amiss. they were never plot points so always gratuitous.

Stacey wrote: "Hi Denise!!
Your comments are appreciated.
This was the picture shown on the front page of many newspapers on January 7th, the morning after the Capitol Bldg. was stormed. The man wearing a black S..."

important to note that the back of that shirt said "staff" which makes it even more frightening and threatening. ETSY just got the bright idea to take it down from their site as did other retailers. Really is that what it takes to recognize it is a shockingly inappropriate thing to sell?

Shelley wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Hi Denise!!
Your comments are appreciated.
This was the picture shown on the front page of many newspapers on January 7th, the morning after the Capitol Bldg. was stormed. The man we..."

Agreed.
I was totally shocked when I saw that px.
Call me naive, but I thought ..the sweatshirt was printed by the guy wearing it, until I saw the article.
Funny thing about sponsors, retailers, and large corporations who act immediately regarding other specific issues of hate.

Wow! 5.0
I was thrilled to see one of my favorite authors
Roberta Kagan, released her newest book on January 6th 2021:
"The Syndrome That Saved Us_ Book Four in a Jewish Family.."
Quite a powerful book - which I finished last night.
Review to come shortly.

I just finished reading In Our Hearts We Were Giants: The Remarkable Story of the Lilliput Troupe ~ A Dwarf Family’s Survival of the Holocaust, by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev (2004)

This book is about the Ovitz family, a Jewish family from Transylvania. In 1868, the patriarch of the family, Shimshon Eizik Ovitz. He was born to normal-sized parents; however, he acquired a mutant gene, which made him a dwarf. He married and his wife, who was of normal height, gave birth to two daughters, both of whom were also dwarfs. Shortly after his wife died, Shimshon remarried a young woman, only a few years older than his oldest daughter. Soon, their family grew. Of Shimshon’s 10 children, seven were dwarfs. The oldest child, Rozika, was born in 1886; the youngest, Perla, in 1921.

The family stuck together, with the normal-sized sibling caring for the other seven. They built their own vaudeville troupe, known as the Lilliput Troupe, and entertained neighboring villages and cities with music, skits, jokes and other entertainment. This made them well known and afforded them a means to survive.

Then the Holocaust came to their part of Transylvania. All Jews of the area were transported to concentration camps. The Ovitz family (minus one brother) were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The novelty of having seven little people in one family caught the eye of Joseph Mengele, and they were spared, along with their 3 normal-sized sibling. They also convinced Mengele that several other townspeople were also family members.

This gave Mengele an opportunity to “experiment�� on the entire extended family. In exchange, the family was afforded certain “luxuries�� not afforded the other prisoners. They all lived in fear, however, never knowing what atrocities would be committed to their bodies. Amazingly, despite the torture inflicted upon them, all of the members of the extended “family�� survived the Holocaust. They ultimately were able to immigrate to Israel, where they spent their remaining lives.

This is an important story and provides insight into the human experimentation conducted in the camps. The book, however, jumps around too much, which interrupts the flow of the story.

3.5 Stars

Hahtoolah, that sounds disturbing. I’m glad that the family “survived�� as you say but I think I couldn’t get through it. I may file it for my Tish b’av pile. I try to read a book like this about perseverance each year.

Stacey wrote: "Wow! 5.0
I was thrilled to see one of my favorite authors
Roberta Kagan, released her newest book on January 6th 2021:
"The Syndrome That Saved Us_ Book Four in a Jewish Family.."
Quite a powerful ..."

This is one of the articles I read after finishing the above book.
It reminds me of the concept used by the Ayalon Institute Museum in Rehovot, Israel -used to disguise their underground ammunitions factory.

The Jew Store, by Stella Suberman (1998)

This book is part-memoir, part-fiction. The author her family’s life in a small rural Tennessee town where they were the only Jews. She changed the name of the town and the names of some of the townspeople to protect their identities. Since much of the story occurred either before she was born, or before she was old enough to have a clear memory, had a clear memory, much is of the book is based on her imagination as to what actually happened. The family lived in Tennessee from 1920 until 1933. The author was barely 11 when her family moved away.

That said, this family memoir is probably not unlike the story of many Jews living in the rural south. As she notes, many small southern towns had “Jew�� stores �� dry-goods stores run and operated by the town’s only Jews.

Aaron and Rebe Bronson had both immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe/Russia. Aaron was a self-described natural born salesman. He set off for Nashville, Tennessee, where he had hoped to make his fortune. He soon discovered that there were already many Jewish-run stores there; and was convinced to move to the small town of Concordia. He and his young family arrived in Concordia in 1920 and were taken in by Miss Brookie, an eccentric agnostic who believed in being kind to others.

While Miss Brookie was understanding, none of the other townspeople had ever seen Jews before and were convinced they were a different species. On the eve of the new store opening, Miss Brookie tells him that it will go well, provided the Klan approves. The book goes into detail of the tensions between the towns people and the Bronson’s fears of anti-Semitism. The book also describes the tensions between the white and Black population, often in terms that are very disarming.

Aaron named his store “Bronson’s Low-Priced Store��. Once the store is open, however, most of the town comes to respect the Bronson’s. Reba, however, fears for her children and wants them to grow up in a Jewish environment. When the Depression came, Aaron fought to keep the town going, thereby winning the respect of most of the town.

I found this to be a charming story filled with humor.

4 Stars

Hahtoolah wrote: "The Jew Store, by Stella Suberman (1998)

This book is part-memoir, part-fiction. The author her family’s life in a small rural Tennessee town where they were the only Jews. She changed the name of..."

Hahtoolah- I read it years ago, and enjoyed it.
I also looked up that area- a friends mother grew up near there, which had me curious if they might have known each other.

Stacey wrote: "Wow! 5.0
I was thrilled to see one of my favorite authors
Roberta Kagan, released her newest book on January 6th 2021:
"The Syndrome That Saved Us_ Book Four in a Jewish Family.."
Quite a powerful ..."

In Our Hearts We Were Giants is a memorable read! One of those you don't forget.
I'm in the middle of Genius & Anxiety, compulsively readable so far!

Perlie wrote: "...I'm in the middle of Genius & Anxiety, compulsively readable so far! "

Glad to hear you've gotten going on it, Perlie. Discussion thread is up when you're ready!

Hahtoolah wrote: "The Jew Store, by Stella Suberman (1998)

This book is part-memoir, part-fiction. The author her family’s life in a small rural Tennessee town where they were the only Jews. She changed the name of..."

I read it too, Hahtoolah, with another book club. Can't believe it's been six or seven years! Will never forget this one. It made an impression!

I read this short story by Allegra Goodman in the Jan. 25 issue of The New Yorker. .
She narrates it .

A couple months ago Michael Wex’s book Born to Kvetch was nominated for humor. I have it on my book shelf and so I arbitrarily read five or ten pages. It was more of a linguistics book with some sarcasm, not really what you’d call humor, though I did not read more than that.

A few weeks later I came across his book Rhapsody in Schmaltz (two words I never thought to put together in one sentence). He talks about Yiddish food, origins, changes, history, war and geography, and why we love to eat it. He starts with matzah or unleavened bread, being mentioned in the Torah, goes on to discuss round versus square, the reason for the holes, matzah machines, and a whole host of connections. There is a full section on schmaltz both in the Old World and the new, chicken vs. goose. And if you speak a bissel Yiddish and know a few sayings, you’ll find this enjoyable. I also learned what it means to make a big tsimmes out of nothing. There were many laugh out loud witticisms.

Irene wrote: "A couple months ago Michael Wex’s book Born to Kvetch was nominated for humor. I have it on my book shelf and so I arbitrarily read five or ten pages. It was more of a linguistics book with some sa..."

Irene,
This is adorable and funny.
Tell me; what, if at all, did you rate the book?
I cant believe I know this, but I do know about the schmaltz- and rendering chicken fat and goose. And with that, comes the gribenes (spelling??) Omg. Calories, cholesterol..Oh my! :)
I have no clue how I know this. Does he mention the schmaltz herring which is so salty, one needs a diuretic after eating it, if they can actually swallow it.
Thinking I should read this book and send a copy to my mother. And....Thank you for this ah- ha moment that I just had. Something to smile about.

Stacey wrote: "Irene wrote: "A couple months ago Michael Wex’s book Born to Kvetch was nominated for humor. I have it on my book shelf and so I arbitrarily read five or ten pages. It was more of a linguistics boo..."

Yes, he talks about gribenes, herring, cholent, chicken, matzah balls, Tam Tam, cholent, borscht, blintzes, cholent, gefilte fish, cholent, bagels, bialys, and lots of schmaltz, all the high key note players.
My grandparents came from Russia. Unfortunately my mother did not inherit the cooking gene, so I only know these foods a little bit. It is also an interesting picture into the daily life of the people and what they ate, what their Shabbos looked like.
I don't usually rate books, I have trouble comparing. It presents from an unusual viewpoint how life changes diets, and how culture and food intersect. Especially since all we have now are the stories and pictures, this filled in gaps for me.
Would definitely recommend it.

And it's another genre for us, Irene. Thanks! 😋

Stacey wrote: "Little by little or Not?
Would love to see him perform some community service during his 20 year stay.

From JTA
TOP NEWS

Self-described ‘skinhead�� who schemed to blow up Colorado synagogue sent..."

Thats pretty much why i hate identifying as white...because non Jews white are not afraid for their lives that a madman will do this...

I'm reading The Curse of Blessings by Mitchell Chefitz. It was one of the nominations for the Fables and Folklore genre. The subtitle is "Sometimes, The Right Story Can Change Your Life."

At first I thought these stories were like poems and that I'd just have to sit with them. Then I came across one that was a real zinger, a comfort, I think.

I'd say these are parables. They're not so much about being good as about getting to the unknown unknowns.

Not finished it yet. Even though it's short, it's not the sort of book I can just read straight through.

Hi James,
I moved the discussion to here from the Holocaust subject.
I read five of the books on your "Jewish-Israel" shelf-
"The Arrogant Years", " "FDR and the Jews" , "The Case for Israel"
"Wanderings", and "Witness to Nuremberg".
I have read a number of books regarding translators for both the witnesses and the accused. There were another two I read about psychiatrists sent to understand this type of human nature.
While we have all heard the coined phrase "I was following orders",
the interviews recorded show many of the war criminals have stated that they had no remorse.
Per FDR, -have you read the discussions involving Jan, Mel, Michael and Lewis ? They are quite interesting filled with history and some theories that went all over the map.
I read that along with "No Ordinary Time" awhile ago looking for specifics I could meld together for Holocaust answers regarding FDR. Mel speaks to "accuracy" while theories are based on the supposition of ideas intended to explain something.
My book page is a mess. In rearranging the shelves, I tried to double up causing the disappearance of largest shelves.
If you know of a shortcut to get the books back to their shelves, let me know. :)

I'm reading a book of short stories by Tillie Olsen, whom I'd never heard of until a friend told me about her. She was writing in the Midwest back in the '50s and '60s. Tell Me a Riddle. Poignant and sad. Maybe cathartic too.

She was an early feminist; work and raising children limited her literary output. I guess socialism was her religion. Kind of got into reading about her on Wikipedia.

Im trying to catch up from the March and April reads.
If I could discipline myself to stick with one book at a time, I wouldn't be this far behind. :(

Am reading THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA by Sharon Kay Penman as well as ISLAND ON FIRE by Sophie Schiller and THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS by W.A. Winters. When reading THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS, i truly feel othered. I dont know if its authors intention to be very anti-Jewish in the book because it was 1950s Missouri, or if he has no idea how a Jewish reader will feel when reading the story. Book is kind of a mess in my opinion....

Aurora wrote: "Am reading THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA by Sharon Kay Penman as well as ISLAND ON FIRE by Sophie Schiller and THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS by W.A. Winters. When reading THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS, i t..."

Hi.
I saw the book about the Secret Lives of Dentists, but am already behind.
Jan will able to explain it to much better than I can about that issues, as she did with me when I was confused, though it wasn't the same book. There are articles from back in the day, as well as a book written regarding jews admission to dental school- I believe at
Emory.
How are the other two books?

Stacey wrote: "Aurora wrote: "Am reading THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA by Sharon Kay Penman as well as ISLAND ON FIRE by Sophie Schiller and THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS by W.A. Winters. When reading THE SECRET LIVES O..."

Oops--probably can't explain it since haven't read it! I did read a nonfiction about prior antisemitism when Emory U. had a dental school; Extracted: Unmasking Rampant Antisemitism in America's Higher Education. It had local interest, plus found out the oral surgeon in question had handled my son's wisdom teeth around 20 years ago. I read a novel about a dentist too: To Rise Again at a Decent Hour. That was a weird one! Curious about The Secret Lives of Dentists but let me catch up with the Nominations thread 1st....

Aurora wrote: "Am reading THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA by Sharon Kay Penman as well as ISLAND ON FIRE by Sophie Schiller and THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS by W.A. Winters. When reading THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS, i t..."

...Aurora, I checked into SECRET LIVES a little bit. Somebody on ŷ������ has a nice long review that gave me some of the particulars. From that -- understanding that I could be mistaken -- it seems as though the author wants to be a kind of Agatha Christie. I see he does want to explore antisemitism by making the cops all too ready to pin the crime on the Jewish dentist. The guy doesn't seem to be all that good of a guy anyway, seeing he's a philanderer who exploits his female patients sexually. But, my reviewer says, all the characters in the book are very flawed, and the author seems to want to explore racism and other kinds of hate, too. This is the 1950s, so certain sexual mores are not up to modern standards. When I was in grad school in the '70s, affairs between the profs and students were not unusual. So it is a relatively recent change that that would be a no-no.

Given his name, I thought maybe the author himself might be Jewish. No Wikipedia page, but I see Winter is a pen name; real name is Swanson. So, not so likely. So, especially if he is not Jewish, there is a lot of room for being clumsy with this, and from what you said, sounds like that might be the case here. Just guessing and plugging in what I can, since I haven't read.

Last month we were talking about starting a thread for antisemitism & lit, and haven't gotten to it yet. Still think we could have some good discussions, but still want to wait a little since right now we're trying to get some nominations. But in the meantime does this help?

It does and thanks. Pretty much all the characters are kind of jerks in my opinion. I have read books for the last few years from this publisher before, and I enjoyed them all :) but this is different stylistically, or from what I expect from them. For one is multiple point of view thread when in previous books its been a single point of view. I know that the dentist is well, an oddbird to say the least, but the book seems to be all over the place in my opinion. All i think is that solving mysteries in 1950s js very shoddy because no one took care of DNA analysis, no one seems to be digging deeper, and evidence contamination. I really felt othered when i am reading this book, and its not a pleasant feeling... :(

Other two books are going ok. LAND BEYOND THE SEA is pretty good, i am honestly ending up feeling sorry for descendsnts of Crusaders. ( when i first learned about it in college, i felt jubilant that revenge was coming for them, for what their ancenstors have done in 1096. Story takes place in 1170s and 1180s.) ISLAND ON FIRE is also good and about mount pele eruption in 1902.

Aurora wrote: "...I really felt othered when i am reading this book, and its not a pleasant feeling... :( ..."

Not a good feeling.
Possibly not such a good book, anyway. An expert writer could have showed what he or she wanted to show without doing that, or one hopes. Even if this author had benign intent, he could have underlying stereotypes of his own that emerge. His agenda could be questionable, or, even if his intent was benign, maybe unable to rise to the occasion.
In my own life I'm not thinking of a book at the moment. More nearly about life. It's sometimes that way down here in the bible belt. And yes. :(

Do you live in Texas too Jan? Thats where i live. Years back i tried to read Ivanhoe, but couldnt either, and he is supposed to have a sympathetic portrayal of a Jewish woman. I couldnt get past the pages where there was description of Rebeccas wealth and so forth.

Aurora wrote: "Do you live in Texas too Jan? Thats where i live. Years back i tried to read Ivanhoe, but couldnt either, and he is supposed to have a sympathetic portrayal of a Jewish woman. I couldnt get past th..."

I live in Atlanta.

"I live in Atlanta, but I think you meant is where am I from originally."
--Liana Finck, in the Nov. 2, 2015 issue of The New Yorker

Current problem for me is what might be called "erasure." Antidote seems to be to speak up, but in various situations the way to do so has to be found.
Ivanhoe is one of the thousands of books I haven't read. On a quick glance, seems to be the King Arthur story?

I've been reading a lot of Jewish representation lately, mostly in the romance or YA categories. Some recent favorites are "The Ex Talk" by Rachel Lynn Solomon (a contemporary romance novel), "Today Tonight Tomorrow" also by Rachel Lynn Solomon (YA romance), and "The Intimacy Experiment" (contemporary romance). The Intimacy Experiment is a romance between a Reform rabbi and a secular Jewish woman with an unusual background. I'm also finishing up "Cool for the Summer" by Dahlia Adler (out 5/11/21) which is a YA queer romance with both main characters Jewish - one Russian, the other a Syrian Jew. It's so nice to see Jewish representation in both categories, I wished I'd had more non-Holocaust Jewish rep when I was a teenager. Anyone else read Jewish YA or romance? Any suggestions?

Rachel wrote: "I've been reading a lot of Jewish representation lately, mostly in the romance or YA categories. Some recent favorites are "The Ex Talk" by Rachel Lynn Solomon (a contemporary romance novel), "Toda..."
Hi Rachel-
Sometimes I read Y/A jewish romance. I will get a few and send them to you.

Very soon i will be reading THE LIGHT OF THE MDINIGHT STARS by Rena Rossner and HE HIDDEN PALACE by Helene Wecker.