Meet our Contributors
| Dr. Melanie Koss is a professor of children’s and young adult literature at Northern Illinois University. In her graduate and undergraduate classes, she focuses on using literature as springboards to difficult conversations on societal issues and aspects of intersectional identity. One focus of both her teaching and her scholarship is on advocating against antisemitism and for Jewish inclusion through the integration of children’s and young adult books with positive and authentic Jewish representation. Melanie is a member and current chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award (STBA) committee. |  |
| Cheryl Fox Strausberg has been a librarian at several Jewish day schools in the Washington, DC area. She is passionate about Jewish Young Adult literature and feels that all Jewish teens should see themselves reflected in the literature they read. Ms. Fox Strausberg is a member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award (STBA) committee, and is a proud member of the American Library Association and the Association of Jewish Libraries. |  |
Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month: Young Adult Literature that Highlights Diverse Jewish Identities
by
Melanie D. Koss and Cheryl Fox Strausberg
Cheryl: When I was growing up, being Jewish was something we did at home. School was for the majority religion, which in my suburban elementary school was learning Christmas carols in music class or making Christmas and Easter decorations, but never about my Jewish holidays and traditions. In fact, the Jewish population at my school was so small that I was the only Jewish student in my class. My mom was the “Hanukkah Mom,” the one who came in every year to tell the story of the one Jewish holiday that my teachers had heard of but, sadly, had no familiarity to teach about it themselves. Home was where I could be myself. My family went to synagogue and celebrated the High Holy Days by eating apples and honey; celebrated Passover with the eternally long ritual meal - the Seder - where my siblings and I would count the pages in our haggadah until dinner was served; and home was where we lit the Shabbat candles every Friday night to welcome the Sabbath into our hearts and our home. Home was for being Jewish; public was for fitting in.
Melanie: In contrast, I grew up in a neighborhood that had a large population of Jewish families. I went to Hebrew school with a lot of my classmates, and my schools recognized and included Jewish holidays in their calendars and celebrations. Granted, we did not get days off for the significant holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or Passover, but teachers understood and respected our absences. Hanukkah was included in Winter Holiday performances with a token song or skit, but the holiday was not unfamiliar to my classmates. In junior high, going to bar and bat mitzvahs every weekend was fairly typical, for Jews and non-Jews alike. Being Jewish was a part of who I was, and welcomed in all aspects of my life, both inside and outside of the home.
Although we are both Jewish, our lived experiences were and still are very different. And they are different still from our Jewish friends. Often, Jewish people are lumped together as a monolith, yet there are many different ways of being Jewish in America and the world today. Not all people who identify as Jewish are religious or consider themselves practitioners of Judaism, yet they may feel inherently Jewish as their ethnic and cultural identity.
May is Jewish American Heritage Month. The Jewish people have an incredibly rich heritage. Jews have been a part of the fabric of every empire, have lived throughout the world, and been a part of the fabric of the American tapestry since the country was established. Yet, there is little representation of Jewish identity in young adult literature, and what little literature there is often focuses on the 3 H’s: The Holocaust, history, or holidays (and often only the holiday of Hanukkah, a holiday that does not hold much importance in Judaism). However, there is so much more to being Jewish outside of the 3 H’s that we would like to highlight today.
Although few in number, there are young adult titles that celebrate the diverse and intersectional ways of being Jewish in contemporary times. From stories of Orthodox Jews to secular Jews living their most authentic selves; to stories of Jewish subgroups including Ashkenazi (Jews with Eastern European heritage), Mizrahi (Jews with Middle Eastern heritage), and Sephardic (Jews with Spanish and Portuguese heritage), and stories of other intersectional Jewish identities including Jewish people with disabilities, Jews who identify as LGBTQ, and Jews who struggle with their mental health. There are so many contemporary tales that deserve a place on your bookshelves and in your classrooms.
In a time of increasing antisemitism, it is apparent to us that many people do not know what Judaism is or who Jewish people are, and are only aware of stereotypes. People often fear the other or the unknown. We strongly believe that books that celebrate Judaism and the Jewish people, including their intersectional nature, are a great step in introducing people to the beauty and complexity of Jewish life. By providing students with a varied and rich introduction to the Jewish experience, we can develop empathy, appreciation, and a respect for cultural diversity.
Here are some contemporary realistic fiction titles we love, with a favorite fantasy thrown in:
| Hannah Reynolds is known for her portrayal of Sephardic characters, traditions, and culture. In this third book in the Barbanel family series, Summer Nights and Meteorites, Jordan Edelman is looking forward to a boy-free, drama-free summer with her Dad on Nantucket. What she doesn’t expect is that her father’s work will interfere with their time together and that his research assistant, the beguiling and annoying Ethan Barbanel, will get in the way. When Jordan finally finds a summer job with a local astronomer, her life and relationships take a turn and may never be the same. The ultimate summer rom-com, this one will hit the spot as we barrel towards summer vacation. |  |
| In The Last Words We Said by Leah Scheier, Ellie, Deena and Rae all cope with the disappearance of their friend Danny in different ways. As students at an Orthodox Jewish high school, each of them struggles to see the loss through the framework that they’ve been taught. While Deenie pours her sorrow into her Orthodox traditions and rituals, Rae and Ellie rebel against them, wondering if and how their faith can sustain such heartbreak. This novel is a deeply moving work about approaching identity, values, and experiences through the Modern Orthodox lens. |  |
Rachel Lynn Solomon writes many authentic and enjoyable novels with Jewish characters. In the sequel to her extremely popular Today Tonight Tomorrow, Past Present Future continues the story of Rowan and Neil, following them as they head off to separate universities in different states. Even though they’ve come together after years of being rivals, can they overcome the distance, both in miles and in emotions, to ensure their relationship continues and thrives? This novel sensitively includes a character struggling with their mental health in a way that is at times hard to read and neccessary.
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| Jenna Cohen is a Jewish girl who is proud of her Jewish identity. In addition, she has cerebral palsy. Jenna wants two things in It’s My Life by Stacey Ramey: medical emancipation from her parents so she can have the right to make decisions about her own body, and to reconnect with her childhood crush who is back in town. |  |
An additional book that includes Jewish characters with chronic illnesses is Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz.
| Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler is a queer Sliding Doors YA rom com. Natalya has a choice to make. It’s the summer before her senior year of high school, and she can either stay in NYC with her dad or spend the summer in LA with her estranged mother. The book alternates chapters, presenting the two alternate realities that might occur depending on Natalya’s choice. In NYC, Talia or Tal meets the red haired girl she’s been crushing on. In LA, Nat meets the mysterious co-intern Adam and after a rocky start, romance starts to bloom. A play on words, Going Bicoastal takes place on both the eastern and western coasts of the US while also exploring Natalya’s bisexual identity. |  |
Other books with great LGBTQ+ representation: Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield and Finally Fitz by Marisa Kanter.
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| Written by a diverse group of Jewish authors, It’s a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and other Jewish Stories, edited by Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman, is a collection of short stories about diverse Jewish teens. Hidden among the pages are love stories, adventure stories, coming out stories, stories of finding oneself, and so many other stories about being Jewish in the world today. |  |
| Although not contemporary realistic fiction, we would be remiss to not include Night Owls by A. R. Vishny. In this urban fantasy, two estries (owl-shifting Jewish vampires) run a movie theater in New York City with faithful sidekick/ticket taker, Boaz, who hides a supernatural secret of his own. When Anat, the girlfriend of one of the estries vanishes, the three of them must come together and face the mystical underworld of New York City to find her. Of significance, two of the characters represent Mizrahi Jews - Boaz, who is of Yemeni descent, and Anat, who is from Israel. Winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen category, this book is a wonderful amalgamation of Jewish folklore and modern sensibilities. |  |
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