Happy Jewish American Heritage Month! We’re celebrating as we do with books starring Jewish protagonists and/or by Jewish authors, and for more recs, check out previous years’ posts!
Picture Books
Shabbat is… by A.J. Sass (text) and Noa Kellner (illustration)
What does Shabbat mean to you?
Is it making a big meal with your relatives on Friday night?
Singing songs on Saturday morning?
Or maybe it’s seeing all your friends after services.
Shabbat can mean different things to different people, even for those who attend the same synagogue! This timeless story by award-winning author A. J. Sass explores the countless ways to celebrate the sabbath holiday through the wonderfully diverse fabric of Jewish life and experience.
Early Reader
Sebastian Metzger Solves a Sticky Situation by Kyle Lukoff and Kat Fajardo (10th)
This is the 11th book in the The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class series
Meet the kids in Mrs. Z’s wacky and wonderful third grade class! Sebastian Metzger is overjoyed when he checks out a brand-new book on octopodes from the school library, but everything goes awry when the book gets ruined.
Sebastian Metzger loves learning new things, especially about animals. He’s actually been experiencing many new things recently: third grade marks his first year living as a boy. Some things don’t change, though. His imaginary friend, Jimothy the chipmunk, is always by his side!
When Sebastian spots a new book in the school library on octopodes, he just knows he has to check it out. The only problem is: this book is so new, the librarian hasn’t even prepared it to be checked out! Sebastian promises to take great care of it, and the librarian makes an exception.
But when his little sister accidentally ruins the book, Sebastian is devastated. Will Sebastian find a way to save the library book and redeem himself?
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
Middle Grade
When You’re Brave Enough by Rebecca Bendheim
Before she moved from Austin to Rhode Island, everybody knew Lacey as one half of an inseparable duo: Lacey-and-Grace, best friends since they were toddlers. Grace and her moms were practically family. But at school, being lumped together with overeager, worm-obsessed, crushes-on-everyone Grace meant Lacey never quite fit in—and that’s why at her new middle school, Lacey plans to reinvent herself. This time, she’s going to be cool. She’s going to be normal.
At first, everything seems to go as planned. Lacey makes new friends right away, she finds a rabbi to help her prepare for the bat mitzvah that got deprioritized by her parents in the chaos of the move, and she even gets cast in the lead role of the eighth-grade musical. Which is when things start to get stressful, because it turns out the students at her new school have a long-standing, unofficial tradition: No matter what the show is, in the final performance, the leads always kiss for real.
Lacey’s never kissed anyone before—she’s not even sure she’s ever had a crush. And in Bye, Bye, Birdie, there are a few different co-lead kiss possibilities for Lacey to choose from. There’s confident, cocky Andre. There’s sweet, friendly Jaden. And then there’s the other new girl at school: dryly funny, impossibly cool Violet.
But while her new friends and older sister create whiteboard wall charts and botched field trip schemes to help her decide, suddenly Lacey can’t stop thinking about Grace, who she was so sure she wanted to leave behind. When Grace comes back into her life, Lacey needs to decide if she’s brave enough to be who she really is, in front of the person who matters most.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | Black Pearl Books | Book People | Barnes & Noble
Young Adult
The Cove by Claire Rose
Midsommar meets Fear Street in this modern, sea-soaked folk horror debut about fighting to survive, and fighting to be yourself.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just gotten kicked out of another prep school, and has consequently found herself shipped to her Uncle Levi’s farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine.
When Lindsay arrives at a big, old farmhouse miles from civilization, she is greeted by her uncle’s new wife, a goy with a little too much Jesus decor for Lindsay’s taste―with Uncle Levi mysteriously away on a business trip. Not only that, but Lindsay isn’t the only teen staying there. In fact, there is a small group of teens going through some kind of reform program. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones, computers or tablets.
Things start to feel hopeless until Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass. They live on an island off the Peninsula’s coast―and they have internet. Lindsay convinces the others at Haven House to sneak out for a party on the island, and the night is incredible. At least…what they can remember of it. All of them wake up in their beds with sea-shell mementos, no memory of how they got home, and wicked hangovers. All of them except one. And as the disappearances and mysteries pile up, Lindsay and the others realize that they have become involved in a terrifying fight to survive, before the Cove claims them all.
Meet Me at the Picket Line by Jasper Sanchez
All’s fair in love and solidarity…
Eli Goldstein might be the only teenager looking forward to earning minimum wage at his objectively terrible summer job. Not only will he be working at the kitschy roadside museum he loves, he’ll finally have the down payment for his top surgery with a first-class surgeon.
But the museum really is a late-stage capitalist hellscape, and Eli’s co-workers—led by his irritatingly self-righteous and annoyingly attractive school rival, Efraín—plan to unionize. With his sanity and safety at risk on the job, Eli knows he has to join their campaign.
If he and Efraín can stop bickering long enough to keep their ragtag union together, they might actually have a shot. But when management begins to grow suspicious, Eli will have to make a choice: Is he willing to stand in solidarity with his friends and the boy he’s starting to fall for, even if it means risking his job and the key to his life-changing surgery?
For the Rest of Us ed. by Dahlia Adler (September 2, 2025)
Contains a queer Jewish Chrismukkah story by Katherine Locke.
Fourteen acclaimed authors showcase the beautiful and diverse ways holidays are observed in this festive anthology. Keep the celebrations going all year long with this captivating and joyful read!
From Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de Los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the incredible days in between, it’s clear that Americans don’t just have one holiday. Edited by the esteemed Dahlia Adler and authored by creators who have lived these festive experiences firsthand, this joyful collection of stories shows that there isn’t one way to experience a holiday.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
The City of Slaughter by Aden Polydoros (August 25, 2026)
This is the sequel to The City Beautiful
The World’s Fair has packed up, the tents and food stalls disappeared. And the dybbuk, a restless spirit that possessed Alter, is gone. Life returns to normal for Frankie and Alter, as both boys inspire each other to start a detective agency—using skills from Frankie’s dark past and Alter’s desire to do good in their community. But when children start to go missing, Frankie is certain the supernatural is once again to blame, as they race to track down a sheyd, a demon-like entity. But in order to save his future with Alter, Frankie will have to confront his past.
Adult
Best Woman by Rose Dommu
Julia Rosenberg loves her brother. Really loves him. Enough to: be the “best woman” at his wedding; leave behind her hard-won New York life, brilliant best friends, and drag brunches for Boca Raton, Florida; entertain the uptight bride-to-be and her vicious cronies; try (and fail) to dodge the hometown hookup buddy she can’t resist; and navigate the tricky dynamics with her divorced parents.
She’s not that nervous. Her family stood by her when she came out as a woman a few years ago. And it’s just one week in Florida—a week of old memories and sisterly duties that will force Julia to confront the tensions that have been bubbling beneath the surface of her closest relationships. No big deal.
When it turns out that Kim Cameron, the gorgeous, self-assured girl that she crushed hard on in high school, is the maid of honor, Julia panics. She tells a teensy little lie to win Kim’s favor—a lie that snowballs out of her control and threatens to undermine the blossoming attraction between them and complicate an already challenging relationship with her family. Using her wit, charm, and a suitcase full of couture “borrowed” from a pop star, Julia just might survive the horde of clone-like bridesmaids, go-kart racing bachelor parties, and alcohol-fueled speeches. But she won’t make it out unscathed. As best woman, she’s making the worst decisions of her life.
Isn’t It Obvious? by Rachel Runya Katz
After a meet-disaster, a podcaster and her producer fall in love over email without realizing they know (and hate) each other in real life.
When high school librarian Yael’s secret podcast starts to take off, she decides to hire Kevin, a remote freelance editor/producer so she can manage juggling her mental health, day job, and the queer teen book club she’s been hosting at school after hours. To maintain her anonymity, they communicate strictly via email and Kevin only knows her by her podcast persona, Elle.
Little does Yael know that Kevin, who in real life goes by his middle name, Ravi, is the same man she tore apart for climbing out of her bedroom window after a one night stand with her roommate, Charlie. And she certainly never expects him to show up to volunteer at her book club.
In person, Yael and Ravi clash until their sparks turn into something more. Over email, Elle and Kevin are starting to fall hard when they decide to keep things strictly professional. But when Ravi discovers the truth, will keeping it a secret mean the end of everything he’s built with Yael/Elle? And what happens when she finds out? Will they fall twice as hard, or cut ties in more ways than one?
The Elysium Heist by Y.M. Resnik
Psalome Shipmen is a Dazzler, a hostess working on the gaming floors of The Elysium, the galaxy’s most decadent space casino. But she is also a prisoner to the debt she inherited from her deadbeat father, with years of service ahead of her until she can earn her way out.
Kiyokimora GoldWeaver is a disgraced heiress looking to rescue her family business with an audacious scheme to rob the casino. To pull it off, she needs Psalome on board. When they team up, it looks like a simple job – until Psalome meets Ilaria, the jewel in Kiyo’s master plan, and sparks begin to fly.
With a recovering alcoholic card counter and Psalome’s little sister – who happens to be dating The Elysium’s artificial intelligence – as part of the crew, they might still beat the odds… or learn that the house always wins.
Homebound by Portia Elan
It’s 1983 and Becks can’t wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She’s nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete—one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness.
Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection—and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.
Breakout Year by KD Casey
A newly traded, newly out third baseman on the cusp of his first major contract hires a fake boyfriend—not expecting him to be the former player who ghosted him years before. But as their star ascends in public, their feelings burn hot in private…threatening to expose what’s for the cameras—and what’s for real.
Eitan Rivkin is used to being first. First generation born to Russian immigrant parents, first overall pick in the draft, now the first ballplayer to come out… before his first big contract. It’s lonely being the first, and it’s especially lonely in the inescapable eye of New York sports media.
So when he wants to practice dating openly for the first time, he hires a boyfriend—only for the cameras of course. But he never expected that boyfriend to be Akiva Goldfarb, a once-promising player who disappeared after he and Eitan played together way back when.
Akiva is used to being first too. The first—and only—Orthodox Jewish player drafted to play professional ball. The first to quit when things got rough. The first named in the acknowledgements of the books he freelance edits, because, hey, the rent’s due on the first of the month. Being hired as someone’s (fake) boyfriend is just another gig, right? Even if Akiva left baseball—and baseball players—behind for a reason.
What starts out as a brief arrangement gradually transforms into something more. But being the first openly gay active player in professional baseball comes with a heavy personal cost, one Eitan is less and less certain he’s willing to pay. And when an on-field incident threatens to disrupt Eitan’s free agency plans, they’ll have to figure out if the truth is better than fiction.
It’s Never Going to Happen by Sarah G. Levine
Gemma O’Brien doesn’t do surprises.
Gemma is barely keeping her head above water. Between running a lobster fishing business, staying sober, and keeping an eye on her reckless younger sister, she doesn’t need her best friend Eric meddling with the business behind her back. Especially when that buyer is Forage and Trawl, a fancy new restaurant with an intense and demanding head chef, Kay Grammar.
Kay Grammar needs no distractions.
Kay has everything riding on the opening of Forage and Trawl, her dream restaurant. After escaping a controlling boss who shattered her self-confidence, she’s determined to prove she can stand on her own even as she struggles to trust herself. But when her path keeps crossing with blunt, infuriatingly attractive, charmingly butch lobster boat captain Gemma, Kay is challenged in more ways than one.
They’re olive oil and salt water. Fire and ice. And they agree on only one thing: keep it professional. But fate—and their suddenly way-too-small town—has other ideas.
As the grand opening draws closer, tensions spark and chemistry simmers. Are Gemma and Kay brave enough to stop surviving and start something real…even if love means navigating the wreckage of their pasts?
Alice Rue Evades the Truth by Emily Zipps
In this sapphic homage to While You Were Sleeping, a down-on-her-luck receptionist is mistaken as the girlfriend of a comatose man and doesn’t have the heart to come clean to his devastated family—even when she starts falling for his sister.
Alice Rue has never spoken to her longtime crush Nolan Altman, but when she saves his life one night in their office building, the EMTs tell his family that Alice is Nolan’s girlfriend. She wants to set the record straight, but Nolan’s in a coma, and if the family feels comforted by the idea of Nolan having his “girlfriend” by his side for what might be his last moments, isn’t it kinder to go along with it? At least for now?
After all, the Altmans are impossibly nice and supportive, and there’s something about Nolan’s sister, Van, that makes Alice feel more seen and understood than she has in years. The local news names her a hero. Her boss finally starts treating her well. Alice even starts to remember what it’s like to have a family. She knows it’s wrong to lie, but it’s easy to convince herself that she’s doing the right thing by evading the truth.
What she can’t avoid, however, is her growing chemistry with Van. Alice must decide if she can unravel this tangle of lies in order to salvage her chances with the woman who just may be the love of her life—especially if Nolan wakes up.
Nirvana is Here by Aaron Hamburger
For Ari Silverman, the past has never really passed. After 20 years, the trauma from a childhood assault resurfaces as he grapples with the fate of his ex-husband, a colleague accused of sexually harassing a student. To gain perspective, Ari arranges to reconnect with his high school crush, Justin Jackson, a bold step which forces him to reflect on their relationship in the segregated suburbs of Detroit during the 1990s and the secrets they still share.
Song of Spores by Bogi Takács
Three experienced counterintelligence operatives from Alliance Treaty Enforcement are on a mission to find the source of shapeshifting infiltrators within Alliance space. Will the gruff Ereni commander, the Chasidic Jewish shapeshifter, and the cynical insectoid grandma be able to work together? Or will their differences drive them apart before they can reach their goal?
Not to mention dealing with the sentient spaceship and symbiotic pilot, who only signed on to provide transportation, not to be eaten by giant space fungus. Are they even on the right side of history when everything comes crashing down?
Can the galaxy possibly survive?
Buy it: Broken Eye Books
The Way it Haunted Him by Laura R. Samotin (June 9, 2026)
Guilt. Grief. Obsession.
Michael Stein arrives at the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies battered and broken, blaming himself for the tragic accident that took his boyfriend’s life. He is haunted by his guilt and grief, but is determined to repent while at Institute by completing his boyfriend’s research into demonic entities.
But instead of being welcomed by the archivist, Michael is met by Jacob Schechter—the archivist’s enigmatic, brooding grandson, who has inherited the Institute after his grandfather’s death. As Michael explores the archive, delving into cryptic texts and whispered histories, shadows from the past begin to seep into the present. Tormented by demons both real and imagined, Michael’s grief warps into something far darker—an intoxicating, yet increasingly toxic obsession with Jacob, whose own secrets threaten to destroy them both.
Now, Michael must confront the terrible truth behind his boyfriend’s death—and his obsession with Jacob—before the darkness they awaken in each other claims more than just their love, and consumes them entirely.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | Blackwell’s
Love Me Like a Rock Song by Shelly Jay Shore (August 25, 2026)
When Delilah Cohen’s much more famous fiancée leaves her at the altar right before Delilah is supposed to start recording her first solo album, she finds herself with a notebook full of love songs that no longer make sense. Picking up a hitchhiker two hours into the road trip that was supposed to be her honeymoon seems as good a way as any to get her groove back. The last thing she expects is to start falling for her mysterious new passenger, but what’s more inspiring than a rebound with a built-in expiration date?
But there’s more to Emmett than meets the eye. Emmett is a golem, a human-ish being of Jewish mythology who was created from clay to serve a now-deceased master. No longer needed, their final task is to make their way back to the California cave where they were made in order to undo the magic that brought them to life in the first place. But the longer Emmett spends with Delilah—who has plenty of secrets and insecurities of her own—as they cross the country to visit historical queer locales from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, the more their ending feels like something to fight, rather than something set in stone.
As the California coast brings Delilah’s writing deadline—and Emmett’s fate—closer with every passing mile, Delilah has to decide just what song it is she wants to write…and whether writing the album of a lifetime is worth losing a love she never expected to find.
Non-Fiction
Dinner Party Animal by Jake Cohen
An impromptu cocktail party, casual brunch with friends, or celebratory dinner with family—food just tastes better when shared. For chef Jake Cohen, making a homemade meal from scratch for those you love is nothing short of magic. Now he’s giving you everything you need to cook and entertain with ease in this highly anticipated collection of 100 delicious recipes and sixteen inventive menus for every mood, occasion, and possible guest list.
With menus ranging from Treat Yourself Brunch to Veg Out, Meatballs to the Wall, Ride or Pie (a whole meal of pies!), That Was Tonight? (recipes that come together in a hurry), and even the ultimate Passover and Thanksgiving feasts, these are recipes you’ll turn to again and again for special occasions and weeknight dinners alike:
- Brown Butter Parker House Rolls
- Chicken and Biscuits Pot Pie
- Cheeseburger Arayes Sliders
- Sour Cream and Onion Mashed Potatoes
- Za’atar Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Salad
- Spicy Sausage Gnocchi Bake with Pesto Ricotta
- Yogurt-Roasted Salmon with Leeks
- Roast Chicken with Lemony Sauce Soubise
- Lemon-Almond Blondies with Sumac Glaze
- Tiramisu Cake
- Apple Pie Calzone
Each menu comes with a grocery list, prep and make-ahead guide, store-bought shortcuts, and a day-of run-of-show to take the stress out of hosting. Jake reminds us that we don’t have to be perfect or even have a dining room table to entertain: anyone can do this, whether you’re a comfortable home cook or a newbie in the kitchen. With cameos from Jake’s array of celebrity friends—including Isaac Mizrahi, Benny Blanco, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Alex Edelman, Jill Zarin, Joan Nathan, Debra Messing, and more—this delicious book is guaranteed to turn you into the ultimate Dinner Party Animal.
