BOOKS
FOR BIBLIOPHILE
BEACHGOERS MARISSA STERN | JE STAFF
ven if you — like me — are not the biggest fan of the sticky
heat of summer, there are few things more enjoyable than
sitting outside with a good book and reading.

One of the best places to do that? The beach.

Plop me on the beach with a book, and I’ll be satisfied for
hours. And at least one thing summer is good for is the endless
supply of new books to read as you sit in a beach chair with a
healthy dose of SPF and perhaps a Chipwich.

Both 2016 and 2017 — so far — have offered a vast array of
reads by Jewish authors (some local!) or with Jewish characters
and storylines that will fit in perfectly with your beach aesthetic,
whether you’re on the sandy shores of Bermuda or Ocean City. Be
it a memoir, fiction, romance, thriller or any genre in between,
here a few selections of some new(ish) books that are waiting to
join you in the sun.

E FICTION
For fiction fans, there are tons of options, whether you want to be
whisked away to London or Rio.

And We’re Off by Dana Schwartz
This quick, breezy debut by Dana Schwartz follows aspiring
artist Nora as she heads to Europe on a mission from her
acclaimed artist grandfather before going
to an Irish artists’ colony — joined at the
last minute by her mother, with whom she
has a strained relationship. Riddled with
teenage angst, romance (with a cute Irish
boy, no less) and vivid scenery of destina-
tions in Paris and beyond, And We’re Off
provides a fun, escapist read that will make
you want to hug your mother and traipse
around Europe.

12 JUNE 8, 2017
Modern Girls by Jennifer S. Brown
This 2016 novel follows a mother and daughter in New York City’s
Jewish immigrant community in 1935 — and they both happen to
be pregnant. Dottie is trying to be
modern with her steady boyfriend and
bookkeeper job, while Rose yearns to
return to the activist roots of her youth.

Both women’s situations alter their
lives and change their worlds in this
read that switches between both
women’s narration, shining a light on
their feelings and taking you along
each journey.

Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey
The winner of the 2017 Sami Rohr
Prize for Jewish Literature, Novey’s
debut novel centers on the disappear-
ance of Beatriz Yagoda, once one of
Brazil’s most celebrated authors, and
her translator Emma, who tries to solve the mystery with Yagoda’s
son and daughter. The novel has gained accolades from BuzzFeed
to NPR and will surely satisfy your literary needs while whisking
you away to Rio.

The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
For fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, The Orphan’s Tale is
a powerful story of survival and sacrifice against the backdrop of
a traveling circus during World War II. It tells the story of two
women, Noa and Astrid, a 16-year-old cast out after being
impregnated by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her
baby and the lead aerialist with whom she develops first a rivalry
and then a friendship.

THIS SUMMER
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