High School
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Israel Book Connections is a list of recommended books about life in Israel. Each book has been chosen based on its quality, the presentation of Israel, and its avoidance of stereotypes in presenting the complexities of the region.
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 A Late Divorce
A.B. Yehoshua (Harvest Books, 1993), 364 pages, High School
A grandfather returns to Israel from America to get a divorce from his estranged wife, who is institutionalized in a mental hospital. Another woman, who is pregnant, is awaiting his return in America. The story is centered around intricacies and dynamics that make a family.
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 Alex, Building a Life
Alex Singer (Gefen Books, 1996), 273 pages, High School
This book contains the letters and thoughts of an American boy who was killed while in the Israeli Defense Forces. This moving compilation shows Alex Singer’s heroism and passion for Israel.
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 Aliya
Liel Leibovitz (St. Martin's Press, 2005), 288 pages, High School
In this book, Liel Leibovitz looks at the various motivations for making Aliya. Through several narratives, Leibovitz shows that the reasons Jews move to Israel are as diverse and varied as the Jewish people themselves.
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 A Pigeon and a Boy
Meir Shalev (Schocken, 2007), 320 pages, High School
A Pigeon and a Boy tells the story of a young pigeon handler who, right before he is killed in Israel’s war of independence in 1948, sends one last pigeon to a girl he loved. Shalev intertwines this story with a contemporary love story to produce a tale which tells of the power and persistence of love.
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 Exodus
Leon Uris (Bantam, 1983), 608 pages, High School
Leon Uris’s classic novel tells the story of how Jews who survived the Holocaust in Europe struggled to come to pre-state Israel and helped create a Jewish state in 1948. Exodus focuses on several young characters and their roles in the establishment of the state, interwoven with historical events that portray the relationships among Jews, Arabs and the British during this tumultuous turning point in history.
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 How to Ruin a Summer Vacation
Simone Elkeles (Flux, 2006), 234 pages, High School and up
The last place sixteen year-old Amy Nelson wants to spend her summer is in Israel and the last person she wants to spend it with is her father but she soon finds herself being dragged to Israel by her father. While at first she finds it difficult to adjust to the language and culture in a new country, Amy learns to open her mind and is able to connect to her heritage.
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 Light Years
Tammar Stein (Random House Children's Books, 2005), 240 pages, High School
Maya Laor runs late for an outing in Tel Aviv and just misses being killed by the suicide bomber who kills her waiting boyfriend. To escape the pain and create a physical and mental distance from Israel, Maya leaves Israel for an American university. For older readers. Contains a sexually explicit passage.
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 Real Time
Pnina Moed Kass (Clarion Books, 2004), 192 pages, High School
This novel tells the minute-by-minute account of a suicide bomb attack on a crowded Jerusalem bus and its aftermath told from the viewpoints of the passengers, their families and friends, and the people who care for them in a Jerusalem hospital.
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 Refiner's Fire
Mark Helprin (Harvest Books, 1990), 384 pages, High School
Refiner’s Fire isthe life story of Marshall Pearl, who is orphaned at birth on an immigrant ship off the coast of Palestine in 1947 and then brought to America. His journey takes him through the Hudson River Valley, to Harvard, to sea on a British merchant ship and finally back to Israel where he serves as a soldier in the Yom Kippur War.
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 The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu
Jonathan Netanyahu (Gefen Publishing House, 2001), 324 pages, High School
This book contains the letters of Jonathan Netanyahu. The letters are dated from 1963, when he was 17, until 1976, when he was killed during the famous raid on the Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
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 The Lover
A.B. Yehoshua (Harvest Books, 1993), 368 pages, High School
As the Yom Kippur War rages in Israel, a husband searches for his wife’s lover, who has returned to France seeking an inheritance. Each chapter portrays the story from the perspective of a different character. Along the way, The Lover tells the account of one Israeli family, spotlights the diversity of people living in Israel and raises questions about what makes a nation.
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 When I Was a Soldier
Valerie Zenatti (Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2005), 235 pages, High School and up
A memoir originally written in French , When I Was a Soldier explores the transition that 18-year-old immigrant Valerie makes from civilian to military life. When she first enters the Israeli Army she finds it exciting, but soon thereafter, Valerie finds she is conflicted about her feelings towards her Israel. She loves it fiercely and wants to defend her country to the best of her ability, and yet, she sees its flaws. Contains some controversial and critical opinions of Israel.
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 Yahrzeit
Liat Taiber-Ben David (Jewish Publications Society, 2005), High School
This book tells the story of Four Generations of Jewish women. Following them through the momentous occasions in Jewish history, Yarzheit conveys the rich history of the Jewish people and all they have endured.
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