Showing results by narrator "Gilli Messer" in All Categories

When a black hole suddenly consumes Israel and as similar anomalies spread across the globe, a conspiracy takes hold: will the holes swallow the Jews, or will they swallow the earth? Against a backdrop of antisemitic paranoia, restrictions on Jewish life, and spasms of violence, Ethan and Ella, Jewish citizens of a nameless American city, meet and fall in love. Ella, a photojournalist, documents the changes in daily life, particularly among the city’s Jewish residents.

In the wake of the 1967 Six Day War, Tamar Abadi's world collapses when her sister-in-law is killed in what appears to be a terror attack but what is really the result of a secret relationship with a Palestinian poet. Tamar's husband, Salim, is an Arab and a Jew. Torn between the two identities, and mourning his sister's death, he uproots the family and moves them to the US.

Did you know that the tongue of blue whale can weigh as much as an elephant? How about that blue whales’ songs can be louder than the engine of a jet plane? Or that, with the right equipment, you can hear a blue whale’s heartbeat two miles away? Perfect for all animal lovers—and blue whale fans in particular—this book is filled with all the facts you need to know to become a blue whale expert! Where are blue whales found? What's it like to be a blue whale? Why are blue whales endangered, and who has been working hard to save them?

Children can celebrate the special teacher in their life with this collection of short poems that sings the praises of the excellent educator they know and love. From their kindness working with their students to their ability to make the most complicated of topics make sense, this is the perfect gift book for any teacher.

Ever since that snowy Russian winter's night when she was born, Molly has longed to know the secret behind each of her 35 names. When Molly unearths a pair of time-worn spectacles in her garden, she is drawn into a mysterious realm of vivid, magical discoveries. Who are these women she is named for and what have they gifted her? What are those fantastic colors swirling around the people she sees and the young man she meets on her wedding day?

Nestled in the hills of West Virginia lies White Sulphur Springs, home to the Greenbrier Resort. Long a playground for presidents and film stars, the Greenbrier has its own gravitational pull. Over ten decades, four generations of the Zelner family must grapple with their place in its shadow . . . and within their own family.

A Holocaust historian, archivist, and history blogger adds a new dimension to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II, shining a long overdue spotlight on five young, Polish Jewish women—champions who helped lead the resistance, sabotage the Nazis, and aid Jews in hiding across occupied Poland and Eastern Europe.

Passover is one of the most celebrated Jewish holidays. Families all over the world gather around the dining table to recite the story of the Exodus from Egypt, honor the freedom of the Jewish people, and look toward the future. The Rock ‘N’ Roll Haggadah shares the traditional biblical stories and rituals of a standard Haggadah, but it also includes a rich tapestry of anecdotes that speak to the influence of Judaism on artists and their music, and its culinary, historical, and anthropological impact.

At Raven House, teenage girls who have found themselves in the family way are partnered with suburban families to hide out and help out until their due date. Once their babies are given up for adoption, they agree to never speak to their host families again. Fifteen-year-old Betsy Ann Eubanks had no idea that what she was doing could lead to a baby. Thankfully Mrs Berg – a perfect housewife and loving mother to a seventeen-month-old with another on the way – is happy to welcome her into her family and teach her about her body and how a woman is supposed to behave.

Paris, 1572. Seventeen-year-old Jacqueline “Jac” d’Argenson-Aunis is lady-in-waiting to her best friend and former lover, the French Princess Marguerite “Margot” de Valois, but she dreams of more. If Jac plays her cards right, one day, she’ll become a full member of the Societas Solis, a secret society of spies. But it’s hard to think about her own ambitions while France is on the brink of war, and the only thing that might save the country is an alliance—a marriage between the Catholic Princess Margot and Henry, the awful son of the Huguenot queen.

Inspired by the real-life female snipers and interpreters in the Red Army during World War II, The Night Sparrow is a portrait of friendship, resilience, courage, and sacrifice under extraordinary circumstances.

It’s another scorching summer in Chicago, and fifteen-year-old Margarita is spending her vacation as usual, under the not-so-watchful eyes of her aging maternal grandparents. All told, the plucky teen would much rather be at home in Germany, exploring Berlin with her best friend, Anna, or with Avi, her doting Israeli father, a cantor at their local synagogue with whom she has shared a special bond ever since her mother, Marsha, abandoned the family. Instead, she’s stuck halfway around the world, homesick and tortured by the sound of her grandparents’ chewing.