The Wolf Hunt: A Novel, Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

Relevant, timely, intense, are understatements to describe this novel. If you are looking for page-turning suspense - the psychological kind - here it is, along with insights into identity, race, and secrets we keep from those closest to us. The main character here is a successful Israeli family: Mikhael/Michael, Lilach/Leela, and teenage Adam, who have all relocated (Relocation is the original Hebrew title) to Silicon Valley. The reverberations of a shooting in a synagogue and the death of a black teenager at a wild party while parents are out of town will have you on edge. Most telling are the differences, sometimes subtle, in how the Israeli Jewish parents and American Jewish parents, as well as non-Jewish parents, deal with and discuss these events. Once again I want to thank my friend Simon Ben Simon for this excellent recommendation.

My daughter Ronit recommends: Inside Information: A Novel, Eshkol Nevo

Love stories and suspense make the perfect combination for a novel and Jerusalem-born author Nevo does it again. Inside Information is a page-turner. In the book we meet Mor and Omri; she is a newlywed and he is a new divorcee, both backpacking in Bolivia. Later we encounter Dr. Caro and Liat, the former a 45-year-old doctor whose wife has passed away, the latter a young new intern bursting with life and promise. And finally Ofer and Chelli, a comfortably married couple with two children, Ori and Matan. Everything is fine until on their daily walk Ofer enters into the orchard and disappears without a trace. Each of the stories will draw you in and make you want to read more – there are unexpected twists and turns along the way. The author has an uncanny ability to ensure that the reader connects with the characters. I promise you will be rooting for the protagonist each time!

Carey recommends: Various graphic novels

There will always be manga and superhero stories along with stalwarts of the genre, such as Art Spiegelman's classic Maus, which was ahead of its time. Graphic novels have become mainstream, no longer for narrow audiences, and encompassing a wide range of topics in the genres of fiction, non-fiction, and personal narrative. Some are adaptations or reinterpretations of classic literature such as Homer's Odyssey and Iliad - I wish I had some of these in high school! With so many fascinating ideas, perspectives and marvelous art, you will surely find something to love. Here are a few not to be missed:

The Bund: A Graphic History of Jewish Labour Resistance, Sharon Rudahl; edited by Paul Buhle, illustrated by Michael Kluckner, foreword by David Rosenberg

The Odyssey, Gareth Hinds

The Iliad, Gareth Hinds

Roaming, Jillian and Mariki Tamaki- a recent, modern mediation on friendship in the 21st century

New Kid, Jerry Craft- winner of the Newbery Medal