Refugee by Alan Gratz

Gratz, author of the wildly popular Prisoner B-3087, brings readers this timely, relevant novel about the powerful struggle of refugees. The book alternates between the stories of three kids: Josef, a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a girl seeking escape from Cuba in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy fleeing his home in 2015. Each person’s story is unique and the obstacles they face are harrowing. Gratz masterfully creates compelling characters and takes readers on the unforgettable journeys right along with them. This book helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the refugee crisis through the fictional stories of Josef, Isabel, Mahmoud, and their families. I recommend this book to readers who like survival stories, and adventures, as well as learning about people from other parts of the world.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara Batista is a teenage girl, a twin, and a Dominican living in Harlem. She’s also the daughter of strict parents and an extremely religious mother. But most important of all, Xiomara is a poet. She makes herself heard and understood through the words she writes in her notebook, but never says out loud--until everything changes. Xiomara meets Ms. Galiano, learns about the Spoken Word Poetry Club and poetry slams, and she becomes Aman’s lab partner. How will Xiomara find a way to be true to who she really is, and survive living under her mother’s restrictive rules? Told in beautifully written verse by Poetry Slam champion Elizabeth Acevedo, this debut novel must not be missed. I recommend this book to readers who like books in verse, urban fiction, relationships, family struggles, and authors Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Meg Medina.

Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin

Truly unique--this Holocaust story is set in Oslo, Norway, and told from the perspective of Jewish teenager Ilse Stern. After a blossoming summer romance with her neighbor, Hermann, Ilse can’t wait to see what autumn has in store. What Ilse doesn’t know is that Hermann’s secrets--and his work as part of the Nazi resistance--could keep them apart or bring them dangerously close together. As the German occupation makes life more difficult for Ilse’s shop owner father and their family, urgent decisions must be made: Should they stay or go? Do they start a new life and risk leaving behind everything they’ve ever known? The dramatic conclusion to this novel will keep you thinking and feeling for the characters long after finishing the book. I recommend this book to fans of Ruta Sepetys’ Between Shades of Gray, historical fiction, Holocaust stories, and people of Norwegian or Jewish heritage.