Who am I? How do I feel about myself? Do I seem cool? Do I fit in? "At a bar mitzvah people talk about becoming a man in the Jewish religion, but what is that supposed to mean? For sure it means you are no longer a child, but you are also not yet an adult. Fortunately, there's no one official definition of manhood, just as there is no one official way of being Jewish. That's where this book comes in." -from the Preface Courage, friends, stress, sex,...

After witnessing his father's crucifixion by Roman soldiers, Daniel bar Jamin is fired by a single passion: to avenge his father's death by driving the Roman legions from the land of Israel. Time and again Daniel is drawn to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, only to turn away, disappointed and confused by Jesus's lack of action in opposing the Romans. This is a novel about Daniel's tormented journey from a blind, confining hatred to his acceptance...

"Warsaw, Poland, 1940s: The Nazis are on the march, determined to wipe out the Jewish people of Europe. Teenage Vladka and her family are among the thousands of Jews forced to relocate behind the walls of the Warsaw Ghetto, a cramped, oppressive space full of starvation, suffering, and death. When Vladka's family is deported to concentration camps, Vladka joins up with other young people in the ghetto who are part of the Jewish underground: a group...