One of Them
By Kitty Zeldis (Harper)

A work of historical fiction set in the years following World War II, this absorbing novel follows two young Jewish women who meet at Vassar College—one hiding her Jewish identity, the other embracing it. After a betrayal threatens their growing friendship, they part ways, taking separate paths that lead them to Paris, then to Mandatory Palestine and finally to Manhattan. Kitty Zeldis captures period details, like fashion, with precision. Told from alternating points of view, the novel explores how World War II continues to reverberate in their lives.

I Wanted to Be Wonderful
By Lihi Lapid. Translated by Amit Pardes (Zibby Books)

A reissue of one of Lihi Lapid’s best-selling novels in Israel (originally titled Woman of Valor), this is the story of two women in the early years of their marriages and child raising. Their stories are parallel at first, and one is a photojournalist like the author. Providing a view into their inner lives, Lapid writes of love and loss and both the elusiveness and possibility of happiness “in this crazy amusement park of life.”

Boy from the North Country
By Sam Sussman (Penguin Press)

There’s much talk of holiness, art and truth in this outstanding debut novel, which is inspired by author Sam Sussman’s life. It’s the story of a loving connection between a mother and son as she faces cancer and he cares for her in their farmhouse north of New York City. June, a remarkable figure of strength, wisdom and hope, finally discloses much about her early life to her son, including a relationship with famed musician Bob Dylan.

The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival
By Anne Sebba (St. Martin’s Press)

Deeply researched and powerfully told, Anne Sebba’s documentary-like tale of the only female orchestra in any of the prisons, camps and ghettos established by the Nazis is a reminder of the excruciating decisions people made to survive. Members of the orchestra—most of them teenagers—were required to play lively marches every morning and evening so that the female prisoners would keep in step as they marched to work assignments. They would also play for visiting Nazis, men who may have been the murderers of their families. Almost all the orchestra members survived, though their main conductor, Alma Rosé, an Austrian Jewish violinist, did not. 

The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto: The True Story of Five Courageous Young Women Who Sparked an Uprising  
By Elizabeth R. Hyman (Harper)

A descendent of Polish Jews, Elizabeth R. Hyman has researched and written a detailed history of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, one of the few that focuses on the leadership and actions of women. These five young Polish Jewish women—known as “the girls” by leaders of the resistance and as “bandits” by the Nazis—possessed great courage and resilience, standing at the forefront of the resistance as fighters, smugglers, organizers and messengers, and were often involved in sabotage.

Sandee Brawarsky is a longtime columnist in the Jewish book world as well as an award-winning journalist, editor and author of several books, most recently of 212 Views of Central Park: Experiencing New York City’s Jewel From Every Angle.