Broken Chocolate by Rachel Miranda (Vine Leaves Press)

Pages turn quickly in this literary debut. The novel about a close-knit Jewish family is told through the perspectives of the physician father, pastry-chef mother and brother whose twin sister has suffered a brain injury. Rachel Miranda, an editor and writing coach who managed a brain trauma clinic, skillfully holds these and other voices together, set amid word play, shared dreams among twins, medical and ethical questions as well as delicious cooking.

All Afternoon by Susan Kleinman (Volume 36 Books)

Set in suburban New Jersey in 1978, Susan Kleinman’s first novel examines the life of a Modern Orthodox wife, once an aspiring writer, who gives up thoughts of a career to build a home and raise her children. Years pass, with many dinner parties hosted for her husband’s academic colleagues, endless homemade meals for her family and a growing unease that her life is a “cruise ship to nowhere.” Privately, she reignites her creativity. Kleinman has wit and a sharp eye for detail of a community she grew up in and knows well.

Dickens in Brooklyn: Essays on Family, Writing, & Madness by Jay Neugeboren (Eastover Press)

From the distinguished writer, now in his 80s, who has published 25 works of fiction and nonfiction, this collection of personal stories adds up to a literary memoir. Jay Neugeboren writes of growing up in Brooklyn, family feuds, the mental illness of his only brother, Jewish identity, political activism and friendships. The titular essay refers to a collection of Charles Dickens’s work that his first-generation American parents bought with newspaper coupons in the late 1930s and stored inside a mahogany breakfront. The writer reflects that their mid-20th century Brooklyn world seems “distinctly Dickensian.”

When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin. Afterword by Jon Polin (Random House)

With a voice infused with wisdom, courage, deep religious feeling and the infinite love of a mother, American Israeli Rachel Goldberg-Polin gained respect—and even awe—all over the world for the unrelenting work she and her husband, Jon Polin, undertook to try to free the hostages held in Gaza, including their son, Hersh. Here, she pens a memoir of grief for her murdered son. Her strength and spirit are inspiring, but the loss of Hersh is always present.

Troika: Three Generations, Three Days & a Very American Road Trip by Irena Smith (She Writes Press)

A Russian-born mother, her daughter and her 20-something American-born granddaughter—respectively, “the stylish one, the responsible one, and the fun one”—embark on an adventure together, a car trip through Central California. With references to The White Lotus streaming series and Homer’s The Odyssey, Irena Smith, the daughter, recounts their days together, interspersed with memories of growing up in the former Soviet Union and their time in America. As the trip progresses, it becomes a journey toward deeper connection. Told in short chapters filled with humor, the book is also a memoir of language and storytelling.

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.