‘The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs’ by Chana Stiefel

There once was a girl named Yaffa. She loved her family, her home, and her beautiful Polish town that brimmed with light and laughter. She also loved helping her Grandma Alte in her photography studio. There, shopkeepers, brides, babies, and bar mitzvah boys posed while Grandma Alte captured their most joyous moments on film. And before the Jewish New Year, they sent their precious photographs to relatives overseas with wishes for good health and happiness.

But one dark day, Nazi soldiers invaded the town. Nearly 3,500 Jewish souls – including family, friends, and neighbors of Yaffa – were erased.

This is the stunning true story of how Yaffa made it her life’s mission to recover thousands of her town’s photographs from around the world. Using these photos, she built her amazing TOWER OF FACES, a permanent exhibit in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, to restore the soaring spirit of Eishyshok.

‘Puzzled: A Memoir About Growing Up with OCD’ by Pan Cooke

Growing up with undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) sure isn’t easy, and here Pan Cooke shares his own experiences with that condition in a graphic-novel memoir that is as funny as it is powerfully candid and openhearted.

Pan Cooke is ten years old when anxious thoughts begin to take over his brain like pieces of an impossible puzzle. What if he blurts out a swear word while in church? What if he accidentally writes something mean in his classmate’s get-well card? What if his friend’s racy photo of a supermodel ends up in his own homework and is discovered by his teacher? More and more, he becomes hijacked by fears that can only be calmed through exhausting, time-consuming rituals.

Pan has no way of knowing that this anxiety puzzle and the stressful attempts to solve it are evidence of a condition called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This is his story of living with and eventually learning about OCD. Told with endearing honesty and humor, ‘Puzzled’ shows the reader the importance of empathy for oneself and those going through something they don’t yet understand.

‘Lunar New Year Love Story’ by Gene Luen Yang

She was destined for heartbreak. Then fate handed her love.

Valentina Tran was named after Valentine’s Day, which used to be her favorite holiday. But when Val learns the truth behind what happened with her parents and why she’s being raised by a single father, she realises true love is a lie. This is reinforced when she meets the spirit of Saint Valentine, who tells her she and her family are cursed to always be unlucky in love. Val is ready to give into her fate, until one Lunar New Year festival, where a mysterious lion dancer hands her a paper heart, and ZING! Val becomes determined to change her destiny, prove Saint Valentine wrong, and give her heart to the right person.

Meanwhile, lion dancing is the only thing that has given Jae peace after his dad passed away. It’s also what keeps him connected to his father’s side of the family. Both Jae and his cousin Leslie notice Val at the Lunar New Year festival, and for some inexplicable reason, Jae hands Val a paper heart. But it’s Leslie, with his K-Pop good looks, who starts to date Val. Jae still feels this connection with Val and feels it’s somehow tied to how he feels about losing his father.

Both Val and Jae struggle with the spirits who haunt them as they are inextricably brought together in a love story that is satisfying, sweet, and moving.

‘Promise Boys’ by Nick Brooks

‘Promise Boys’ is a dark academia mystery about three teens of colour who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names.

The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students – J.B., Ramón, and Trey – emerge as the prime suspects. They had the means, they had the motive … and they may have had the murder weapon. But with all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. Or is the true culprit hiding among them? This novel offers a compelling exploration of justice, identity, and friendship.

‘Crossing the Line’ by Tia Fisher

‘Do you feel safe?’

Written in verse, this poignant novel delves into the life of a teenager entangled in the dangerous world of county lines drug trafficking. Based on true events, it sheds light on the vulnerabilities that lead young people into such situations and the resilience required to break free.

Erik’s life has been falling apart ever since his dad died. Homework and being good at school stop feeling important when you’re the new man of the house. When Erik’s bad behaviour attracts the wrong crowd, he’s sucked into a terrifying new world of drug dealing, trap houses and violence.

Making money feels good but Erik soon learns that a small favour can become a huge debt.

And when his sisters’ lives are threatened, Erik will have to cross one more line to save them.

Written in stunning verse, this is a poignant story about seeking safety and asking for help in times of crisis.

‘Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed’ by Dashka Slater

‘Accountable’ is a propulsive and thought-provoking true story about the revelation of a racist social media account that changes everything for a group of high school students and begs the question: What does it mean to be held accountable for harm that takes place behind a screen?

When a high school student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as “edgy” humor. Over time, the edge got sharper. Then a few other kids found out about the account. Pretty soon, everyone knew.

Ultimately no one in the small town of Albany, California, was safe from the repercussions of the account’s discovery. Not the girls targeted by the posts. Not the boy who created the account. Not the group of kids who followed it. Not the adults – educators and parents – whose attempts to fix things too often made them worse.

In the end, no one was laughing. And everyone was left asking: Where does accountability end for online speech that harms? And what does accountability even mean? Through meticulous reporting, Dashka Slater explores themes of accountability, the impact of digital actions, and the complexities of teenage dynamics in the digital age.