Witness by Ariel Burger

WITNESS by Ariel Burger is subtitled “Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom” and is filled with wisdom that is highly relevant today.  One example is this quote from Wiesel: "When you face evil, don't let it grow, fight it right away… Be watchful…. What happens to me will eventually happen to you ….  Anyone who is suffering, anyone who is threatened becomes your responsibility.... I do not know how to end hatred, I truly wish I did – but recognizing our shared humanity is a good beginning." Others are the sections where Wiesel discusses the importance of listening and the power of words: “I used words to try to change facts, to create new realities.” Or about the value of literature and history: “if we want to understand what is happening today, we must look to the past.”

WITNESS is a truly moving and inspirational text and encourages all of us to reflect on how to lead a moral life. The author has known Wiesel for decades, first when Burger was a teenage student, and later as Wiesel’s teaching assistant and mentee. Burger has filled WITNESS with quotes from classroom discussions at Boston University and from other communication with Wiesel. In addition to reading and contemplating the book itself, you may wish to register for Facing History’s online discussion with Ariel Burger about this book or for other webinars in the series.

Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone

LITTLE DO WE KNOW by award-winning author Tamara Ireland Stone is an emotional and compelling young adult novel that explores faith, doubt and relationships. High school Seniors Hannah and Emory were inseparable best friends until a traumatic event, a huge fight and some uncomfortable truths drive them apart. Hannah has been raised to embrace her Christian faith and trust her parents’ guidance – her Dad is the principal of her faith-based high school, but she starts to question her faith and becomes infatuated with a teacher at the school, reflecting her vulnerability and immaturity. Emory is driven and focused on her acting career, applying to UCLA, and on her intimate relationship with boyfriend Luke. When Luke undergoes a near death experience and turns to religion while questioning his own values, an even greater tension develops between Hannah and Emory. Alternating narrators, Stone seeks to develop realistic, relatable characters who care for each other while also being self-centered and immersed in their own issues. LITTLE DO WE KNOW respectfully explores the questions of faith which teens often face, with one character noting “I think the world would be a better place if people stopped every once in a while and questioned everything they thought they knew.” In addition, Stone deftly prompts readers to examine inappropriate relationships and actions since both young women are let down by men in their lives.  

Booklist recommends LITTLE DO WE KNOW to “readers looking for a nuanced treatment of religion;” this title received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

The Coincidence Makers by Yoav Blum

THE COINCIDENCE MAKERS by Yoav Blum is a very imaginative novel and the US debut for its best-selling Israeli author.  ... What if you worked for a secret group where your job was to study other people and use the knowledge about their habits and beliefs to make coincidences happen? That is exactly what Guy, Emily and Eric do. In the process, there is plenty of opportunity to reflect on why things happen.  At one point the author contrasts people standing at one end of a continuum (those who believe that everything is coincidental) and those at the other end (who are sure there is a plan and nothing happens randomly). Blum says, “people standing at the two extremes are the happiest people in the world.  At both ends. Do you know why? Because they don’t ask why. Never. Not at all.”

THE COINCIDENCE MAKERS involves romance, mystery and adventure centered on fate and free will. As one character muses, "you didn't get to new places when you followed the same path every day." You will stretch your thinking and be surprised by this unique and sophisticated novel which received a starred review from Booklist. And finally, here’s an apt description from Publishers Weekly: "Blum rides the delicate balance between the world of the truly unbelievable and the universe you can see if you squint your eyes just right." THE COINCIDENCE MAKERS is one of my favorite books of the year so far.