Feast of Lights — Ellen Jaffe

Feast of Lights illustrates the importance of love and family heritage. Twelve-year-old Sarah has a lot to contend with this holiday season. It is the first Hanukkah since the death of her little brother, and Sarah is having a hard time convincing her parents that they should celebrate as usual. When her father refuses to participate and her mother busies herself with other things, it is left to Sarah to polish the old ancestral menorah in readiness for the traditional lighting of the candles. To Sarah's amazement, when she lights the candles and watches them burn, the "miracle" of Hanukkah transports her back in time to her cultural roots.

Ellen S. Jaffe brings insight from her background in child psychotherapy to Feast of Lights, her first novel for young people.