Saturday, February 14, 2009

How To Ruin A Summer Vacation

Author: Simon Elkeles

Summary: (back cover)

"Moshav? What’s a moshav? Is it “shopping mall” in Hebrew? I mean, from what Jessica was telling me, Israeli stores have the latest fashions from Europe. That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go with the Sperm Donor to a mall, but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home. "

Unfortunately for 16-year-old Amy Nelson, “moshav” is not Hebrew for “shopping mall.” Not even close. Think goats, not Gucci. Going to Israel with her estranged Israeli father is the last thing Amy wants to do this summer. She’s got a serious grudge against her dad, a.k.a. “Sperm Donor,” for showing up so rarely in her life. Now he’s dragging her to a war zone to meet a family she’s never known, where she’ll probably be drafted into the army. At the very least, she’ll be stuck in a house with no AC and only one bathroom for seven people all summer—no best friend, no boyfriend, no shopping, no cell phone…
Goodbye pride—hello Israel.


Review: This book drips with sarcasm and Amy can be a real brat in some parts, but this book was really good. I doubled over laughing at the nicknames of some of the characters. I really liked the little mutt she befriends. Its hardly believing she'd end up dating one of the characters she swore to have hated! (is that a spoiler? I don't think so) The book was fast-paced and, even from the very beginning, it was hard to put down. The imagery in this story, really made you feel like you were next to Amy in Israel experiencing the things she experienced.

Rating: 4/5



1 comment:

  1. must read summer book!!! i absolutely loved it, and being jewish makes it that much better to read:)

    ReplyDelete

What did you think? :D