Goy Crazy [Paperback]

Melissa Schorr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2006

A HILARIOUS NOVEL ABOUT FALLING FOR THE WRONG GOYRachel Lowenstein can`t help it. She`s got a massive crush on a goy: LukeChristensen, the gorgeous star of the basketball team at St. Joseph`s prep. But as the name implies, he`s not exactly in Rachel`s tribe. Rachel justknows her parents would never approve. Then Rachel`s Jewish grandmother issues a stern edict--" Don`t go with thegoyim! " -- Sealing Rachel`s fate and presenting her with a serious dilemma. Everyone`s got an opinion--from her annoying neighbor Howard to her newlysocial-climbing best friend. Should Rachel follow her heart and turn herback on her faith? Or should she heed her family`s advice and try and finda nice Jewish boy? With an unforgettable cast of characters and razor-sharp wit, MelissaSchorr`s debut novel is an engaging comedy about a girl`s decision to gogoy crazy.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Rachel Lowenstein has all the problems of a typical 15-year-old girl: socially driven friends, boy trouble, and bad hair days. Fed up, she vows that sophomore year will be different. First rule: break the rules, or, more specifically, break The Teen Commandments, her listing of good-girl ways. After all, getting high grades and thinking for herself haven't gotten her very far up the social ladder. Then Luke Christiansen, a handsome, blue-eyed, and definitely not-Jewish basketball star, arrives on the scene. Rachel juggles several issues as she plays dumb in math class to gain cool points, follows her best friend's forays into the So Very crowd, and hides her boyfriend from her parents. But it's her struggle with her heritage that ultimately takes center stage. Eventually, she tackles her compulsion to please everyone and discovers that she already possesses the foundation to make wise decisions about her faith, her friends, and her family. Schorr's debut novel successfully combines Jewish values with snappy narration, much like Sarah Darer Littman's Confessions of a Closet Catholic (Dutton, 2005). Peer pressures are realistically portrayed as Rachel navigates the politics of popularity. Her fresh and witty voice is injected with such humor that readers will be drawn into the tale and will agonize along with her. Descriptions of parties with alcohol, discussions of premarital sex, and a Web-site scandal involving a seminude picture make this novel more appropriate for older teens.–Erin Schirota, Bronxville Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Rachel Lowenstein, 15, thinks her parents will disapprove of her new boyfriend, who isn't Jewish, so she doesn't tell them about him. Instead, she concocts elaborate date ruses involving her initially unsuspecting teenage Jewish neighbor, Howard. Such secrets will out, but before that happens, Rachel, cynical about almost everything, discovers that Judaism means more to her than she thought and that blond hair and blue eyes aren't enough to make a boyfriend. The Lowensteins aren't exceptionally religious, but Rachel's connection to Judaism is strong, and she responds to stereotypes on both sides of the religious aisle: her boyfriend's buddies make casual cracks, and there are numerous selfish JAPs at her school. The story is predictable and slow to start, but Schorr does a lot right: dialogue is wry and funny, and Rachel, smart and sensitive, is at that familiar place where the opinions of peers, especially boys, are tough to ignore. Even readers who aren't Jewish will recognize Rachel's struggle to find the right path--and the right boy--for herself. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786838523
• ISBN-13: 978-0786838523
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melissa Schorr, author of the comedic young adult novel GOY CRAZY, is a widely published freelance journalist currently living outside Boston. Her most recent essay,"What I Wanted To Tell You," can be read in the YA anthology, Dear Bully (HarperCollins 2011)

As a native New Yorker, she grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and attended the Bronx High School of Science and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism outside of Chicago. Upon graduating, she returned to New York City and began her publishing career at Working Woman and GQ magazines.

While working in the editorial department at GQ, she proposed a humorous essay called 'The Joys of Goys,' about her personal experience dating non-Jewish men. That generated national attention from angry rabbis to admiring prison inmates (as well as her agent), and served as the inspiration for her debut novel, about a Jewish girl who falls for a Catholic boy.

She has served as a stringer for People magazine in San Francisco, a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun, a features reporter for the Oakland Tribune, a health writer for ABCNews.com in Boston, and an assistant editor at the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.

Her work has also appeared in more than 20 publications, including Glamour, Self, Teen People, Allure, Marie Claire, Bride's, Baby Talk, Working Mother, In Style, Esquire, San Francisco, National Geographic Traveler, Wired magazine, as well as newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and the San Jose Mercury News, and websites including Lifetimetv.com, Reuters Health and WebMD.

Among her accolades are winning first place for feature writing from the Nevada Press Association, and a 2000 Knight Science Journalism Fellowship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

Schorr currently lives outside Boston, Mass., with her husband, her daughters, and her dog, Bailey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meshuga for Goy Crazy!, September 3, 2006

By 

Daria Snadowsky "young adult author" (Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goy Crazy (Paperback)

High school sophomore Rachel Lowenstein has a crush. A "crush" in itself provides sufficient drama for most successful YA novels. But author Melissa Schorr adds a little twist: Rachel is Jewish . . . and the object of her affection is not.
Although this detail sets Goy Crazy apart from most chick lit, Goy Crazy's themes are completely universal and applicable to all readers. The fundamental choices Rachel faces would be the same no matter what faiths or ethnicities the protagonists are--her journey confirms that basic human character and morality, rather than the labels and rituals of religion, are what's important when forging relationships.
As a bonus, Goy Crazy serves as a delightful insight into contemporary Judaism vis-à-vis Rachel's quirky family and friends, and it dips into such serious areas as anti-Semitism and intermarriage without being preachy or controversial. Indeed, this novel manages to be a breezy, hysterical read without compromising the seriousness of the lessons Rachel learns. It's touching, but never "touchy."
Goy Crazy, like most good teen lit, has the obligatory school dance scenes, ailing grandparents, and "does he or doesn't he?" girly telephone conversations, but nothing about these YA hallmarks feels "obligatory." The plot's so adeptly crafted, the words are so well chosen, and Rachel's voice is so original, that when I reached the last sentence I felt a lot sadder than I normally do when I finish a damn good book--I wanted more more more! Today's teens are lucky to have Melissa Schorr writing for them, and they, like me, will be anxiously awaiting her next opus.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oy veh, I can relate!, September 18, 2006

By 

Consulting Queen (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goy Crazy (Paperback)

This book totally cracked me up! It is modern, witty and funny. The characters are easy to relate to and at times I even felt like Rachel, the main character. Although the book touches on religious social issues, it is not "preachy" and it leaves it to the readers to make their own judgements about Rachel's predicament. This would be a great gift for a girl having a bat mitzvah or for any teenage girl for that matter!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm sorry I didn't review this sooner, March 26, 2009

By 

Melissa (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goy Crazy (Paperback)

I read this book when it first came out and liked it so much that I reached out to Melissa Schorr to let her know how much I identified with Rachel's experiences in the novel. She was kind enough to invite me to a party for the book at Katz's Deli, where I got to meet her and her family and friends. So not only is Goy Crazy a great teen novel, but its author is a female mensch (and why is there no Yiddish word for that?)!

In reading Goy Crazy, I felt like I was being pulled back to my own high school/Hebrew school days. The dilemmas that Rachel faces rang true to my own experience growing up in mostly Jewish suburbia. The book is hilarious, but its authenticity was what made it stand out for me. To be a Jewish teen in modern America has its own quirks and nuances that Goy Crazy articulates particularly well. The pressure Rachel faces to date the right kind of boy (aka "Jewish") and her desire to rebel despite the strength of her beliefs are all too familiar. I still feel it well into my twenties. This tweaking of the teen novel is is part of what makes Goy Crazy special, but I believe that this book can resonate with many minority populations in the melting pot, or anyone who feels a little different, as they grapple with their religious and cultural identity as well as their coming of age.