How to Ruin a Summer Vacation (Paperback)

by Simone Elkeles (Author)
Key Phrases: Doda Yucky, Uncle Chime, Sperm Donor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 8-10–Amy Nelson is a stereotypical spoiled teen who has stereotypical plans for her summer vacation: shopping, friends, boyfriend. Then, out of nowhere, her long-absent father calls to inform her that the grandmother whom she has never met is ill and that Amy needs to go to Israel to meet her. Before the teen can say, But I'm not even Jewish! she is on an Israeli moshav sharing a room with a cousin who hates her for being a spoiled American, lusting after a brooding older boy on the verge of his mandatory military service, and learning more than she ever thought possible about her faith, her family, their history, and their present. The characters are stock, and the lessons Amy learns are expected, but readers are still drawn into her story. The lightness of the narrative sometimes belies the depth of the topics on which it touches, but it is true to the manner in which many American teens would encounter these issues. Best for avid readers of realistic, high school dramedy.–Morgan Johnson-Doyle, Sierra High School, Colorado Springs, CO
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Review
"Funny, sharp dialogue keeps the teen conversations fresh and true to life."

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Flux (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738709611
• ISBN-13: 978-0738709611
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #306,269 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #22 in	Books > Children's Books > Educational > Explore the World > Fiction > Middle East
  #49 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Stepfamilies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Big Thumbs-Up from a Middle School Language Arts Teacher, September 28, 2006

By	Delisle - See all my reviews

Simone Elkeles has a winner in her first novel, How to Ruin a Summer Vacation. Young readers will love the spunkiness of Amy, the story's heroine, and adults will appreciate her humility as she matures during her three month stay in Israel.
When I first saw the book, I thought it was going to be another tired story about a spoiled adolescent not getting her way. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation is NOT that at all, instead, it is a hilarious coming-of-age tale that has a very positive message about tolerance and self-esteem.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A ruined book? Not at all., January 10, 2008

By	Carlen Schmidt "nestea_lover2002" (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sixteen-year-old Amy Nelson is looking forward to her summer vacation until her absent father calls with news her grandmother in Israel is sick. He sends Amy a plane ticket and in no time she has left her priviledged American life behind to discover another culture.

At the beginning, Amy does not believe she can spend three months with family she's never met and a dad she barely knows. She rebels and is quite angry, but her father and family are persistent, and slowly she adapts to her surroundings.

Since Amy has such a new relationship with her father, and is in a country with family who are strangers, it's almost like the reader is discovering herself and her life at the same time she is.

Amy is a strong, opinionated, and outspoken teenage character. She is compelled to speak her mind, and sometimes her big mouth gets her into trouble and hurts the ones she loves most. Despite this, she has a good heart and her thoughts only come from the frustration of her chaotic life, and the feelings she experiences are justified given her circumstances.

Some parts felt a little forced, and the emotional scenes didn't connect me to the characters as much as they could have. I saw the potential though, and where the book was heading.

How To Ruin a Summer Vacation is a worthwhile read that touches on themes like finding yourself, new love, and accepting change. Fans will have fun seeing what kind of trouble Amy gets into next in the sequel, How to Ruin My Teenage Life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 26, 2006

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

All Amy Nelson wanted was to have a regular summer. To spend time with her best friend, Jessica, and her new boyfriend. But that won't happen for Amy by a long shot. It seems that her estranged father wants her to go back to Israel with him to visit her grandmother. Sure, going to Israel may seem exciting to most people, but not for Amy. Not when there are wars going on and the fact that she has to go with a man that she hardly knows. The one good thing that may come from this is the coolest fashions that her best friend is always telling her about.

Before she knows it, Amy's mother makes her go and she's on the next plane to Israel. Things couldn't get any worse for Amy at this point; well, actually they can. When she arrives, Amy sees something totally different then what she would see at home in Chicago. There seems to be soldiers and guards at every corner. Not only that, but Amy just discovered that she isn't sleeping in a fancy hotel, but more like an old house, with one bathroom and seven other people that she's never met. Then there's her cousin Snotty, I mean Osnat, who seems to hate Amy the moment she sees her, and the no-shirt cute-jerk, Avi, who Amy happens to see everywhere she turns. If only she could just get him out of her mind. There's also her aba, or grandmother, that for someone she hardly knows, Amy discovers there's a deep connection between the two of them.

With an entirely new family and obnoxious people in a totally different country, it seems like this might be the craziest summer yet for Amy.

HOW TO RUIN A SUMMER VACATION, no doubt, was the greatest book I've read in a long time. Not only does the basis of the book pull you in, but the cast of characters all charm their way into your heart. Even though Amy may be a little bratty at times, every obstacle she goes through and every awkward situation for her makes reading the book worthwhile. Simone Elkeles eliminates all the myths we had about Israel and introduces a completely new culture that I, for one, hardly knew anything about. Not only will you begin to appreciate Amy's new culture, but you'll also think about your own culture and how unique it is. The sequel to this book, How to Ruin My Teenage Life, will release on June 1, 2007.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen