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Title: How to Ruin My Teenage Life
Author: Simone Elkeles
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-7387-1019-8/Flux
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult
***WARNING...This may contain spoilers because it is part of a series (and it is kind of hard to discuss this book without referring to the previous novel in the series)***
Amy Nelson-Barak is back, but now she's living with her dad and dog in Chicago. Her Aba is a workaholic and Mutt gets into his own mischief at the dog park. Amy's mom re-married, is expecting a baby, and moved to the suburbs. Avi, her non-boyfriend, from Israel is in the Israeli Army and hardly has time to communicate with Chicago-based Amy. Her best friend is having boy problems and a new kid moved into her building and gets on her nerves.
This sounds like regular teenage drama, right? Oh, but lets add in the fact that Amy doesn't want her dad to be lonely for the rest of his life. So she signs him up for an online Jewish dating service...with his credit card and doesn't tell him. Then she goes off kissing the new kid, Nathan, just so she can sort of figure him out. And then Nathan retaliates by kissing her in front of the whole school. But wait, what about Avi...her non-boyfriend? Does Amy forget him and move on???
Yay!!! Our girl Amy is back and at it again. This series is so much fun to read. Simone Elkeles really knows how to make her readers laugh.
There were many awwww moments...Amy learns a lot about friendships and families. Funny moments...she goes out on dates to scope out girls for her dad. And then the "wait, Amy's really going do this?" moments...she almost gets into a fight and then there's the "mission" (you'll have to read it to figure out what the mission is). We can't forget the awkward moments. Amy's dad...a.k.a Aba gives teenage Amy the "sex talk." And boy did it bring back some memories from my teen years. How many of you remember your sex talk? Mine came from my big brother while we were driving to pick up some dinner for his family. Eeeek, I remember wanting to jump out of the car while it was still in drive. And I got the same exact feeling when Aba gave Amy the talk and to top it off he also gives Amy's boy a talk.
Then, Amy is taking her conversion classes. So she is learning a lot about her Jewish culture and as a reader we learn a little bit too. We also get inside Amy's mind and her thoughts on some of the scripts. They are quite funny. Also, Amy puts herself in these weird situations that just makes the book even more fun to read.
I really hope you guys pick up this series because it is great. This series is the reason why I'm a huge fan of Simone Elkeles. I cannot wait for more of her books!!!
Favorite lines...
Chicken soup can help heal you when you're sick. Is there a recipe for healing relationships? page 39 I apologize. Of course it's only to the people who deserve an apology. I guess you can call me apologetically selective. (I think I just made that up, but I like it.) page 110
"Why would I hate you? I may not understand you. I may get mad at you. But I could never hate you." page 139
Surprises are like having your period in the middle of class. Initially you're shocked and confused, then you're embarrassed and have to deal with everyone staring at you. I'm self-conscious as it is; I don't need surprises in my life to make me feel more aware of people gawking at me. page 152-153
I love you. It's not that kind of conditional love...it's the kind that'll be around forever. page 238
My Rating
(This book was bought from a store called FullyBooked).
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