Amy Nelson gets along just fine without the “Sperm Donor”—her Israeli father—thank you very much. She barely knows the man, and now he calls out of nowhere wanting to take her to see her ailing “grandmudder” in Israel. Even more shocking: her mother says she has to go, and her best friend can’t see the problem.

The problem is that Israel is a war zone, she’s never met that side of her family, she’ll miss her summer camp, and her boyfriend doesn’t know she’s going. Could it get any worse? Do Kate Spade purses rock? Try living in a house with seven other people, no private phone, one bathroom, and a dog who steals her sandals. It just gets better and better… If Amy can kick her pride long enough to see the world from a different perspective, maybe she’ll bring home a lot more than she left with.

Full of wit and snappy dialogue, How to Ruin a Summer Vacation is a winner both as a fun teen read and a cultural eye-opener. Elkeles avoids the trap of typecasting her characters by gifting them with believable depth and motivation. Amy is an unapologetic smart-mouth who learns that the world does NOT revolve around her wishes, and that hey, her life isn’t half bad compared to kids from other countries.

With a fresh, fun voice, Elkeles has a way of bringing the reader around to the important things in life. To find out what those are, run out and get a copy of How to Ruin a Summer Vaaction today!

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
9/14/2006

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