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April 15, 2011

Speech-and-debate summer camp provides a backdrop for romance and the fight against anti-Semitism.

Ellie Taylor has been a champion orator at her middle school and is looking forward to a summer honing her persuasive skills at the prestigious Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp at Benedict's School. Her favorite, most reliable and endlessly maddening verbal sparring partner isn't a kid, though, it's her beloved grandfather, Zeydeh. Although Ellie assures Zeydeh that the camp is Christian in name only, her faith in both herself and her religion is tested when Mrs. Yeats, who endows the scholarship Ellie needs to win to afford attendance at Benedict's, is revealed as a lifelong anti-Semite. (Naturally, Mrs. Yeats' grandson Devon is Ellie's debate partner and "sizzling" crush object.) Zeydeh and Mrs. Yeats both challenge Ellie to pick a side—her heritage or her future—provoking her to resort to a variety of realistically clumsy subterfuges before staking out her identity on her own, clear terms. More mature than Fiona Rosenbloom's You Are SO Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2005) and less contemplative than Jenny Meyerhoff's The Queen of Secrets (2010), Dominy's debut balances light and heavy subject matter with ease.

There's nothing earth-shatteringly original here, but readers who like their frothy romance with a bracing dash of serious social issues will be clamoring for seconds. (Fiction. 11-14)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 1, 2011

Gr 6-8-Ellie Taylor, 14, is a driven young woman who desperately wants to excel at the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp so that she can win a scholarship to prestigious Benedict's Conservatory. She has a great shot at winning, because she just loves to argue. With her friend Megan, Ellie shows up full of confidence and excitement, only to get immediately sidelined by the sight of handsome Devon Yeats. Not only is he sizzling hot, but he's also an excellent debater and is the grandson of the woman who will provide the funds for the scholarship winner. There's instant chemistry the first time the two lock eyes, but alas, true love never runs smoothly. Ellie quickly finds out that Devon's grandmother is anti-Semitic, and she has to decide whether to stand up for her Jewish faith or to shoot for her goals at any cost. Despite the predictable ending, kids will enjoy reading about likable Ellie's struggles and will get a real kick out of her grandfather.-Susan Riley, Mount Kisco Public Library, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011
Grades 6-9 Ellie, almost 14, likes to argue. When she is accepted to the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts camp, she knows it's a stepping stone to getting into Benedict, a private school, because every year the top performers at CSSPA are considered for a scholarship from a wealthy benefactor. One problem: Ellie is Jewish, and the benefactor, Mrs. Yeats, most certainly is not. To complicate matters, Ellie's new boyfriend is Mrs. Yeats' grandson, and he lets Ellie know his grandmother doesn't like Jews. So to up her scholarship chances, Ellie hides a few things and leaves more unsaid until she can no longer ignore Mrs. Yeats' blatant anti-Semitism. First-novelist Dominy does a good job (especially through Ellie's orations) discussing beliefs, personal responsibility, and how to do the right thing. Less successful are the two characters most entrenched in their views: both Mrs. Yeats and Ellie's grandfather seem at times more caricature than character. Still, there are honest discussions here that will make readers think about what makes them who they areand who they want to be.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)