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Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust
Lauren Yanofsky doesn't want to be Jewish anymore. Her father, a noted Holocaust historian, keeps giving her Holocaust memoirs to read, and her mother doesn't understand why Lauren hates the idea of Jewish youth camps and family vacations to Holocaust memorials. But when Lauren sees some of her friends--including Jesse, a cute boy she likes--playing Nazi war games, she is faced with a terrible choice: betray her friends or betray her heritage.
Told with engaging humor, Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust isn't simply about making tough moral choices. It's about a smart, funny, passionate girl caught up in the turmoil of bad-hair days, family friction, changing friendships, love--and, yes, the Holocaust.
Told with engaging humor, Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust isn't simply about making tough moral choices. It's about a smart, funny, passionate girl caught up in the turmoil of bad-hair days, family friction, changing friendships, love--and, yes, the Holocaust.
240 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
220 people want to read
About the author
Leanne Lieberman
7 books51 followersLeanne Lieberman is the author of six YA books including Gravity (a Sydney Taylor Notable Book), and Lauren Yanofsky Hates The Holocaust. Her latest YA book is Cleaning Up, Leanne also writes adult fiction and is working on a novel entitled The Bird Girls. Leanne is a graduate of The University of Windsor's MA in in Creative Writing. Originally from Vancouver BC, Leanne now lives in Kingston ON with her husband and two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
March 26, 2013
That is quite a title, isn't it. I know I did a double take when I first saw it. So, what kind of a kid would say she hates the Holocaust? Meet Lauren Yanofsky. Lauren is entering her junior year of high school, has a big crush on Jesse, a boy she has known most of her life, and is finding her best friend drifting away.
Oh, yes, and Lauren has also decided not to be Jewish anymore. Lauren had always felt that her religion was full of persecution in the Bible and history. Then, three years ago, she found out that her grandmother had eleven relatives who all perished in the Holocaust. "Who needed all that misery? Why would anyone want to belong to a religion that was all about loss, grief, and persecution?" she asked herself. (pg13)
Lauren even managed to convince her parents, with the help of a hunger strike, to let her leave the Hebrew School she was attending in favor of public school. But try as she might, Lauren just can't get away from Judaism and the Holocaust. Her father is a Holocaust scholar at the University and he and her mother continually try to tempt Lauren back to her faith by joining a Jewish youth group, going a Taglit birth right trip to Israel and/or other religion-based activities. Lauren wants none of it, however.
As school begins, Lauren finds herself sitting beside her crush, Jesse, and her best friend, Brooke. Things go well and it looks like Jesse may be more attracted to Lauren that just as a friend, and it also seems that Brooke is really supportive of this. But Brooke has more than one surprise in store Lauren. where Jesse is concerned. As the days pass, and their other two friends Chloe and Em become involved with the school production of Grease, and Brooke begins to drift off at lunchtime to hang outside with the Smokers, particularly with one named Chantel, Lauren finds herself alone in the lunchroom with her own thoughts.
One night, after getting together with Brooke, Chole and Em for pizza (just like the old days, Lauren thinks), they end the evening at the park, watching the boys from school, including Jesse, playing Nazi war games with water guns and paper armbands with Swastikas drawn on them. The worse part is that everyone seems to think this is OK, except for Lauren.
When Lauren finds a lost Nazi armband after the boys finish playing their Nazi war game again, she finds herself in a dilemma: she knows the game is a form of anti-Semitism and that's unacceptable. And she knows the right thing to do would be to turn them in at school, but Jesse is one of the players. Now, Lauren must confront herself, her beliefs and her own ideas about the Holocaust and Judaism, again.
Narrated in the first person by Lauren, Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust is a realistic look at a teenager coming to grips with who she is as a person. It is a coming of age novel that catches Lauren right in the transitional moment of time when she must make the choice about which way her moral compass is going to go. And at the center of that choice is the Holocaust. Reporting the boys, including Jesse, would mean taking a big risk, possibly losing friends, embracing her religion and accepting responsibility for her actions. Not reporting them would make Lauren as guilty of anti-Semitism as her friends, of betraying her religion, its culture and most importantly, the 11 relatives and all the other people who perished in the Holocaust. Lauren has a true moral dilemma to grapple with, but does get some surprising help along the way.
Lieberman has peopled her novel with all kinds of realistic characters, just the kind you would find in any high school, like the Perfects and the Smokers. Lauren and her friends drink a little, curse a little, make out some and in general behave just like most teens do when adults are not around. Besides moral choices, Lauren also deals with ordinary things like taming her very frizzy hair each morning even though her straightener is usually defeated by the damp weather. She also has a younger brother Zach, who is studying to make his Bar Mitzvah, but whose sensory integration issues are making that difficult for him. Without sinking into the stereotypical, the characters are all familiar to us but have their own individual quirks.
Though sometimes predictable, Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust is also written with lots of humor, at times a bit on the snarky side, some sentiment, and teen drama. And if I say anymore about Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust, I will have to include a spoiler warning. I would suggest reading it for yourself, which I highly recommend.
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust will be available on April 1, 2013.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was sent to me by the publisher
This review was originally posted at The Children's War
Oh, yes, and Lauren has also decided not to be Jewish anymore. Lauren had always felt that her religion was full of persecution in the Bible and history. Then, three years ago, she found out that her grandmother had eleven relatives who all perished in the Holocaust. "Who needed all that misery? Why would anyone want to belong to a religion that was all about loss, grief, and persecution?" she asked herself. (pg13)
Lauren even managed to convince her parents, with the help of a hunger strike, to let her leave the Hebrew School she was attending in favor of public school. But try as she might, Lauren just can't get away from Judaism and the Holocaust. Her father is a Holocaust scholar at the University and he and her mother continually try to tempt Lauren back to her faith by joining a Jewish youth group, going a Taglit birth right trip to Israel and/or other religion-based activities. Lauren wants none of it, however.
As school begins, Lauren finds herself sitting beside her crush, Jesse, and her best friend, Brooke. Things go well and it looks like Jesse may be more attracted to Lauren that just as a friend, and it also seems that Brooke is really supportive of this. But Brooke has more than one surprise in store Lauren. where Jesse is concerned. As the days pass, and their other two friends Chloe and Em become involved with the school production of Grease, and Brooke begins to drift off at lunchtime to hang outside with the Smokers, particularly with one named Chantel, Lauren finds herself alone in the lunchroom with her own thoughts.
One night, after getting together with Brooke, Chole and Em for pizza (just like the old days, Lauren thinks), they end the evening at the park, watching the boys from school, including Jesse, playing Nazi war games with water guns and paper armbands with Swastikas drawn on them. The worse part is that everyone seems to think this is OK, except for Lauren.
When Lauren finds a lost Nazi armband after the boys finish playing their Nazi war game again, she finds herself in a dilemma: she knows the game is a form of anti-Semitism and that's unacceptable. And she knows the right thing to do would be to turn them in at school, but Jesse is one of the players. Now, Lauren must confront herself, her beliefs and her own ideas about the Holocaust and Judaism, again.
Narrated in the first person by Lauren, Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust is a realistic look at a teenager coming to grips with who she is as a person. It is a coming of age novel that catches Lauren right in the transitional moment of time when she must make the choice about which way her moral compass is going to go. And at the center of that choice is the Holocaust. Reporting the boys, including Jesse, would mean taking a big risk, possibly losing friends, embracing her religion and accepting responsibility for her actions. Not reporting them would make Lauren as guilty of anti-Semitism as her friends, of betraying her religion, its culture and most importantly, the 11 relatives and all the other people who perished in the Holocaust. Lauren has a true moral dilemma to grapple with, but does get some surprising help along the way.
Lieberman has peopled her novel with all kinds of realistic characters, just the kind you would find in any high school, like the Perfects and the Smokers. Lauren and her friends drink a little, curse a little, make out some and in general behave just like most teens do when adults are not around. Besides moral choices, Lauren also deals with ordinary things like taming her very frizzy hair each morning even though her straightener is usually defeated by the damp weather. She also has a younger brother Zach, who is studying to make his Bar Mitzvah, but whose sensory integration issues are making that difficult for him. Without sinking into the stereotypical, the characters are all familiar to us but have their own individual quirks.
Though sometimes predictable, Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust is also written with lots of humor, at times a bit on the snarky side, some sentiment, and teen drama. And if I say anymore about Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust, I will have to include a spoiler warning. I would suggest reading it for yourself, which I highly recommend.
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust will be available on April 1, 2013.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was sent to me by the publisher
This review was originally posted at The Children's War
January 8, 2020
J'ai été ultra déçue par ce roman !! J'avais super envie de le lire parce que l'histoire m'intéressait grave, et en fait y'a tellement de trucs qui vont pas... [Quelques légers spoilers]
Lauren, le personnage principal, une ado juive de 16 ans à Vancouver, décide qu'elle déteste l'Holocauste. Bon okay. Sauf que Lauren est pleine d'antisémitisme intériorisée et que à aucun moment dans le bouquin c'est contre-balancé. L'autrice via Lauren balance plein de clichés sur les juifs, et c'est *jamais* corrigé. Plusieurs éléments m'ont vraiment dérangée :
1) Lauren déteste l'Holocauste car elle dit que tout le monde ne parle que de ça alors qu'au fond c'est elle qui est obsédée par l'Holocauste de manière quasi malsaine, au point de brûler un livre sur Mengele, alors que sa famille au final n'a pas l'air d'en parler tout le temps.
2) Les juifs sont méchants, obsédés par la Shoah, l'école juive c'est nul, les juifs ne pensent qu'aux apparences et à l'antisémitisme
3) D'ailleurs y'a pas d'antisémitisme au Canada d'après Lauren donc où est le problème !
4) Si on parle pas des autres génocides c'est un peu à cause des juifs parce qu'ils s'en fichent des autres
5) A un moment Lauren va assister à un Bible group avec 2 copines chrétiennes, et malgré son scepticisme elle trouve ça plus chouette que les Jewish Youth Groups parce que les chrétiens au moins ils font des prières personnalisées et sont solidaires les uns des autres !! Contrairement aux juifs !
6) Sa mère n'a aucune personnalité à part être fâchée contre Lauren car celle ci ne va plus à l'école juive ni à la synagogue sans jamais expliquer à sa famille pourquoi.
7) Lauren déteste son nez. Et ses cheveux bouclés. D'ailleurs elle les lisse, et il y a une scène hallucinante où un matin son lisseur ne fonctionne plus. Impossible d'aller à l'école ainsi, même sa mère est d'accord là-dessu, et sa mère d'ailleurs va jusqu'a emprunter le lisseur de sa voisine pour Lauren, parce que c'est une urgence. J'aurais préféré un truc un peu plus gnangnan où sa mère lui dit "mais non tes cheveux sont jolis" et Lauren va au lycée bouclée et tout le monde la complimente et voila. Mais non. Les cheveux bouclés c'est moche et ridicule.
8) Le père de Lauren est historien de la Shoah et enseigne à la fac. Lauren dit avoir lu des milliers de trucs sur la Shoah et tout savoir. Mais quand elle découvre l'Arménie, elle n'avait jamais entendu parler de ce pays et de l'histoire des Arméniens, ce qui me semble peu crédible. Encore une fois elle pense que c'est la faute de l'Holocauste si elle ignore l'histoire arménienne. Elle en parle à sa mère qui elle non plus n'est pas au courant pour l'Arménie, bien qu'étant marié à un historien. Peu crédible également.
9) Un passage où Lauren dit grosso modo "les Juifs ont dit 'Never Again' et pourtant y'a eu d'autres génocides après mais comme ça concerne pas les Juifs alors les Juifs s'en fichent". Si l'autrice connaissait un peu le champs de la recherche, elle pourrait montrer que déjà c'est faux, et d'ailleurs de mon expérience les Juifs connaissent plutôt bien les autres génocides, justement.
10) Tout tourne autour d'une histoire d'amour avec un camarade de classe qui a l'air d'être un peu con mais bon elle est amoureuse alors l'amour est plus important que le fait que son amoureux se déguise en Nazi pour rigoler avec ses copains.
11) Lauren en a marre que le fait d'être Juif tourne autour de la Shoah mais elle même agit comme si y'avait que ça. A quasi aucun moment elle ne résout son problème (la fin est nulle), et a part son père qui en 2 lignes tente de lui expliquer qu'être Juif c'est plein d'autres choses aussi, c'est absolument pas développé. Dommage !!! Ca semblait être le but du livre !!!
12) Lauren elle-même a des crises d'angoisse liées à la Shoah, sa grand-mère a littéralement perdu toute sa famille pendant la Shoah, mais c'est également survolé comme le fait qu'un trauma familial peut aussi faire partie de l'identité sans que ce soit une obsession malsaine.
13) Le seul argument de Lauren pour "ne plus vouloir être Juive" c'est : j'en ai marre de la Shoah. Voilà. C'est tout. Bonne nuit.
Bref, j'abrège mais voilà.
Lauren, le personnage principal, une ado juive de 16 ans à Vancouver, décide qu'elle déteste l'Holocauste. Bon okay. Sauf que Lauren est pleine d'antisémitisme intériorisée et que à aucun moment dans le bouquin c'est contre-balancé. L'autrice via Lauren balance plein de clichés sur les juifs, et c'est *jamais* corrigé. Plusieurs éléments m'ont vraiment dérangée :
1) Lauren déteste l'Holocauste car elle dit que tout le monde ne parle que de ça alors qu'au fond c'est elle qui est obsédée par l'Holocauste de manière quasi malsaine, au point de brûler un livre sur Mengele, alors que sa famille au final n'a pas l'air d'en parler tout le temps.
2) Les juifs sont méchants, obsédés par la Shoah, l'école juive c'est nul, les juifs ne pensent qu'aux apparences et à l'antisémitisme
3) D'ailleurs y'a pas d'antisémitisme au Canada d'après Lauren donc où est le problème !
4) Si on parle pas des autres génocides c'est un peu à cause des juifs parce qu'ils s'en fichent des autres
5) A un moment Lauren va assister à un Bible group avec 2 copines chrétiennes, et malgré son scepticisme elle trouve ça plus chouette que les Jewish Youth Groups parce que les chrétiens au moins ils font des prières personnalisées et sont solidaires les uns des autres !! Contrairement aux juifs !
6) Sa mère n'a aucune personnalité à part être fâchée contre Lauren car celle ci ne va plus à l'école juive ni à la synagogue sans jamais expliquer à sa famille pourquoi.
7) Lauren déteste son nez. Et ses cheveux bouclés. D'ailleurs elle les lisse, et il y a une scène hallucinante où un matin son lisseur ne fonctionne plus. Impossible d'aller à l'école ainsi, même sa mère est d'accord là-dessu, et sa mère d'ailleurs va jusqu'a emprunter le lisseur de sa voisine pour Lauren, parce que c'est une urgence. J'aurais préféré un truc un peu plus gnangnan où sa mère lui dit "mais non tes cheveux sont jolis" et Lauren va au lycée bouclée et tout le monde la complimente et voila. Mais non. Les cheveux bouclés c'est moche et ridicule.
8) Le père de Lauren est historien de la Shoah et enseigne à la fac. Lauren dit avoir lu des milliers de trucs sur la Shoah et tout savoir. Mais quand elle découvre l'Arménie, elle n'avait jamais entendu parler de ce pays et de l'histoire des Arméniens, ce qui me semble peu crédible. Encore une fois elle pense que c'est la faute de l'Holocauste si elle ignore l'histoire arménienne. Elle en parle à sa mère qui elle non plus n'est pas au courant pour l'Arménie, bien qu'étant marié à un historien. Peu crédible également.
9) Un passage où Lauren dit grosso modo "les Juifs ont dit 'Never Again' et pourtant y'a eu d'autres génocides après mais comme ça concerne pas les Juifs alors les Juifs s'en fichent". Si l'autrice connaissait un peu le champs de la recherche, elle pourrait montrer que déjà c'est faux, et d'ailleurs de mon expérience les Juifs connaissent plutôt bien les autres génocides, justement.
10) Tout tourne autour d'une histoire d'amour avec un camarade de classe qui a l'air d'être un peu con mais bon elle est amoureuse alors l'amour est plus important que le fait que son amoureux se déguise en Nazi pour rigoler avec ses copains.
11) Lauren en a marre que le fait d'être Juif tourne autour de la Shoah mais elle même agit comme si y'avait que ça. A quasi aucun moment elle ne résout son problème (la fin est nulle), et a part son père qui en 2 lignes tente de lui expliquer qu'être Juif c'est plein d'autres choses aussi, c'est absolument pas développé. Dommage !!! Ca semblait être le but du livre !!!
12) Lauren elle-même a des crises d'angoisse liées à la Shoah, sa grand-mère a littéralement perdu toute sa famille pendant la Shoah, mais c'est également survolé comme le fait qu'un trauma familial peut aussi faire partie de l'identité sans que ce soit une obsession malsaine.
13) Le seul argument de Lauren pour "ne plus vouloir être Juive" c'est : j'en ai marre de la Shoah. Voilà. C'est tout. Bonne nuit.
Bref, j'abrège mais voilà.
November 12, 2013
http://librarytalker.blogspot.com/201...
All her life, Lauren Yanofsky has had to deal with her cultural history. Her dad is a Holocaust historian and often shares his knowledge with her. Her family is Jewish and sends her to Jewish camp every summer where stories about past atrocities are taught.
Lauren just can't seem to get away from the Holocaust.
She privately declares to herself that she's no longer Jewish, though she's not sure how to truly de-convert. She leans on her friends for support and tries to live as non-Jewish a life as possible outside her home.
However, things are never that easy.
Her best friend suddenly decides to join the smokers outside every day. Her other friends join a prayer group and get parts in the school musical. And her crush plays Nazi war games with his friends, wearing swastika armbands and shooting each other with water pistols.
She can't get away from the Holocaust no matter how hard she tries and she's trying very hard.
Final thoughts: This one is deep and sometimes difficult to read. It's focused on a time in high school when teens are really just struggling to figure out who they are and where they fit in. At times, Lauren feels more like a thirteen year-old girl instead of a junior in high school. Her awkwardness around Jesse seems out of place for someone her age. Her brother is written as if he's autistic, though it's never specifically stated; his side story sometimes seems out of place at times. I'm just having a hard time figuring out how I feel about this one.
All her life, Lauren Yanofsky has had to deal with her cultural history. Her dad is a Holocaust historian and often shares his knowledge with her. Her family is Jewish and sends her to Jewish camp every summer where stories about past atrocities are taught.
Lauren just can't seem to get away from the Holocaust.
She privately declares to herself that she's no longer Jewish, though she's not sure how to truly de-convert. She leans on her friends for support and tries to live as non-Jewish a life as possible outside her home.
However, things are never that easy.
Her best friend suddenly decides to join the smokers outside every day. Her other friends join a prayer group and get parts in the school musical. And her crush plays Nazi war games with his friends, wearing swastika armbands and shooting each other with water pistols.
She can't get away from the Holocaust no matter how hard she tries and she's trying very hard.
Final thoughts: This one is deep and sometimes difficult to read. It's focused on a time in high school when teens are really just struggling to figure out who they are and where they fit in. At times, Lauren feels more like a thirteen year-old girl instead of a junior in high school. Her awkwardness around Jesse seems out of place for someone her age. Her brother is written as if he's autistic, though it's never specifically stated; his side story sometimes seems out of place at times. I'm just having a hard time figuring out how I feel about this one.
August 8, 2017
The writing in this book was engaging, but I have trouble understanding what point the author wanted me to take away from this. Much of the moral dilemma was facile, too many of the characters were one-dimensional, and the ending resolved nothing - except that if a boy is cute he can be forgiven pretty much anything. There were things to like in here, like a semi-realistic portrayal of friends growing apart, but ultimately I struggled to find a worthwhile point to all the hand-wringing.
October 7, 2018
I read a lot of books about the Holocaust when I was a teenager. At some point, I started to think about why I was reading them, because reading so many books about such a tragic event is kind of morbid and I was concerned about my motives for doing so. But I came to the conclusion that my reasons weren't overly problematic. About halfway through this book, Lauren reads a book about Mengele and gives the exact reason I arrived at: "I have to read each detail so that maybe one day I’ll understand how such evil could exist in the world." I never did arrive at an answer, nor does Lauren. Maybe no one ever has, or could.
I don't have any personal connection to the Holocaust, so I've never had to deal with the full, deeply personal reality of it happening to my own people or my own family. This book is largely about Lauren trying to come to terms with that reality, and it occurs to me that while that would essentially be a universal experience for Jewish youth, it isn't one I've seen addressed very often, at least not this directly. And Lauren has a very difficult time dealing with it. She's overwhelmed with anxiety and has decided she no longer wants to be Jewish, because the weight of that reality is just too much. But, of course, no amount of avoiding everything about Judaism or the Holocaust can make it go away.
The concept of the book is solid, important even, but I didn't love the execution. For one thing, Lauren read as significantly younger than 16 to me. I had a hard time not imagining her being closer to 13. I also had a hard time connecting with her and the decisions she made throughout the book, even though her base concerns were reasonable enough. Her friends were awful, which is fine because it was clearly intentional, but not entirely believable. The love interest was...ugh. And it felt kind of unresolved.
Lauren spends a lot of the book hanging out and drinking with her friends and a couple other groups from school, which would be fine, except it didn't feel like how she would've spent her time, probably because of how young she seemed. And the fact that two of her friends' defining characteristic is being "Jesus freaks," it seemed weird that they would spend so much time drinking without Lauren having so much as a passing thought about them doing that and then traipsing off to bible study however many times a week.
Speaking of bible study, they invite Lauren to go to one, and she does. That's reasonable enough--I imagine she'd be pretty curious about it, especially given her complicated relationship with her own religion (she claims to not believe in God, but doesn't seem completely sure)--but there's something a little disconcerting about them pushing their Jewish friend to go to a Christian prayer group. Are they trying to convert her, or do they just genuinely think it'll help cheer or up or whatever? Since she's never told them (or anyone) that she doesn't want to be Jewish anymore, I'm not super comfortable with them trying to push Christianity on her.
My biggest complaint about the book can be summed up in one sentence: I dislike pretty much everything about Brooke and about the love interest, Jesse. The way Brooke was written--former nice girl starts wearing low-cut shirts and ditches her old friends to hang out with the Smokers (always capitalized like that in the book)--annoyed me, and while Jesse did have some redeeming qualities, it was too "boy faces no consequences for any of his actions and you are the bad guy if you don't instantly forgive him for everything or ever doubt him for a split second." I've had enough of that now, thanks.
Final note, Lauren's twelve year old brother, Zach, is clearly autistic, but is never labeled as such in the book. He's mostly described as odd or particular or some variation of those. He does go to a special school, so they aren't totally ignoring it, but their parents don't seem to know how to deal with him, nor do they seem to try to understand things from his perspective. Lauren does, and tries to explain his feelings to their parents. She seems to get him pretty well, and while her framing of him as weird could be better, she seems to treat him the way you'd hope: like any siblings, they fight sometimes, and she can get frustrated with the rigidity of his needs and preferences, but she clearly seems him as his own person and not a problem to be solved or someone to be babied. She's careful of his boundaries and what he is and isn't comfortable with. For example, one common complaint I've heard from autistic people is that their friends and family members often push them to hug because they want hugged, and feel scorned or slighted if they pull back, not caring that hugging makes them feel deeply uncomfortable. Lauren explicitly says at one point that there are times when she wants to hug him, but doesn't, because she knows it's too overwhelming for him. It wasn't perfect, but I would say the relationship between Lauren and Zach was the highlight of the book. (Of course, this makes Brooke's offhand use of the word "retarded," and Lauren's total lack of a reaction, even more jarring. That was one of a handful of details that made me look up when the book was published, and I was very surprised to see it was 2013. I assume it was written several years earlier, I would guess closer to 2007-2010. It isn't horrendously dated, but there are quite a few small things that feel off today.)
I don't have any personal connection to the Holocaust, so I've never had to deal with the full, deeply personal reality of it happening to my own people or my own family. This book is largely about Lauren trying to come to terms with that reality, and it occurs to me that while that would essentially be a universal experience for Jewish youth, it isn't one I've seen addressed very often, at least not this directly. And Lauren has a very difficult time dealing with it. She's overwhelmed with anxiety and has decided she no longer wants to be Jewish, because the weight of that reality is just too much. But, of course, no amount of avoiding everything about Judaism or the Holocaust can make it go away.
The concept of the book is solid, important even, but I didn't love the execution. For one thing, Lauren read as significantly younger than 16 to me. I had a hard time not imagining her being closer to 13. I also had a hard time connecting with her and the decisions she made throughout the book, even though her base concerns were reasonable enough. Her friends were awful, which is fine because it was clearly intentional, but not entirely believable. The love interest was...ugh. And it felt kind of unresolved.
Lauren spends a lot of the book hanging out and drinking with her friends and a couple other groups from school, which would be fine, except it didn't feel like how she would've spent her time, probably because of how young she seemed. And the fact that two of her friends' defining characteristic is being "Jesus freaks," it seemed weird that they would spend so much time drinking without Lauren having so much as a passing thought about them doing that and then traipsing off to bible study however many times a week.
Speaking of bible study, they invite Lauren to go to one, and she does. That's reasonable enough--I imagine she'd be pretty curious about it, especially given her complicated relationship with her own religion (she claims to not believe in God, but doesn't seem completely sure)--but there's something a little disconcerting about them pushing their Jewish friend to go to a Christian prayer group. Are they trying to convert her, or do they just genuinely think it'll help cheer or up or whatever? Since she's never told them (or anyone) that she doesn't want to be Jewish anymore, I'm not super comfortable with them trying to push Christianity on her.
My biggest complaint about the book can be summed up in one sentence: I dislike pretty much everything about Brooke and about the love interest, Jesse. The way Brooke was written--former nice girl starts wearing low-cut shirts and ditches her old friends to hang out with the Smokers (always capitalized like that in the book)--annoyed me, and while Jesse did have some redeeming qualities, it was too "boy faces no consequences for any of his actions and you are the bad guy if you don't instantly forgive him for everything or ever doubt him for a split second." I've had enough of that now, thanks.
Final note, Lauren's twelve year old brother, Zach, is clearly autistic, but is never labeled as such in the book. He's mostly described as odd or particular or some variation of those. He does go to a special school, so they aren't totally ignoring it, but their parents don't seem to know how to deal with him, nor do they seem to try to understand things from his perspective. Lauren does, and tries to explain his feelings to their parents. She seems to get him pretty well, and while her framing of him as weird could be better, she seems to treat him the way you'd hope: like any siblings, they fight sometimes, and she can get frustrated with the rigidity of his needs and preferences, but she clearly seems him as his own person and not a problem to be solved or someone to be babied. She's careful of his boundaries and what he is and isn't comfortable with. For example, one common complaint I've heard from autistic people is that their friends and family members often push them to hug because they want hugged, and feel scorned or slighted if they pull back, not caring that hugging makes them feel deeply uncomfortable. Lauren explicitly says at one point that there are times when she wants to hug him, but doesn't, because she knows it's too overwhelming for him. It wasn't perfect, but I would say the relationship between Lauren and Zach was the highlight of the book. (Of course, this makes Brooke's offhand use of the word "retarded," and Lauren's total lack of a reaction, even more jarring. That was one of a handful of details that made me look up when the book was published, and I was very surprised to see it was 2013. I assume it was written several years earlier, I would guess closer to 2007-2010. It isn't horrendously dated, but there are quite a few small things that feel off today.)
July 29, 2013
Loved the perspective. I will definitely refer to this book in my classroom.
September 1, 2018
I read this book for my creative writing class. We were told to pick a technical writing book (mine is about comedy), and chose a book that would help us with the genre we chose. My friend and I decided on this book for me because the title makes it seem like it's going to be a funny book. It's not, though.
Now, I'm not saying this is a badly written book by any means, but it wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be a lighthearted book (as lighthearted as a book with "Holocaust" in the title can be), but it was much more introspective and existential. I've gone through the things Lauren does, losing friends and having boy drama, and having weirdbadpersonal feelings about the Holocaust, and I can totally understand where she's coming from BUT at times, I felt like what she was thinking or doing didn't make sense. On the other hand, it makes sense that she'd do things that don't necessarily make sense because being a teenager is dumb and confusing and makes no sense sometimes.
Ultimately, I wasn't as satisfied with the arc as I hoped to be, but it was a good story and I didn't feel like my time was wasted for reading it.
Now, I'm not saying this is a badly written book by any means, but it wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be a lighthearted book (as lighthearted as a book with "Holocaust" in the title can be), but it was much more introspective and existential. I've gone through the things Lauren does, losing friends and having boy drama, and having weirdbadpersonal feelings about the Holocaust, and I can totally understand where she's coming from BUT at times, I felt like what she was thinking or doing didn't make sense. On the other hand, it makes sense that she'd do things that don't necessarily make sense because being a teenager is dumb and confusing and makes no sense sometimes.
Ultimately, I wasn't as satisfied with the arc as I hoped to be, but it was a good story and I didn't feel like my time was wasted for reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2017
I just finished reading this book and still don’t understand why the author wrote it. As a story about friendships that evolve during high school, it would have been an okay book, but I believe – from the title – the author wanted to convey a message about the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, or another Jewish topic and that, in no way, was successfully accomplished. Fortunately I only wasted about two hours of reading time.
June 27, 2013
This book with the irreverent, controversial title is really about a young teenage girl searching for her true identity. There’s nothing unusual about that theme in young adult literature, the difference for our heroine, Lauren Yanofsky is that she is the daughter of a father who is a Holocaust professor and so her world has been awash with these horrific images since childhood.
Her father"s specialty certainly has made it difficult for a sensitive young girl to grow up without being warped. Pater Yanofsky is actually a rather up-beat person in the story. He just isn’t aware of how much his passion for his subject has deeply affected his daughter, to the point of having had to learn coping mechanisms when she develops severe anxiety at one point in her growing years.
But in the present tense of the story, Lauren is 16 and in-love with her childhood friend, Jesse who has just returned to public school after a stint in boarding school. He is essentially a good-hearted person, but has had his share of getting into trouble. (The boarding school is hinted at as being a solution to his “bad-boy” proclivities.) One night Jesse and a bunch of friends get drunk and appear at a party that Lauren reluctantly attends with her friend Brooke (who is going through some changes of her own). They are wearing armbands with swastikas. They play at being German soldiers and pretend to shoot each other. This act understandably causes much anxiety for Lauren. She doesn’t know if she should report them to the school or not, conflicted because of her romantic feelings for Jesse.
Later she tells her friend Brooke that she doesn’t like Jesse and that Brooke, who has a crush on Jesse, is free to pursue him. This is a lie, of course but a pretty realistic response for a girl Lauren’s age. At another party, Lauren observes what she thinks is Jesse responding to Brooke’s aggressive moves, and this is the catalyst for Lauren to tell the school about the swastika armbands and playacting. (This happens again at this party.)
A side story in the book is about Lauren’s brother Zach. He is resisting his mother’s efforts to plan an elaborate Bar Mitzvah celebration. He is a boy who has a form of autism, most likely, but this isn’t actually mentioned. It is indicated by his behaviors. Lauren and he share a loving relationship that’s occasionally challenged by Lauren’s being a typical older sister, slamming a door in his face as one point. She does feel guilty about this and knows that Zach cannot understand her emotional outbursts. When Zach finally runs away, being pushed too far by his mother, Lauren is the one that finds him hiding out in a familiar place in the basement.
Jesse finds out that Lauren is the one that told about the armbands and he and Lauren break-up. The whole school must attend a lecture that Lauren’s father gives about tolerance and understanding of the other. Lauren ditches this and goes with her friend Brooke to the beach where they have a heart-to-heart about their relationship. This is the only time in the book that Brooke’s problems and pulling away from their group of friends is seriously dealt with. The end of the book just mentions that Brooke is now dating someone that had done “hard drugs.”
Then end of the story takes place during preparations for Zach’s Bar Mitzvah. He and his parents have reached a good compromise. Lauren is setting out lumanarias decorated with bi-planes (Zach’s current obsession) and Jewish stars. Jesse comes over and he helps Lauren set up the lanterns. After this, they make up in a juicy kissing scene.
I liked the book and its unusual take on the challenges of a young girl’s growing up. It had a realistic treatment of how teens react to different social groups and when those social groups begin to pull away from each other. I didn’t like the treatment of Brooke’s character, but she was not the main character and her problems just provide back-story to Lauren’s. Very entertaining.
Her father"s specialty certainly has made it difficult for a sensitive young girl to grow up without being warped. Pater Yanofsky is actually a rather up-beat person in the story. He just isn’t aware of how much his passion for his subject has deeply affected his daughter, to the point of having had to learn coping mechanisms when she develops severe anxiety at one point in her growing years.
But in the present tense of the story, Lauren is 16 and in-love with her childhood friend, Jesse who has just returned to public school after a stint in boarding school. He is essentially a good-hearted person, but has had his share of getting into trouble. (The boarding school is hinted at as being a solution to his “bad-boy” proclivities.) One night Jesse and a bunch of friends get drunk and appear at a party that Lauren reluctantly attends with her friend Brooke (who is going through some changes of her own). They are wearing armbands with swastikas. They play at being German soldiers and pretend to shoot each other. This act understandably causes much anxiety for Lauren. She doesn’t know if she should report them to the school or not, conflicted because of her romantic feelings for Jesse.
Later she tells her friend Brooke that she doesn’t like Jesse and that Brooke, who has a crush on Jesse, is free to pursue him. This is a lie, of course but a pretty realistic response for a girl Lauren’s age. At another party, Lauren observes what she thinks is Jesse responding to Brooke’s aggressive moves, and this is the catalyst for Lauren to tell the school about the swastika armbands and playacting. (This happens again at this party.)
A side story in the book is about Lauren’s brother Zach. He is resisting his mother’s efforts to plan an elaborate Bar Mitzvah celebration. He is a boy who has a form of autism, most likely, but this isn’t actually mentioned. It is indicated by his behaviors. Lauren and he share a loving relationship that’s occasionally challenged by Lauren’s being a typical older sister, slamming a door in his face as one point. She does feel guilty about this and knows that Zach cannot understand her emotional outbursts. When Zach finally runs away, being pushed too far by his mother, Lauren is the one that finds him hiding out in a familiar place in the basement.
Jesse finds out that Lauren is the one that told about the armbands and he and Lauren break-up. The whole school must attend a lecture that Lauren’s father gives about tolerance and understanding of the other. Lauren ditches this and goes with her friend Brooke to the beach where they have a heart-to-heart about their relationship. This is the only time in the book that Brooke’s problems and pulling away from their group of friends is seriously dealt with. The end of the book just mentions that Brooke is now dating someone that had done “hard drugs.”
Then end of the story takes place during preparations for Zach’s Bar Mitzvah. He and his parents have reached a good compromise. Lauren is setting out lumanarias decorated with bi-planes (Zach’s current obsession) and Jewish stars. Jesse comes over and he helps Lauren set up the lanterns. After this, they make up in a juicy kissing scene.
I liked the book and its unusual take on the challenges of a young girl’s growing up. It had a realistic treatment of how teens react to different social groups and when those social groups begin to pull away from each other. I didn’t like the treatment of Brooke’s character, but she was not the main character and her problems just provide back-story to Lauren’s. Very entertaining.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2018
In a time where half of middle school students in the US don't believe in the Holocaust and the other half are sick of hearing about it, this next title examines what it's like to be in the latter half when your dad is a Holocaust professor and you've decided to no longer be Jewish (but you're not going to tell your parents, because you don't want to hurt their feelings).
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust by Leanne Lieberman tackles self-identity and grief set within the powerful backdrop of family history.
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust by Leanne Lieberman tackles self-identity and grief set within the powerful backdrop of family history.
April 7, 2013
Praise for Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust by Leanne Lieberman
When I first learned the title of Leanne Lieberman’s new novel, I was first put off and thought that I would probably not like Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust. However, after reading the novel, I have changed my opinion and think that the title is a brilliant idea and it may also attract readers who have no interest in learning about the Holocaust.
There are several interesting themes in this novel - all issues that junior and senior high school students are forced to deal with on a daily basis and they are dealt with in a very engaging manner. At first Lauren struggles with how to deal with the objectionable behavior of her fellow students/friends. Young adults are faced with issues of bullying, racism, or gay bashing to name a few examples of behaviors that many young people might be forced to take a stand on. Then Lauren is confronted with the issue of what to do when she and her best friend have a romantic interest in the same person, and appropriate behavior. Through Lauren we read that young people learn that their interests, ideas and feelings change as they mature and that suddenly your best friend may seem like a stranger to you. You might find yourself rejected by your friends and as young adults go through junior and senior high they may experience similar situations. The last theme I found interesting was the issue faced by Lauren and her brother Zach; they had to learn to exert their independence in a positive way as they discovered that their wishes and desires were in conflict with what their parents wanted and expected for them. The author deals with all the above issues in a way that really holds the reader’s attention and interest. The book actually gives the reader a great deal of information about the Holocaust and an awareness of other past genocides of which they might not have had any knowledge. If after reading this book, the reader wants to learn more about the holocaust, Lauren actually provides a detailed list of books to read. This is a book that should be read by all young adults and probably their parents too, so that they can get insights into the current world of their teenagers.
When I first learned the title of Leanne Lieberman’s new novel, I was first put off and thought that I would probably not like Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust. However, after reading the novel, I have changed my opinion and think that the title is a brilliant idea and it may also attract readers who have no interest in learning about the Holocaust.
There are several interesting themes in this novel - all issues that junior and senior high school students are forced to deal with on a daily basis and they are dealt with in a very engaging manner. At first Lauren struggles with how to deal with the objectionable behavior of her fellow students/friends. Young adults are faced with issues of bullying, racism, or gay bashing to name a few examples of behaviors that many young people might be forced to take a stand on. Then Lauren is confronted with the issue of what to do when she and her best friend have a romantic interest in the same person, and appropriate behavior. Through Lauren we read that young people learn that their interests, ideas and feelings change as they mature and that suddenly your best friend may seem like a stranger to you. You might find yourself rejected by your friends and as young adults go through junior and senior high they may experience similar situations. The last theme I found interesting was the issue faced by Lauren and her brother Zach; they had to learn to exert their independence in a positive way as they discovered that their wishes and desires were in conflict with what their parents wanted and expected for them. The author deals with all the above issues in a way that really holds the reader’s attention and interest. The book actually gives the reader a great deal of information about the Holocaust and an awareness of other past genocides of which they might not have had any knowledge. If after reading this book, the reader wants to learn more about the holocaust, Lauren actually provides a detailed list of books to read. This is a book that should be read by all young adults and probably their parents too, so that they can get insights into the current world of their teenagers.
April 2, 2013
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Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust was an interesting read, but it wasn't all that I hoped it would be. I guess that I just expected it to be more profound, or for it to be...I don't know, just more? In the end, I liked this one but I didn't love it. The ending was a little too abrupt, and the character relationships could have been better. But those are the only problems that I had!
I liked that the focus of this book seemed to be growing up and finding yourself. All of the things that Lauren experience have probably happened to all of us, and that made her a good character. She was completely honest with herself, and she had a no fear way of looking at life. She knows exactly what she wants, even if she isn't always able to immediately achieve it. One thing about her did bother me, though. She's able to so easily dismiss her heritage (she's Jewish), but she keeps coming back to it over and over.
I don't think that I would be able to dismiss my heritage-- even if I did continually come back to it. Not in my cards, you know? But Lauren tried so hard to be different, and she kind of was. For a teenager, she has some really complex thoughts about heritage and such-- but I definitely believe it! I loved seeing a racial minority for once!
And in the end, I think that Lauren really did grow as a character-- and I respect her as one. She made some good choices, even if they weren't always something that her friends agreed with. All in all, I liked this, even if I didn't love it!
Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust was an interesting read, but it wasn't all that I hoped it would be. I guess that I just expected it to be more profound, or for it to be...I don't know, just more? In the end, I liked this one but I didn't love it. The ending was a little too abrupt, and the character relationships could have been better. But those are the only problems that I had!
I liked that the focus of this book seemed to be growing up and finding yourself. All of the things that Lauren experience have probably happened to all of us, and that made her a good character. She was completely honest with herself, and she had a no fear way of looking at life. She knows exactly what she wants, even if she isn't always able to immediately achieve it. One thing about her did bother me, though. She's able to so easily dismiss her heritage (she's Jewish), but she keeps coming back to it over and over.
I don't think that I would be able to dismiss my heritage-- even if I did continually come back to it. Not in my cards, you know? But Lauren tried so hard to be different, and she kind of was. For a teenager, she has some really complex thoughts about heritage and such-- but I definitely believe it! I loved seeing a racial minority for once!
And in the end, I think that Lauren really did grow as a character-- and I respect her as one. She made some good choices, even if they weren't always something that her friends agreed with. All in all, I liked this, even if I didn't love it!
April 16, 2013
Lauren Yanofsky is a lively teen learning to come to terms with her Jewish identity. It's an up and down proposition because her father is a academic specializing in the Holocaust, and her whole life has been defined by Hebrew School and other activities expected of compliant Jewish children - Bat Mitzvahs, Jewish youth groups, synagogue activities. As any self respecting teen does, she rebels and insists on attending public school where she becomes friends with people who are pretty unaware of the significance of what happened in the Holocaust. When Lauren witnesses her friends displaying blatant misunderstanding
of how the Jews were treated in Nazi Germany - she is conflicted.
This is largely where the story is poorly sewn together. Lieberman makes this a kind of all or nothing situation with regard to the practice of faith and/or religion throwing in a whole bunch of contemporary issues that really have no bearing on Lauren's or anyone else's path to maturity. There are the friends who join the school Christian prayer group, the quasi-boyfriend who has demonstrated some poor decision making, the brother who has sensory overload issues or perhaps autism, the girlfriend who goes Goth, the nutritionist mother who treats anorectics and bulimics. With all these distractions in the story Lauren's coming to terms with the Holocaust and her Jewish ancestors does not ring true - or as it is labelled today: "a first world problem" especially as her parents are portrayed in a very sympathetic manner.
Learning who you are is a lifelong activity - and despite Lauren's appeal which is considerable, this book may fill a niche for libraries looking for Jewish themed fiction, there's still an air of implausibility that lingers.
of how the Jews were treated in Nazi Germany - she is conflicted.
This is largely where the story is poorly sewn together. Lieberman makes this a kind of all or nothing situation with regard to the practice of faith and/or religion throwing in a whole bunch of contemporary issues that really have no bearing on Lauren's or anyone else's path to maturity. There are the friends who join the school Christian prayer group, the quasi-boyfriend who has demonstrated some poor decision making, the brother who has sensory overload issues or perhaps autism, the girlfriend who goes Goth, the nutritionist mother who treats anorectics and bulimics. With all these distractions in the story Lauren's coming to terms with the Holocaust and her Jewish ancestors does not ring true - or as it is labelled today: "a first world problem" especially as her parents are portrayed in a very sympathetic manner.
Learning who you are is a lifelong activity - and despite Lauren's appeal which is considerable, this book may fill a niche for libraries looking for Jewish themed fiction, there's still an air of implausibility that lingers.
May 23, 2013
"Some kids got Disney. I got Hitler." No way could I NOT read this book after reading that line on the back cover--and the title intrigued me as well.
The novel's protagonist, Lauren, doesn't want to be Jewish any more. It's not that she wants to be a different religion--she just wants to be a "non-Jew by choice." She grew up going to Jewish day school; her father's a Holocaust historian. At her house, she quips, every day was Holocaust Remembrance Day. Family vacations (instead of going to Disney World like other people) revolved around trips to Holocaust memorials. "Why would anyone want to belong to a religion that was all about loss, grief, and persecution?" she muses.
Lauren manages to convince her parents to send her to the public high school. But even there--where incidentally they have a much better basketball team for Lauren to play on--she can't escape the legacy of the Holocaust, however much she might try. When she sees some of her friends--including Jesse, a boy she likes--playing Nazi war games, she is confronted with a dilemma. Should she betray her friends, and risk being a social pariah at school, or betray her heritage, by remaining silent?
While in many ways this is a "typical" teen novel with boyfriend and friendship drama, Lauren's struggle with her heritage is described in an entertaining and also thought-provoking way that make the novel highly readable for teens. Jewish young people are likely to be particularly attracted to this novel, particularly because of the intriguing title!
The novel's protagonist, Lauren, doesn't want to be Jewish any more. It's not that she wants to be a different religion--she just wants to be a "non-Jew by choice." She grew up going to Jewish day school; her father's a Holocaust historian. At her house, she quips, every day was Holocaust Remembrance Day. Family vacations (instead of going to Disney World like other people) revolved around trips to Holocaust memorials. "Why would anyone want to belong to a religion that was all about loss, grief, and persecution?" she muses.
Lauren manages to convince her parents to send her to the public high school. But even there--where incidentally they have a much better basketball team for Lauren to play on--she can't escape the legacy of the Holocaust, however much she might try. When she sees some of her friends--including Jesse, a boy she likes--playing Nazi war games, she is confronted with a dilemma. Should she betray her friends, and risk being a social pariah at school, or betray her heritage, by remaining silent?
While in many ways this is a "typical" teen novel with boyfriend and friendship drama, Lauren's struggle with her heritage is described in an entertaining and also thought-provoking way that make the novel highly readable for teens. Jewish young people are likely to be particularly attracted to this novel, particularly because of the intriguing title!
February 5, 2017
I appreciate this book for what it's intended. It brings up a lot of important topics around religion, finding your own identity in it and just exploring different aspects of what it means to the MC to be Jewish. I think it's the book that deals the most about religion that I've read without ever sounding preachy and I appreciate the questions it brings forward about religion and heritage.
However, as a story, I felt I couldn't really connect to the MC. Lauren had some serious communication issues with everyone, her dealing with being upset was to just stay quiet and pull back from everyone.
Lauren questions a lot about her heritage and being religious, but we never see her reach for answers or talk about it with anyone. The book focuses on these topics but the MC never concludes n anything, the book just ended and we never got to a conclusion.
I liked the romance but again, I felt like Lauren was in it just half way and barely showed actual interest in Jesse beyond her inner thoughts.
I just feel like the climax of the book is missing, when she talks to someone about her questions and issues with being Jewish and talks everything out with Jesse.
I'd recommend this if you're interested in the subject, I've seen many reviews where people really seem to enjoy it. It just wasn't for me :/
However, as a story, I felt I couldn't really connect to the MC. Lauren had some serious communication issues with everyone, her dealing with being upset was to just stay quiet and pull back from everyone.
Lauren questions a lot about her heritage and being religious, but we never see her reach for answers or talk about it with anyone. The book focuses on these topics but the MC never concludes n anything, the book just ended and we never got to a conclusion.
I liked the romance but again, I felt like Lauren was in it just half way and barely showed actual interest in Jesse beyond her inner thoughts.
I just feel like the climax of the book is missing, when she talks to someone about her questions and issues with being Jewish and talks everything out with Jesse.
I'd recommend this if you're interested in the subject, I've seen many reviews where people really seem to enjoy it. It just wasn't for me :/
July 4, 2013
I think that I'd really like to give this 2.5 or 2.75 stars, but again, no real way to do that on here, so bumped up it is. Leanne Lieberman's title is one of the best things about this book, since it makes you do a double-take and might even draw a few reluctant readers to it. There were positives and negatives to the book that pretty muched equaled out to be a decent read. Positives: Lauren and her friends seem real enough, it's not a "typical" (if there is such a thing) Holocaust book, Lauren's struggle with her Jewish identity and what that means in terms of who she is and who she wants to be is interesting. Negatives: controversial or important topics (like high school boys playing at being Nazis) were only explored on a superficial level, Lauren's panic attacks could have really been central to the story but weren't, Zach's autistic characteristics could have been a really interesting side story, but it was never fully developed, Lauren's relationship with Jesse and her parent as well as her friends needed to be more fleshed out. All in all, the plot's lacking a little, but it was still interesting with an interesting main character and a quick read that took me no more two hours.
December 2, 2013
Lieberman, Leanne. Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust.
Lauren Yanofsky has decided not to be Jewish anymore. She does not want to participate in any religious activities with her family, does not attend the Jewish youth group with her friends, and especially doesn't want to hear any more about the Holocaust. Lauren has decided to ignore her Jewish heritage and try to be normal, when one day some of her friends decide to play a war game involving water guns and swastika armbands, and suddenly Lauren has to decide what really matters to her.
I didn't like this book particularly, but I didn't think it would be my kind of book from the beginning. Lauren is a pretty typical mixed-up teenager who questions her heritage and also defends it from her peers. Not much changes by the end of the book, although Lauren does decide that it's okay to question her beliefs and decide what's important to her. I could definitely see this book being popular with my patrons who are fans of chick lit.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: underage drinking, language, Lauren has several panic attacks due to her excessive study of the Holocaust
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars
Lauren Yanofsky has decided not to be Jewish anymore. She does not want to participate in any religious activities with her family, does not attend the Jewish youth group with her friends, and especially doesn't want to hear any more about the Holocaust. Lauren has decided to ignore her Jewish heritage and try to be normal, when one day some of her friends decide to play a war game involving water guns and swastika armbands, and suddenly Lauren has to decide what really matters to her.
I didn't like this book particularly, but I didn't think it would be my kind of book from the beginning. Lauren is a pretty typical mixed-up teenager who questions her heritage and also defends it from her peers. Not much changes by the end of the book, although Lauren does decide that it's okay to question her beliefs and decide what's important to her. I could definitely see this book being popular with my patrons who are fans of chick lit.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: underage drinking, language, Lauren has several panic attacks due to her excessive study of the Holocaust
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars
September 26, 2013
Lauren Yanofsky is a typical and funny sixteen year old starting her junior year of high school. She’s getting ready for the upcoming basketball season, crushing on the boy next door, and trying to figure out why her best friend is pulling away from her. She’s also dealing with a pretty major identity issue: she doesn’t want to be Jewish anymore. As someone who attended Hebrew school until high school and who’s family is very involved at their temple, this is a Big. Deal. Lauren’s choice comes down to the Holocaust- her father is a Holocaust scholar, and she feels like it is THE defining event in Jewish history. Lauren is funny, relatable, and I thought the way she started exploring faith itself was realistic. I actually liked that the book didn't focus too much on her brother, who has autistic qualities, or most of her friends- the story isn't about them. It's about Lauren's relationship with her religion, her best friend, and Jesse, and those plot lines are the ones that are most developed. I would recommend this to anyone as a great coming of age.
March 17, 2014
This book added up to more than the sum of its parts. The cover art and jacket copy are okay but nothing special, certainly not up to the standard set by the provocative, witty title. I worried this story would be pretty heavy-handed, as Tolerance is a good thing for young people to learn about and all.
It's not heavy-handed at all. It's a fun, plot-driven teen novel with likable characters getting into the usual adolescent troubles--dating, smoking, fights with parents, and, oh yeah, the Holocaust.
Lieberman is a talented writer whose characters act, for better and worse, like young people you may know (or remember knowing.) They aren't saints, and they're not evil, but sometimes they just do dumb stuff. This dumb stuff is the catalyst of an engrossing story, where no one is as selfish or stupid as they may first appear, and learning your history is closely intertwined becoming an adult. Highly recommended.
It's not heavy-handed at all. It's a fun, plot-driven teen novel with likable characters getting into the usual adolescent troubles--dating, smoking, fights with parents, and, oh yeah, the Holocaust.
Lieberman is a talented writer whose characters act, for better and worse, like young people you may know (or remember knowing.) They aren't saints, and they're not evil, but sometimes they just do dumb stuff. This dumb stuff is the catalyst of an engrossing story, where no one is as selfish or stupid as they may first appear, and learning your history is closely intertwined becoming an adult. Highly recommended.
June 11, 2013
From the novel’s first page about Lauren Yanofsky’s first day at grade eleven in a public school, this gripping tale is a page turner of enthralling events, vividly portrayed characters and teenage growing pains, a book that captivates young adults, as well as the not-so-young adults. The novel is all the more riveting because it brings out through its interesting and unusual plot the emotional struggles of Lauren who has regarded her Jewish upbringing and the all too frequent recounts of the Holocaust as excessive and unwarranted, until a war game among her school peers, including dream guy Jesse, strikes her as offensive and insensitive, and awakens in her a renewed sense of belonging towards her heritage, and a deepened feeling for humanity. Lauren Yanofsky Hates The Holocast makes a great and very satisfying summer read all around. Highly Recommended.
April 26, 2014
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust because it has a tendency to take over her life. The daughter of a Holocaust historian and devout Jewish parents, Lauren can't seem to escape the discussions of the horrors of the Jewish people. And she's tired of it. Tired of feeling like her culture has the market on tragedy. Lauren is a teenager struggling with identity is many ways, but all of which bring us closer to her and leave us hoping that she finds a balance. Balance with her family. Balance with her friends, and the sort of on again - off again boy that preoccupies her thoughts.
A recommended read for those who like realistic fiction. My only quibble would be the denoument was too swift and didn't give as much closer as I expected. Be that as it may, it was excellently written with consistency and flow.
A recommended read for those who like realistic fiction. My only quibble would be the denoument was too swift and didn't give as much closer as I expected. Be that as it may, it was excellently written with consistency and flow.
March 5, 2013
(4.5 stars) Leanne Lieberman is one of my favourite Orca authors. Her characters are fresh and funny and wrestle with interesting issues. In this one, Lauren is sick of always hearing about the persecution of the Jews. Her dad is a holocaust scholar and she has read extensively on the subject. When the boy she likes plays a game that involves wearing swastika arm bands, she must address what it means to really remember the holocaust. There is always a bit of humour in Lieberman’s heroines and I like spending time in her worlds.
March 24, 2014
Okay, I abandoned this book because the main character/narrator got really annoyed. I mean, super annoying. So annoying to the point that all I could remember about this book is this: Jews, Jews, Holocaust, death, and that's pretty much it. It's as bad as reading Ernst Hemingway (I think that's his name) and his book about bells, bells, bells. That's all I remember about that book. Bells, bells, bells.
Yep. Sorry, author. I had to abandon the book. The whines of the main character were too much for my eyes.
Abandoned point: 60 percent
Rating: Two out of Five
Yep. Sorry, author. I had to abandon the book. The whines of the main character were too much for my eyes.
Abandoned point: 60 percent
Rating: Two out of Five
May 7, 2015
Lauren, doesn't want to be Jewish any more. It's not that she wants to be a different religion--she just wants to be a "non-Jew by choice. Her dad is a Holocaust historian and she has read way too much on the subject, to a point that is causes her anxiety attacks. There are typical high school issues mixed in with religious issue throughout this book. It is told with light banter and funny moments.
November 12, 2013
A realistic story about a 16 year old Jewish girl who doesn't think she wants to be Jewish anymore. I liked how realistically Lauren is written but I feel like there was a few too many elements in the book, like the Holocaust, and panic attacks, and friends growing apart, and romance, and tolerance, and an autistic little brother (although he is never identified as such.) It's a lot for one book. (Amanda)
December 24, 2013
This book interested me because of the title. Lauren is tired of the Holocaust as a topic because it's what she's heard about all her life from her Holocaust-historian father. I think the teenage characters were very real, and I liked the story, but I'm not quite sure about the book in general. There seemed to be more of a resolution to her romantic issue than to the issues she had with being Jewish - at least for me. I'm not sure she ever really figured out her feelings about the Holocaust.
March 28, 2013
A really thoughtful read not about the Holocaust, per-se, but about one girl's struggle to figure out her Jewish identity, and how it relates to the rest of the world. She has some complicated, but understandable feelings about the Holocaust and being Jewish, and the novel deftly explores these issues. Highly recommended for ages 14+ due to some swearing and underage drinking.
April 15, 2013
Lauren's dad is a Holocaust expert. While other kids got to go to Disneyland, she got to go to concentration camps. She's tired of the whole Jewish thing and decides to give it up – until some kids at school start playing Nazi war games. Then she has some hard decisions to make. Takes a very grave topic and wraps it in humor in a way that is not denigrating at all; authentic teen voices.
August 28, 2013
Very believable story about a teenage girl who resents being Jewish and having to hear about the Holocaust all of the time. When she catches her friends playing Nazi war games, Lauren struggles over what to do: does the Holocaust matter enough to her to speak out? This story grabs you and doesn't let go. Girls grades 8 and up--especially those who are questioning their religion.
November 11, 2013
A realistic story about a 16 year old Jewish girl who doesn't think she wants to be Jewish anymore. I liked how realistically Lauren is written but I feel like there was a few too many elements in the book, like the Holocaust, and panic attacks, and friends growing apart, and romance, and tolerance, and an autistic little brother (although he is never identified as such.) It's a lot for one book.
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