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How to Ruin my Teenage Life by: Simone Elkeles

Publication Date:

June 2007

Overview:

In this sequel to How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, EVERYTHING in sixteen-year-old Amy Nelson Barak’s life is going wrong! Her mom got married and moved to the suburbs, and now they are going to have a baby. Amy moves in with her dad in Chicago and signs him up for an online dating service. His first four dates are that night . . .

What else? Her dog Mutt impregnated her grumpy neighbor’s prized poodle, so Amy will actually have to get a part-time job to pay for half the veterinary bill. And there’s this totally annoying boy, Nathan Rubin, who just moved into her apartment building. Luckily, Amy has a cute boyfriend named Avi. Only he’s more like a non-boyfriend considering Avi is in the Israeli army for the next three years.

What’s a girl to do when everyone is conspiring to ruin her life?

My thoughts:

Things are getting harder all the time. Moving in with dad, mom getting married, and then mom's pregnant...rough and crazy time.

Mutt being her only sole comfort at times makes it fun and then Avi shows up. You'd think things would be great, but then things fall apart, because Nathan kissed her and she kissed him back. 

Dad won't get a date with the girl at the coffee shop even when she sets it up. Avi and her get back together. And poor Jess is really sad and lonely.

My rating:

5 stars

Up Next: 

How to Ruin my Boyfriend's Reputation

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by: Simone Elkeles

Publication Date:

October 2006

Overview:

Moshav? What’s a moshav? Is it “shopping mall” in Hebrew? I mean, from what Jessica was telling me, Israeli stores have the latest fashions from Europe. That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go to a mall with Ron (my biological father), but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home. 

Unfortunately for 16-year-old Amy Nelson, “moshav” is not Hebrew for “shopping mall.” Not even close. Think goats, not Gucci. 

Going to Israel with her estranged Israeli father is the last thing Amy wants to do this summer. She’s got a serious grudge against her dad for showing up so rarely in her life. Now he’s dragging her to a war zone to meet a family she’s never known, where she’ll probably be drafted into the army. At the very least, she’ll be stuck in a house with no AC and only one bathroom for seven people all summer—no best friend, no boyfriend, no shopping, no cell phone… 

Goodbye pride—hello Israel.

My thoughts:

Amy has always felt like a huge mistake. And when Ron her father unexpectedly shows up at her house and demands she travel with him to Israel for the summer, she freaks out!

Having spent very little time with someone who never seemed to want her, makes her insides scream and then this trip. And her mother makes her go! 

She acts up and causes so much chaos, everywhere that they think she's a spoiled brat. Until Avi confesses his feelings for her and she changes her mind and her plans. They start over together and they get a chance to have a relationship.

My rating:

5 stars

Up Next:

How to ruin my Teenage Life