Description: Hava is an Orthodox Jew punk going to high school in New York when she gets the call: she's wanted in Hollywood. So Hava packs her bags and goes to L.A. for the summer, where she'll play a disaffected youth in a TV sitcom about an Orthodox Jewish family ("They're so unorthodox, they're Orthodox!"). In Hollywood, Hava is swept up into the lifestyle of the rich and famous, parties and limos and illicit affairs. And through it all, she'll have to struggle to hold onto her religion and remain true to her faith, and to herself. When Hava returns to New York at the end of the summer, she'll be an entirely different person from the one who left it.
Review: I liked the premise to this book, and Hava's New York-to-Hollywood culture shock didn't disappoint. Hava is an amazing character, an Orthodox Jew who manages to be punk while still remaining true to her religion. She also thinks about being Orthodox and has reasons for why she complies with the strict rules. I loved learning more about Orthodox Judaism, which I hadn't known much about, and Hava's Hollywood coming-of-age story was the perfect setting in which to learn about it. The plot is a tiny bit pointless and doesn't really have much of a climax, but the character development and peek at Hollywood from an Orthodox perspective makes "Never Mind the Goldbergs" most definitely worth the read.