She's Dating a Goyim? Meshuggenah!

This book is a 2006 Cybil Award Nominee for YA Fiction.

It’s not every day that a boy comes along who is… well, reasonable. Rachel Lowenstein has been paired with all of the Jewish guys in her immediate family circle — even her next door neighbor, Howard, and none of them think she’s that great. Rachel is tired of seeing girls with bigger bra sizes score dates and partners at the Bar Mitzvah’s in the neighborhood. When she sees Luke Christensen bussing tables at her cousin’s wedding, she realizes that what she really wants is to date out of her safety zone. She wants to date a “goy.”

Her parents have never said she couldn’t date a gentile, but Rachel knows enough — she’s seen enough signs to make an assumption all right — plus her brother has turned into this Yeshiva scholar practically, and her parents can’t get enough of him. On top of everything else, Rachel’s nana told her once not to go with the goyim, not to hook up with people outside of the tribe — and now her grandmother is dead, and Rachel is stuck… Luke Christensen definitely doesn’t fit the parameters of a safe non-goyim bet (His “Jesus is my Homie” t-shirt is sort of a tip-off). He’s so not in the tribe, but he’s so cute, and he seems to really like Rachel… and she likes him. And so the lies, evasions and worries begin. After all, what’s a good Jewish girl to do when she’s gone Goy Crazy?

Melissa Schorr has written a lighthearted comedy about a serious issue — interracial dating. This fast-paced book, sprinkled with Yiddish, will leave readers wanting more.