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emilyctrigg 's review for:
Once More with Chutzpah
by Haley Neil
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Once more with chutzpah is the story of Tally and her twin, Max, going on a student exchange trip to Israel. They're Jewish teens who struggle with feeling "Jewish enough" and what it actually means to be Jewish. Something happened back home about six months ago, and Tally and Max are both still healing and grieving from that time. Tally hopes this trip to Israel will pull Max out of his depression and make him magically well enough to submit all of his college applications.
This story was a truly heartfelt story about family, identity, friendship, first love, mental health, and grief. I related a lot to Tally's descriptions of anxiety, and I think those sections were done really well. I won't speak to the sections about Jewish/queer rep since those aren't identities I claim.
Haley Neil did a great job of making the stakes all feel so high-- I remember how it felt to be in love for the first time as a teen and to be alone, away from home. Those are big emotions and I truly felt like Haley described those scenes how I would have when I was 18. I'm incredibly impressed with her writing skills.
It's also worth mentioning that a lot of changes were made in this title from February 2021 til now. Haley Neil listened to critiques about her original plotline of a teen going on a Birthright trip and change the premise to be a school/temple trip instead. This inherently changes a lot of the context of the story and removes the Israeli propaganda element of the scenario. Haley also did a good job talking about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and how it's very complex, but Israel is currently doing wrong by Palestinians. I truly think Haley did a great job of listening to very valid criticisms and making this a story that represents her experience without discrediting the experiences of others. Obviously, take my review with a grain of salt since I am not Israeli, Jewish, or Palestinian.
The narrator for this title was fabulous and I would love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her.
Once more with chutzpah is the story of Tally and her twin, Max, going on a student exchange trip to Israel. They're Jewish teens who struggle with feeling "Jewish enough" and what it actually means to be Jewish. Something happened back home about six months ago, and Tally and Max are both still healing and grieving from that time. Tally hopes this trip to Israel will pull Max out of his depression and make him magically well enough to submit all of his college applications.
This story was a truly heartfelt story about family, identity, friendship, first love, mental health, and grief. I related a lot to Tally's descriptions of anxiety, and I think those sections were done really well. I won't speak to the sections about Jewish/queer rep since those aren't identities I claim.
Haley Neil did a great job of making the stakes all feel so high-- I remember how it felt to be in love for the first time as a teen and to be alone, away from home. Those are big emotions and I truly felt like Haley described those scenes how I would have when I was 18. I'm incredibly impressed with her writing skills.
It's also worth mentioning that a lot of changes were made in this title from February 2021 til now. Haley Neil listened to critiques about her original plotline of a teen going on a Birthright trip and change the premise to be a school/temple trip instead. This inherently changes a lot of the context of the story and removes the Israeli propaganda element of the scenario. Haley also did a good job talking about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and how it's very complex, but Israel is currently doing wrong by Palestinians. I truly think Haley did a great job of listening to very valid criticisms and making this a story that represents her experience without discrediting the experiences of others. Obviously, take my review with a grain of salt since I am not Israeli, Jewish, or Palestinian.
The narrator for this title was fabulous and I would love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her.