Erica S. Perl is an award-winning children’s book author. Her latest novel, When Life Gives You O.J. is about a girl named Zelly who is miserable because she had to move from New York, where she felt she fit in, to Vermont, where her frizzy hair and crazy Jewish family and makes her feel like an outsider. Like most kids, almost-eleven-year-old Zelly Fried desperately wants a dog. Unlike most kids, Zelly has a very unusual grandfather named Ace. So when Zelly begs for a dog, Ace intervenes and Zelly ends up with O.J. instead. Who is definitely not a dog. What’s O.J.? O.J. is a practice dog made from an old plastic orange juice jug with a dog’s face drawn on the side. Now Zelly’s not just the new girl or just the weird new girl (tongue sandwich for lunch, anyone?) — she’s dangerously close to becoming the weird new girl who walks around dragging a dumb old plastic jug, her practice dog. Is Ace’s plan so crazy it just might work, or is it just plain as Ace would say me shugge?
When Life Gives You O.J. — just selected by Amazon as a Best Book of the Month in June — is a book that all kids (girls AND boys!) ages 8-12 will want to take with them this summer on that long drive or plane ride or have included in their summer camp care package. Believable characters, a hefty dose of humor and a fast-paced, age-appropriate storyline makes O.J. a winner with both kids AND their parents.
Click here to view the official book trailer.
This book is a great summer read! Even as a parent I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I plan on sending it straight to my 8-year old niece, who I know will love it as well! I am a dog lover, so I naturally related to Zelly’s desire for a dog and trying to convince her parents to allow her one. But my favorite part of the book is Zelly’s transformation and how she deals with the issues of friends, fitting in, and dealing with her family. The entire book was very real, and very believable with the things she was going through. I think it gives a wonderful message to pre-teen kids about having self-esteem, and making right choices. I am definitely interested in Erica Perl’s other books, and would highly recommend When Life Give You O.J. to everyone!
When Life Gives You O.J. was released on June 14th and retails for $15.99. You can purchase this book through Erica Perl’s website or on Amazon.
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Disclosure: I received a copy of When Life Gives You O.J. for free in order to try the product and form an opinion for this review. I was not compensated in any other manner. The opinions expressed above are my own.