How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

My Review:
This one was good and entertaining but not great. I have only read two of Simone Elkeles’ books before but I thought she did a really great job with creating such deep characters faced with impossible odds. From that standpoint I would have to say this story was more “light” reading with the characters not as well developed. Even if you hated some of her other characters, you understood them and where they were coming from. Amy is a typical 16 year old who is concerned with her boyfriend, summer vacation, and the clothes she is wearing, ect. But when she gets a call from her estranged father saying Amy’s grandmother is sick and he wants her to come to Israel for the summer, her world is turned upside down. I liked that this story was set in Israel which is always fun to watch as characters explore a new culture and interact with the people. Amy was really funny at times and made me laugh out loud which is always the mark of a good story in my book. One thing I will say is I have high hopes these characters and this story will grow on me because the full story is set in three different books. All in all I was entertained and that is the whole point of reading to me anyways.