It took a bit to process this book and sort out how I really feel about it. I agree with some other reviews I've seen saying that it could have been better, there is so much more that it could have offered.
I mean, it's okay, but not great. I wouldn't tell someone not to read it, but it also would not be one that I'd immediately think of to recommend it. ( )

Lauren Yanofsky Hates The Holocaust was an enjoyable read that could have been so much more. As the daughter of a Holocaust historian and the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Lauren has had a thorough education in the history of Jewish persecution, and ultimately decides she is done with being Jewish. She refuses Jewish high school, Jewish camp, temple activities ... she even flirts with developing some kind of anti-bat-mitzvah ritual in order to de-convert. This is a subject that many young Jews struggle with as they come into adulthood -- not just about their relationship to Jewish history, but what it means to be Jewish in the modern world. Lauren has some deep, complex thoughts and actions about this that are brushed over in order to get to the "action" -- the cute boy and the implausible anti-Semitic war games that lead to her intended moral quandary. I found the outcome rushed and disappointing. Lauren had the potential to be fully realized as a character but the author missed the mark a bit.

This could easily be intended for a younger (grades 6-8) audience but the unnecessary inclusion of profanity and dwelling on alcohol use makes it better for a high school audience. I received this through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program. ( )

Lieberman, Leanne. Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust. Custer, WA: Orca Book Publishers, 2013. Print.

I just finished reading Leanne Lieberman’s Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust, which is about a Jewish teen, Lauren, who has decided she is no longer “Jewish” because she feels that the Holocaust and other awful historical events are what defines being Jewish today, and she does not want to have to think about those depressing things anymore. Meanwhile, her autistic brother, Zach, is rebelling against his parents’ wishes to complete his bar mitzvah.

Then, Lauren is at a party when many boys begin pretending they’re Nazis, complete with swastika armbands, as part of a game. One of the boys playing this game is her crush, Jesse. It is then that she has to make a decision to stand up to them and explain how insensitive and inappropriate it is to play a Nazi game – or stay silent and avoid the subject altogether, like she had originally planned as an “emancipated Jew.”

I thought that this book was just okay. It was an easy read, and the point of view provided a unique perspective on what it might feel like to be a modern Jewish teenager, but I felt like it took a long time for the plot to really start moving – and when it did, it was pretty anticlimactic. I also felt that it ended abruptly; I was surprised when I turned the page and the book was over. The last scene was a good way to end the book, but it could have lingered a bit to provide more closure and answer the question of “so what?”. In addition, the swearing and sexual references were unneeded and felt out of place, especially when it came to the character of Jesse. I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to root for him or hope Lauren stayed away from him. I’ll put this book on my shelf, but it certainly won’t be one of my personal favorites. ( )

Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.

Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust was an interesting read, but it wasn't all that I hoped it would be. I guess that I just expected it to be more profound, or for it to be...I don't know, just more? In the end, I liked this one but I didn't love it. The ending was a little too abrupt, and the character relationships could have been better. But those are the only problems that I had!

I liked that the focus of this book seemed to be growing up and finding yourself. All of the things that Lauren experience have probably happened to all of us, and that made her a good character. She was completely honest with herself, and she had a no fear way of looking at life. She knows exactly what she wants, even if she isn't always able to immediately achieve it. One thing about her did bother me, though. She's able to so easily dismiss her heritage (she's Jewish), but she keeps coming back to it over and over.

I don't think that I would be able to dismiss my heritage-- even if I did continually come back to it. Not in my cards, you know? But Lauren tried so hard to be different, and she kind of was. For a teenager, she has some really complex thoughts about heritage and such-- but I definitely believe it! I loved seeing a racial minority for once!

And in the end, I think that Lauren really did grow as a character-- and I respect her as one. She made some good choices, even if they weren't always something that her friends agreed with. All in all, I liked this, even if I didn't love it! ( )

Lauren Yanofsky is a typical eleventh grader: she has a crush on her biology partner, is upset that her best friend is hanging out with a new clique, and thinks her parents are clueless. But she's unique as well. Her father is a Holocaust professor and for a while, she read everything she could about the Holocaust. But after she started having panic attacks, she not only stopped wanting to hear anything about the subject, but decided to "de-convert" from being Jewish, not a decision easily accepted by her parents. When she catches the impossibly desirable Jesse playing Nazis in the park with some boys, her tenuous grip on her relationship with the Holocaust is caught in the cross hairs. How bad is the boys' game? Can she still like someone who would play Nazi? Should she tell?

This was a quick and quirky read by Canadian author, Leanne Lieberman. I personally had some problems with the drinking, smoking, and lying to the parents, but the situation Lauren finds herself in is one that I would like to discuss with my own daughter. Where is the border between stupid and anti-Semitic? What do you do when someone you like does something wrong? And how do you balance a Jewish identity with an American childhood?

This is a young adult book that I received through the Early Reviewers program. ( )