Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa

Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa by Micol Ostow 2006

Rating: 2.5/5

IQ "It'd be nice to have real feelings, strong feelings for someone-as a person more than just a romantic entity. I'll bet that Lucy has real feelings for Rafael...which in turn leads to the suckiness. So unfair, life." Emily pg. 134

Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa tells the story of Emily Goldberg, a half Jewish, half Puerto Rican high school senior. She's never met her mother's Puerto Rican relatives until her Puerto Rican grandmother dies and her mother insists the whole family attend the funeral. Emily's always been curious as to why her mother doesn't talk about her Puerto Rican family, but she's always simply assumed that her mother didn't want to be a part of her family back in Puerto Rico once she moved to America. After all her mother moved to New York, went to college, married and converted to Judaism. She's never mentioned her Puerto Rican sisters or parents or extended family. But being back in Puerto Rico makes her mother nostalgic. She decides she wants to stay for a little while over the summer and Emily's dad wants Emily to stay with her. Emily reluctantly agrees although she's a little upset over the fact that she is missing the summer road trip her friends have planned and that she won't be spending time with her boyfriend, Noah before they both go to college. Emily's Puerto Rican relatives are polite, but many of them think she's spoiled and they all call her the 'nuyorican'. Emily's cousin, Lucy, gives her an especially hard time.

This novel is cute and predictable with some holes. Emily is a genuine character; funny, awkward, shy and astute. One of my favorite quotes of hers (besides the IQ) is "the moment feels pregnant, tense, brimming with potential and unspoken promises." I've never heard a moment descriebd as pregnant and I thought that was funny and clever. Her struggles are what the everyday teen goes through. She's worried that she and Noah aren't handling their distance well and she's not sure what they're going to do once they're both in college. They've never talked about their relationship in the long-term, like it states in the above quote, Emily starts to realize that she likes the idea of having a boyfriend, better than her actual boyfriend. Her struggle is over whether or not she can change her feelings and fix her relationship with Noah which is severely weakened by her being in Puerto Rico. Lucy was an annoying character. She has a grudge against Emily and viewed her as being a pampered princess. My problem with her was she held the grudge for so long when there was clearly evidence to the contrary that Emily wasn't spoiled and stuck-up. Emily's shyness could be perceived as snottiness but she quickly proves that she's not and I would have liked to see a better relationship between Lucy and her. Emily's boyfriend is a completely abstract character, which is fitting I guess, since we don't see much of him, but Emily thinks about him all the time so I was expecting a little more information on him. The secondary characters like Ricky, Rafael, Jose (Lucy's brother), Marisa (Emily's precocious ten year old neighbor) Ramona and all of Lucy's other friends are pretty flat as well. I especially wanted to know why Marisa was so fascinated with Emily.

I feel like the novel didn't fully explore Puerto Rico. In that, Emily didn't really get out all that much, she spent most of the time at home with her mom and one of her mom's sisters, Rosa (her mother has four sisters, but they stayed at Rosa's house) and her family. She didn't even visit her other relatives. It would have been nice if Emily asked questions about her Puerto Rican heritage but she never did. In truth she spent most of the time being timid and boring and she started to get on my nerves. She was genuine yes, but genuinely annoying. And she didn't even learn how to salsa dance till the last chapter! She did visit Old San Juan and a few other historical places as well as teen hotspots in Puerto Rico (clubs and malls) but there wasn't much detail about the people there and whether or not it was the same as American dance clubs and malls.

All in all, Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa is an enjoyable read, but the characters aren't particularly endearing or memorable. I'm sure this is a story I'll forget down the line, but it was an entertaining quick read. Emily's struggles are authentic especially in addressing the issues that arise the summer before going to college for many high school students, but she was just an ok character who didn't really discover her roots. 8th grade and up.

Off Color Male Monday: So Punk Rock

So Punk Rock by Micol Ostow, Art by David Ostow

Rating: 4.5/5

IQ "Instead, real life happens in drips and drabs. It gets portioned out in metered bites, some of which take more digesting than others. It happens frame by frame. Sometimes you get to linger, to soak in the surroundings. Some panels are more about ambiance than action, while others are pure cliff hangers. Real life is more like a graphic novel that way." Ari pg. 241-242


So Punk Rock is real life in graphic novel form! This novel is funny and the art is awesome and really adds to the hilarity of the novel. Ari Abramson wants to start an indie rock band, because he loves indie music and he wants to do something fun for once, that he wants to do, not what his parents want him to do. Ari's parents want him to go to Brandeis. They are constantly stressing him about his grades, forcing him to constantly work on improving his SAT scores (he's a junior but he takes practice tests, is enrolled in a test prep course and takes the actual SAT) and take as many Honors classes as he can. Ari attends Leo R. Gittleman Jewish Day School and he persuades his best friend Jonas to be bassist (and much to Ari's chagrin lead singer), Yossi Gluck to be the drummer and Reena Gluck to be back up vocals. Ari is lead guitarist. However, all four of them live in the suburbs and they don't really have a lot of credibility when it comes to be hard-core rockers. That and none of them (except Ari) know a whole lot about how to play rock music (or even an instrument in some cases). The result is a hilarious, bumpy, musical gig.

I really liked the characters in this novel. Ari is the main character and his narration is humorous and honest. He makes fun of himself with ease and sees the hypocrisy/absurdity of others quite well which really engages the reader. Ari only asks Jonas to be in the band because Jonas is popular with the ladies and will help them attract fans. Jonas has never played the bass before and he demands to be lead vocalist, never mind the fact that he can't really sing. Jonas is a decent friend, but he can be a real jerk. He's the alpha male and Ari's the beta male and their friendship is a bit complex (Jonas is clueless to the resentment Ari has towards him sometimes). Yossi Gluck is a loner and "High Conservative" (which means that he keeps kosher and only eats in Rabbi-approved restaurants and on the Sabbath he doesn't drive, use electricity or anything else that involves work). Yossi's family has a ton of money and he owns a set of drums (his parents wanted him to learn how to play klezmar music, which is a Jewish style of music) so Ari thinks he's a natural for being the drummer. Although Yossi's conservatism proves to be a problem on more than one occasion. He grows as a character and it's nice watching his transformation from a very quiet, not really into indie music, reluctant, religious kid to a guy who is able to stand up for himself, stand up to his friends, appreciate the indie culture and still maintain his faith. Major props to him for sticking to his principles and he makes they most interesting friends in the most random of places. The guys don't want Yossi's sister to be in the band at first, but Yossi's parents won't let Yossi join the band unless his sister is also allowed to participate. They want both Yossi and Reena to get out their shells and they see the band as the perfect way to do it (they even allow the band to practice in their racquetball court aka the "rocking-ball court"). Reena proves to able to sing incredibly well and she soon becomes a welcome addition to the band and The Tribe is formed. I loved thier tagline "Not your Rabbi's music." All the characters are developed nicely, including the minor characters who only make brief appearances such as Sari (Ari's love interest), Ben (Ari's cute but annoying little brother), Larafromcamp (aka Lara, Jonas' girlfriend from Hebrew camp) and Ari's parents. The romances are cute and watching Ari go from being a nobody and not knowing who he is, to becoming a somebody and learning who he is through an indie rock band makes for an engrossing coming of age story.

Now I don't listen to rock music, so all the rock band mentions were completely lost on me (I recognized a few names of artists that Ari's friend, Jonas listens to. Needless to say, Ari looks down on Jonas' music taste, since Jonas likes whatever is on the Top 40 charts). As I write this review, I'm listening to Lou Reed to help me get into the mood of the book :) I also loved learning about Jewish culture. The book doesn't provide a too-detailed portrait of Jewish day school and I would have liked to learn a little more about it, but the bits and pieces I read about were interesting. I think it would be difficult to only eat kosher (Jewish dietary laws) foods. It made me laugh at how the school cafeteria only serves kosher food so there is an underground food service (for example if you know the right person you may be able to get a slice of pizza, for a price). Jewish slang and humor was another great part of So Punk Rock. They all use the term "kosher" which is slang for cool. I laughed at the self-decrepitating humor Ari uses and I think the book does a good job of knocking down stereotypes of Judaisim and the Hebrew people.

The cartoons are great and very much add to the humor and understanding of the novel. David Micol did an excellent job. Micol Ostow did a great job writing in a boy's point of view, it doesn't feel fake or forced, but very genuine and realistic. I highly recommend this book to Jews and non-Jews alike. It's So Punk Rock and you will laugh as you follow the characters on their musical journey navigating the perks and trials of being a Jewish, suburban kid in today's world. I received a delightful intro into the world of Jewish Day school and indie music and it's one I won't forget. 8th grade and up. Very kosher :D