OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy

Jewish girl. Christian camp. Holy moly.

Ellie Taylor loves nothing better than a good argument. So when she
gets accepted to the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer
camp, she’s sure that if she wins the final tournament, it’ll be her
ticket to a scholarship to the best speech school in the country.
Unfortunately, the competition at CSSPA is hot-literally. His name is
Devon and, whether she likes it or not, being near him makes her sizzle.
Luckily she’s confident enough to take on the challenge-until she
begins to suspect that the private scholarship’s benefactor has negative
feelings toward Jews. Will hiding her true identity and heritage be
worth a shot at her dream?

Debut author Amy Fellner Dominy mixes sweet romance, surprising
secrets, and even some matzo ball soup to cook up a funny yet heartfelt
story about an outspoken girl who must learn to speak out for herself.

I’ve
been wanting to read this one ever since I first heard about it, and
I’m so glad I finally did. It’s a cute, easy read, and I’m glad to find a
book that will be appropriate for my younger middle school readers, but
doesn’t feel so “middle grades”. The overall plot arc is a little
predictable, but kind of like a good chick flick-you know what I’m
talking about, right? The one you really want to go see because you just
need some comfort watching and pure entertainment even if you know how
it’s all going to go in the end? It follows a safe formula for reluctant
readers, while adding in elements of religion and needing to be true to
self that make it resonate on a deeper level and send the kind of
message I want my students to read.

Secondary
characters are fun, but this book really focuses on Ellie and what
she’s going through. I have to say, I’ve never read a book about speech
students, but it added a new twist that gave some unique depth to the
story. Ellie is a fun character who really goes after what she wants.
There is, of course, a boy, and a best friend, and a family, and one
hilariously entertaining grandfather involved. Right wins out in the end
by standing up for oneself, and there are some really strong messages
throughout about prejudice and trying to fit in and doing things for the
right reasons and making sure that you are comfortable with your
actions. OyMG is just a fun, cute, light read that I will definitely be
handing off to my students right away. I look forward to reading Amy’s next book as well!