When Life Gives You O.J. Review and Prize Package Giveaway

Jun 192011

As summer is really just getting started my daughters’ and I set out on a mission to create our own reading program. Each of us sets a goal of one to two books a week at our level and if we all make it, there is ice cream and pizza Fridays for all.

Now my girls are almost 7 and 6 but have very different ideas of what a good book is. My oldest reaches for the longest chapter books I will allow and breezes through them with little assistance (making me a proud mom) and my youngest daughter still loves books with many pictures. Though she is glad to take a long book as long as it involves animals.

So when When Life Gives You O.J. arrives I thought it would be a good book to challenge my oldest, over achiever. It did just that and in the greatest way. We had such fun reading this together. It was written on the ideal level for a young child to understand but the words were difficult enough that she will read this again when she is a pre-teen.

The adventures of Zelly Fried made even this mom laugh and keep on reading word after word. This is a must have for your young adult’s collection and a great save book for later on if they are young such as mine.

When Life Gives You O.J. by Erica S. Perl.

“A must read for all 8-12 year olds” and was selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Month for June, 2011.

Called a “warm novel about family, friendship, and fitting in” by Publisher’s Weekly, 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 – meshugge?

Critically acclaimed, but not stuffy or boring in the least, Booklist describes Zelly as a “sympathetic, believably flawed character” and goes on to say (spoiler alert!!) that, “In the end, Zelly’s triumph isn’t the dog she eventually gains, but the steps she takes to reach him.” And keep your eye out — the sequel to OJ — Aces Wild — is due out September 2012!

About the Author

ERICA S. PERL is the author several picture books and the young adult novel Vintage Veronica, which Publishers Weekly called “wonderfully fun!” In addition to writing books, Erica works at First Book, the groundbreaking non-profit organization that has provided over 70 million brand new books to children in need. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her family.

BUY IT: Purchase When Life Gives You O.J. (hardcover) directly from Amazon.com.

Win It:

One lucky Mom to Bed by 8 reader will receive a When Life Gives You O.J. Prize Package (as seen above).

Here is how to enter:

Tell me who you would share this book with if you won.

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See here for Extra Entries and contest rules!

Giveaway ends June 27th at 11:59pm Central. Contest open to US residents.

We disclose – I received a copy of When Life Gives You O.J. for purpose of review. My opinions and writings are my own. Please view our disclosure policy if you have any questions. All winners are selected by random.org, notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected.