This Is Just a Test

by Madelyn Rosenberg

a brand-new book

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Jewish, Historical, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Madelyn and Wendy,
Thank you for assisting me in ridding my psyche of the trauma that has been with me since I watched The Day After with friends in our college dorm. That movie made quite an impression on my 18-year-old self and reading this book was tremendously good therapy. This book and its companion (Not Your All American Girl) are brilliant! Having lived through the 80's as a teenager, I can attest to the strong sense of time. The characters in both books are so engaging. As with the companion/sequel, the grandmother conversations are gold. The pine cone trick -- hysterical! The narrative centers around David's upcoming bar mitzvah, but also has enlightening trivia and glimpses into junior high in that time period. Please, please tell me that you are working on another book about the Horowitz family.
Sincerely,
Darla Dykstra

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Pre-teen David is a character any reader would feel sympathy for. His Chinese grandmother and his Jewish grandmother both want to take charge of his Bar Mitzvah. The Cold War and the movie The Day After have put everyone on edge (this is 1984), and David’s best friend wants help digging a fallout shelter. He’s being pretty stubborn about who he plans to let use the shelter, which makes David uncomfortable around other friends. Between all this, school work, and studying his Haftarah portion for his Bar Mitzvah, David feels like his life is spinning out of control.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's 1983 & David's got a lot on his plate. Between preparing for his upcoming bar mitzvah, dissolving tensions between his grandmothers & friends, trying to balance out his Jewish & Chinese cultures, as well as the fear of death after watching The Day After. It's so much to handle! Rosenberg & Wan-Long Shang do a fantastic job of blending both poignant & humorous scenes throughout as David is just trying to get through the year.

Obviously, I'm a sucker for books with 80s references. While it's clear of the time frame TEST is set in, the references don't overwhelm or distract from the story. The friendship woes between David, Hector & Scott were substantial & leads to the reader to the conclusion that we are not meant to go through life alone; people need other people. The relationship between David's grandmothers & the battles that ensued made me laugh, which rarely happens. I also loved how both sides of David's heritage was portrayed as he discovers that he is in fact, enough. He is all of both.

An enjoyable tale of discovering that peace starts with yourself, in your own backyard. That, despite fears, with others, we can still survive. A great collaboration that I feel many readers will gather something from.

[Mid-Continent Public Library]

Dear Madelyn and Wendy,
Thank you for assisting me in ridding my psyche of the trauma that has been with me since I watched The Day After with friends in our college dorm. That movie made quite an impression on my 18-year-old self and reading this book was tremendously good therapy. This book and its companion (Not Your All American Girl) are brilliant! Having lived through the 80's as a teenager, I can attest to the strong sense of time. The characters in both books are so engaging. As with the companion/sequel, the grandmother conversations are gold. The pine cone trick -- hysterical! The narrative centers around David's upcoming bar mitzvah, but also has enlightening trivia and glimpses into junior high in that time period. Please, please tell me that you are working on another book about the Horowitz family.
Sincerely,
Darla (from Red Bridge)

[Shenwei · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny and thoughtful portrayal of the middle school woes of a Chinese Jewish American preteen trying to keep the peace and find his voice during the 80s

[Madelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

BAR (Biased Author Rating)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In recent years several novels have popped up chronicling boys approaching bar mitzvah. This Is Just a Test joins their ranks as a wholesome, relatable, heartfelt read.
David Da-Wei Horowitz, half Jewish, half Chinese is undergoing a lot of conflict. His grandmothers bicker constantly over cultural differences. He is torn between maintaining a friendship with one of the most popular kids in school and standing up for his best friend. The Cold War is heating up. What should he write about for his bar mitzvah speech?
This book does an excellent job of drawing parallels between keeping peace with David's grandmothers, his friends, and the impending nuclear war between two of the nation's superpowers. David is instantly likable. Most readers will likely relate to his less than top dog status, his desire to keep peace amongst his family members, and his inability to speak coherently in the presence of Kelli Ann Majors.
Having been a child of the 80's I appreciated many of the references (Trivial Pursuit!) However, I was not particularly worried about nuclear disaster, certainly not to the extent David was, building a fallout shelter in case Russia pushed that button. But then I've never been one to worry over the big things such as war, terrorism, natural disasters. No, I was far more likely to stress about forgetting to wear clothes to school or not being able to make it to class on time.

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book about friendship, family and culture.
I love all of the 1980s references!

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. David was so true-to-life and the struggles of middle school so real.

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 5 out of 5]

David doesn't know what should worry him more . . . nuclear war or his upcoming bar mitzvah. It might be the latter, depending on how his Jewish and Chinese grandmothers decide to behave. Or misbehave.

[Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has anyone here watched the Goldbergs?

[Lisa Bernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book is set in 1983-1984, it has a lot that speaks to many people today. David's family is Jewish and also half-Chinese. His grandmothers battle for cultural dominance in David's family life as he prepares for his Bar Mitzvah. David also learns the importance of speaking up while balancing teenage concerns about family, friendship, and popularity, against the backdrop of the Cold War. This was an excellent book. One thing irked me, though: the frequent use of the phrase "being bar-mitzvahed." A more proper usage is that one becomes bar mitzvah, comes of age and is a son of the commandments. Toward the end of the book, David reflects, "Until then, I'd though of a bar mitzvah as a thing--not as a person. Not as me." This could have explained away the earlier usage of being bar mitzvahed, had he learned from that and not used it again later in the book. Other than that picky detraction, I thought the book was really excellent and had much to say to modern mixed-identity families.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistic historical fiction about a middle school kid growing up in the early 1980s.
David's family is half-Jewish and half-Chinese - both of his grandmothers live nearby, and they constantly clash about their cultural differences. Meanwhile, he's experiencing middle school friend-drama. He joins a school trivia team! Also, it's the cold war, and one of his new friends wants to dig a fallout shelter, but leave his other friend out of both the process of digging the shelter, and the safety of the shelter when it's time to go under.

This has been on my list for a few years (it came out in 2017), and I found it very engaging.
David is relatable, and I learned some interesting trivia! (Did you know banana peels can help with headaches?)

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would make a good read aloud as it lends itself to much discussion about how things were "back then." David is a realistic character who has to deal with school, life, and battling grandmothers. The friendship problems ring true and many students could relate to David's dilemmas.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

i rated it 5 stars because i like when the were digging a shelter because of a movie

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who was a Jewish kid living in the suburbs in the early 80s, I found this book very relatable. David is a believable 13 year old character- not overly precocious but with enough depth to be engaging. The anxieties and joys of being a kid in this era were well captured. I celebrated my bat mitzvah in December of 1981. And I read 1984 in 1984. 🙂

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story! What a great middle-grades book. Loved the interactions between the characters and the protagonist’s voice throughout.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can be challenging to find YA/MG fiction with a Jewish main character that isn’t centered on the Holocaust. This book fit the bill and included great opportunities to wrestle with cross-cultural questions. Considering it as a real aloud for my classes next year.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up from 3.5. This was fun! Didn’t realize Hanukkah would feature, so that was a nice surprise considering that’s in less than a week. It’s always great to get books about PoC Jews; those are basically impossible to find. Mostly, I think the authors did a great job at portraying those struggles everyone faces at thirteen: how to stand up to people, your less-cool friend dragging you down and how you pull away from them but feel guilty about it, having a crush you’re too nervous to act on. This is worth reading.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this and thought the main character was authentic and interesting, but I'm not sure it will appeal to older middle grade readers or YA fans.

[Moira · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book! And in these times of institutionalized intolerance, it's a perfect read about a child who is half Jewish and half Chinese.

David's life, as he approaches his Bar Mitzvah is a bit more complicated than most 12-year-olds. He can't speak in normal sentences to the girl he likes; he is seriously worried about nuclear war; and his grandmothers fight. All the time. On top of that, he has a new friend--one who isn't keen on including his oldest friend. How David deals with these issues is charming, funny, sweet and at times downright amazing. And the exchanges between the grandmothers--like Wai-po telling Safta that she can make better latkes in her wok--are so funny you will laugh out loud.

Kudos to Rosenberg and Shang for such a warm, funny and thoughtful treatment of adolescence and cultural diversity.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was worried at first that this book would be too goofy. That didn't last long and soon I was caught up in David Da Wei Horowitz' world. He's a Chinese Jewish kid getting ready for his bar mitzvah. He struggles to intercede between his squabbling Jewish and Chinese grandmothers, while figuring out how to get his two best friends to get along. All this is set against a backdrop of fear about nuclear war.
The book is witty and sweet and finished off with an ending filled with important messages about love and peace.

[Joey Gremillion · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, I didn't read this book in one day. I forgot to add it to my GoodReads account. This has to be the WORST kids book I have ever read in my life. Horribly written, trite and, like MOST modern books for Jewish children, tries TOO HARD to educate and enlighten rather than entertain and engage. I wanted to throw this book against the wall, but did not do so because it is a library book. AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL!!!! I would give it NEGATIVE stars!!!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love funny middle-grade, you need to have this book on your shelf. Every scene featuring David's warring grandmas is comedy gold! Also, this is probably the most seamlessly cowritten book I've ever read. Kudos to the authors, who clearly had a great time with this story. Lucky readers won't be able to help loving it.

[Brittany]

Too much nostalgia for nostalgia's sake for me; I'm not sure kids will care for the detail of 80s life and trends that made their way into here. Outside of these things and the ill-explained Russia/Soviet/US tension, the story could have easily taken place in a more contemporary setting. And the story, IMO, wasn't even that original or moving.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read with engaging characters. The ending is particularly well done with conflicts between characters resolved in sweet surprises. Be sure to read the touching Author's Note at the end.

[OWen · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was terrible. It just was awful.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This middle grade novel takes readers back to 1983, when the Cold War had the United States and the Soviet Union building nuclear stockpiles aimed at each other and tensions between the two countries were very high. Network television aired the movie The Day After, which showed a town in Kansas taking a direct hit from a nuclear missile. The movie showed in blunt terms what would happen to us and our lives if such a terrible thing ever happened.

This is the backdrop for the main character, David Da-Wei Horowitz, a seventh grader who is Chinese and Jewish, who is trying to prepare for his upcoming bar mitzvah and also dealing with the stress of his feuding grandmothers, the stress of trying to win the school trivia contest, and the stress of building a fallout shelter with one friend, while leaving his best friend out.

I must confess, that I was drawn in quickly because I was also in junior high school in 1983. I remember everyone watching The Day After on TV on a Sunday night and discussing it in class the next day. I also became very nostalgic with references to Atari games, pudding pops, and Trapper Keepers.

But I also liked how the author developed the characters in a way that makes them seem like kids of today. Many of the problems of middle grade kids are the same as they were 34 years ago! I also liked that we get a glimpse into David’s religious life as he discusses some of his worries with Rabbi Doug and as David and his family plan for his bar mitzvah.

There is humor in the story. One of my favorite parts was when he was at the shopping mall with his grandmother to buy a new suit and he was trying to avoid running into other kids from his school. But there is also some really great messages for kids - especially in his bar mitzvah speech:

“Listen to what others are telling you and what they're not telling you.
Speak up. Especially for those who can't speak for themselves. Or when poison ivy is involved.
Respect your family - they got you to where you are, and you're not going anywhere without them.
Don't leave anyone out.
Support your friends and construction projects.
Be brave, especially when it's hard, because that's when it's the most important.
Thing big, whether it's a fallout shelter or science fair project.
Apologize when you're wrong.
Work for world peace by making peace where you are.
No matter how bad it gets, never push the button.”

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Identity! Intersectionality! Chinese and Jewish grandmothers arguing about the correct way to play mah-jongg! Trivial Pursuit! The "Great Thanksgiving Table War of 1983"! (see page 80)

And the pervasive fear about nuclear weapons and the uncertainty of world leaders being able/willing to maintain a perilous accord.

That's a lot for a seventh grader to handle.



Our protagonist is David Da-Wei Horowitz, a boy whose life was already quite complicated enough, thank you very much. He's busy preparing for his bar mitzvah, dealing with all the trials of middle school friendship, and trying to keep peace between his two grandmothers, Wai Po and Granny M.
But after he got talked into watching a television program about nuclear war, he finds that there's a lot more out there to worry about. And those things aren't as cut-and-dry as his new friend seems to think.
On top of everything else, he's just entered a trivia contest and is determined to beat the eighth graders. Not a spoiler, just a comment. Is this a nod to The View From Saturday? The tone of this book is quite different, and the contest itself plays a different role in this book, but I couldn't help wondering if this was intentional.

The search for identity or a sense of self is a common theme, especially in books featuring characters from multiracial families/with mixed religious or cultural heritage. But there still aren't nearly enough of those stories for middle grade readers.
And I can't *remember* the last time I read a chapter book with a Chinese-American protagonist who is also Jewish.
(Frankly, I was also just happy to have a middle grade novel about a Jewish boy that is set in the 1980s and not the 1940s! Yes, those stories ABSOLUTELY DO need to be told, but we need kids to see other parts of the Jewish experience too.)


The bickering between the grandmothers felt a bit much at times, but the resolution to that arc really rings true emotionally and works within the narrative. There's one particular scene between Granny M/Safta and Wai Po in which Wai Po is in hospital and refusing to let them cut off her wedding ring - the vulnerability and compassion in an act as simple (or not, as the case may be) as Safta removing her own ring... oof. I think recent personal experience with grieving grandparents and friends gave this a certain amount of extra weight, but there was a single line there that absolutely *clobbered* me.

[Alexis Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So in the book it is about this kid named David. He is a Chinese Jewish American. One of his grandmothers is Jewish and the other is Chinese. Davids grandmothers fight over everything and David just wants them to get along. To add on to his grandmothers fighting issues he also has a bar mitzvah coming up soon and he is afraid that his grandmothers are going to fight the whole time on his special day. He also has 3 friends named Scott, Hector, and Kelli Ann. So it is about his wonderful journey to becoming a man with some bumps on the road.

I did feel that this book was a great story read. I first love this book because it tells all the struggles he has and it shows that younger kids still have issues too even if they aren’t as bad as adult problems. Second I love this book because it is exiting that David and Scott try to dig a bunker to survive a nuclear war after watching a movie about war. And lastly I love this book because it shows that you need to appreciate everything you have. I think this book needs no improvement.

I would recommend this book to maybe 10 yrs and up because it does say problems that younger kids wouldn’t really understand usually it it would more impact someone a little older. I think that whoever likes to read about a heartwarming story about a kid and his different religions, family issues, and friends. And all the adventures he has along the way. Before reading this book I have to warn you that this is a great book and I thought it was one of the best books I have ever read.