I really enjoyed Yoyo's story. I learned alot about the life of an Orthodox Jewish teen girl. I felt that the it rang true and her ventures into being not the perfect daughter were perfect for the book.

The thing that stops it from being a 4.5 or 5 star is the cover. It really comes across as a middle school book and this is definitely not for a middle school audience

I enjoyed this book immensely. Yoyo Gold was an incredible protagonist and I loved the lens into Orthodox Judaism. I thought Isaac did an amazing job of showcasing different ways to be Jewish and I really liked that aspect. This was heartfelt and emotional and captured the questioning aspect of Judaism. The coming of age part was done well too, and I related to Yoyo as the older sibling. I loved her journey of self-exploration and I thought this book was just so well done. I'll happily read anything from Isaac, that's for sure! Thank you to Philomel Books for the ARC to read and review!

3.5 stars. I really like Yoyo Gold and I enjoyed this story but something about her experiences doesn’t ring true to me. I appreciate the somewhat accurate, but not whitewashed, depiction of Orthodox Jewry but Yoyo’s particular brand of teenage rebellion did not seem true to life. I know there are Orthodox teens who do all of the things that are depicted in this book but not teens like Yoyo Gold. It just literally would never happen. She would never break Shabbos or eat non-kosher or make out with a non-Jewish boy. I know this might seem tame for many and I don’t know Isaac Blum’s background or first hand knowledge of this community but there was just something not right about the details of this book. If this book was about Esti I would believe it, but it isn’t. A girl like Esti would NEVER beg her best friend to meet her at a non-kosher restaurant on a Friday night. Her parents world NEVER book her a plane ride on Shabbos. I know these might seem like small details but they aren’t. The intense meanness and bullying of YoYo’s friends also did not seem real. I enjoyed many aspects of this book and the relationship between YoYo and Shua was very sweet and I enjoyed a lot of the smaller family details (though I’ve never in my entire life heard someone say Friday Night Supper, never not even once) but I would expect more accuracy from a “insidery” book about the Orthodox Jewish community.
Thank you to Philomel Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book! The story is about Yoyo Gold, the daughter of an orthodox rabbi who is seen as kind of a pillar of her community for teen girls, or an extension of her father. But when her best friend gets sent away and then she starts hanging out with the daughter of a reform rabbi, who lives a very different life and has very different ideas of right and wrong, she starts to question the way that she lives and the rules of her community.

This was a really great YA coming of age story with good Jewish representation which I obviously love. I liked that the book showed different types of Judaism. It tackled religious criticism and questioned the way Yoyo was raised very well without being anti-religious or anti-orthodox.

I related a lot to Yoyo, though I didn't grow up in a similar environment to her I think that the anxiety and hard lessons that come out of growing up and finding your sense of self is pretty universal.

I really liked the romance in this book as well and thought it was very sweet, believable, and well written.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes YA contemporary books especially with Jewish representation. Thanks so much to Penguin Teen Canada for the advanced copy!!

I loved this book. I wasn’t even finished with the book by time I’d included it in my “best books of 2024” shelf. 4.75 stars. If I’d have changed anything I think I’d have just liked a few more pages at the end :)
At no point was I ready to finish this story. I was aware of how much I had left only because I didn’t want the story to end.
I have to say that I loved this author’s previous book The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen and wasn’t expecting to love Yoyo even more!

Yoyo is a teenage girl who is also orthodox Jewish. Her father is a rabbi. Yoyo takes her faith, and her father’s interpretation of that faith, very seriously.
She’s pretty much perfect. Her grades are good, she gets in absolutely no trouble, she even does community service and helps care for her younger siblings and cook dinner.

Then her best friend gets sent away and Yoyo starts to question things a little. Then a new friend asks her whether she does the things she does because *she wants to* or whether it’s because she’s been told she was supposed to. And Yoyo can’t even remember.

She makes the very rebellious decision to pay a teenage boy to unlock filers from her kosher phone. The boy goes by Shua.

After her phone is unlocked, there’s a bit of a Gossip Girl vibe where Yoyo posts some anonymous videos about other Orthodox Jewish teenagers who were acting out. She felt like they were being hypocrites for judging her best friend.

This is such wonderful coming of age story. It doesn’t matter what your religion is, you can relate to this story. Yoyo is trying to figure out who she is beyond all of the rules of her parents and of her religion. She’s trying to figure out what she believes is right. She wants to be a good person too.

I loved Yoyo and I loved Shua!

What a wonderful book! This author needs to keep writing books of this caliber :)

I got to read an early ebook edition, thank you!!

Yoyo Gold has done a great job of being a reliable daughter to her large family. She’s also done her best to learn and follow the tenets of the Jewish faith. Her father is an important rabbi in their community, and she’s learned much from him and her teachers. Up until she turned seventeen, Yoyo has never really questioned the Orthodox rules she and her friends are expected to follow. But those rules are beginning to feel rather restrictive, especially the ones about interacting with young men…
Interesting, relatable Y.A. fiction. I do wish there had been a glossary at the end for the Jewish terms; there were many I wasn’t familiar with, and would have liked having definitions.
*I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book. This book has my whole heart. I absolutely adored this! From the incredible characters, to the plot, to falling in love with everything so quickly- I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this! It really just sucks you in and makes you never want to leave. In my opinion, those are the best books and I couldn't get enough.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to learn about the Orthodox Jewish way of life. I also liked watching Yoyo find her voice.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

An interesting novel. Being an Orthodox Jew is not easy. This book follows teenagers as they wrestle how to navigate being religious and following on the difficulties in this day and age keeping the laws but living your life. So many temptations in this electronic world and fitting in. I’m not orthodox but would imagine it being very difficult. I think the author tried to depict this situation

The Judgment of Yoyo Gold by Isaac Blum is an insightful and thought-provoking novel that masterfully combines sharp wit with deep emotional resonance. Blum’s skillful storytelling and richly developed characters create a compelling narrative that is both engaging and impactful. The book’s exploration of complex themes with humor and sensitivity makes it a standout read that lingers long after the final page.

As a non-Orthodox Jewish person who has quite a few family members in the community, this book made me feel SEEN. It was so incredibly relatable watching Yoyo question her upbringing and the beliefs surrounding the Orthodox religion (which, if you aren't Jewish and you don't know, is much more heavy-hitting than Reform Judaism, which is much more liberal and modern). I think this is a particularly relevant book in today's society. I also loved the incorporation of the internet and going viral for someone who had no previous experience with this type of technology. I would put this on your list even if you don't practice, or even if you're not Jewish, as there are plenty of themes that mirror other religions and the current political climate.

This was a truly riveting story about finding your place in a world where you bridge multiple identities. When you try to belong to many worlds, inevitably you don't feel like you belong in any.

I am a Jewish reader, but I struggled a little with this because I was raised very differently and a lot less religious. I have some family members that are more religious, but it feels like a whole different world to me. This reads as a coming of age, Yoyo's best friend moved away and she's also falling in love for the first time. There's a plot line of her confessing everyone's sins anonymously on tiktok including her own that eventually gets her in some trouble. I liked her relationship with her siblings.

A surprisingly engaging coming-of-age story about Yoyo Gold — a young Orthodox Jewish girl who has always been a model for the community. She kind of has to be as she is the daughter of the rabbi and held to higher standards than most. As she explores and experiments with her place in the world — the one she has been raised to inhabit and other enticing options — she gets closer to understanding what is actually important to her.

I’ve always respected the questioning aspect of the Jewish religion, but I’ve never cared for the more conservative sects of any religion. Those are the groups where so much of daily life is proscribed that it feels too controlling — at least to me as a complete outsider. However, in this book I was able to see both sides of the religion — the questioning and the proscription — through the eyes of someone growing up in that culture. I was better able to see how the required conformity gave rise to a true sense of a close knit community that can be a strong attractor to a person contemplating the life they want to live. People seemed to have purpose and be apparently more free to experience the joys of life without the anxieties and neuroses that seem to plague so many people today.

I learned a lot about the orthodox culture — much of which was new to me, even though I’ve read about that world in the past. The characters were vibrant and had more depth of thought, responsibility, and inquisitiveness than most coming-of-age books I’ve read. I enjoyed seeing the interfaces between her community and people outside — reform Jews and non-Jews alike — through her eyes. Her thoughts, feelings, and experiences were quite real and her reactions easy to understand and to identify with. I also learned quite a bit about the practices of Orthodox Jews which were new and interesting to me — much more depth than the typical story covers.

I very much enjoyed reading The Judgment of Yoyo Gold.

Many of us have heard about the travails and annoyances of growing up a "PK" (preacher's kid.)
That being said, I don't know a lot (some, but not a lot) about Orthodox Jews and their traditions and rules. I find it utterly fascinating to learn about, and I had such empathy for Yoyo, being caught betwixt and between two worlds. It's hard for anyone to find their place in the world in middle and high school and her situation as the daughter of a Rabbi really compounded all of that.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a galley edition of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Blum's debut novel, The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, so when I saw that the ARC for The Judgement of Yoyo Gold was available, I requested it immediately. This book is a bit different than his debut, but it still combines the charm of a coming-to-age YA novel with deeper themes revolving around religious identity.

In The Judgement of Yoyo Gold, the titular character is a 16-year-old rabbi's daughter whom the whole community looks to as a shining example of Orthodox Judaism. But when her best friend gets sent to a boarding school for breaking some rules, she doesn't know where to turn. This leads to both an examination of why she lives the way she does and a realization that many in her insular community aren't practicing what they preach.

I love the way Blum comments on religion in this book. As a religious person myself, it made me think about the way I practice my faith and how to do so more intentionally. I think non-religious readers would also find the narrative fascinating, even if is wasn't as relatable.

I am also a sucker for romance, and this book had a sweet subplot that I looked forward to reading throughout the book.

I know I will be thinking about this story and the characters for a very long time.

Yoyo Gold is a rabbi's daughter, living in a tight-knit Orthodox community. Blum presents the Orthodox lifestyle with sympathy and clarity, at least for this gentile. The many terms in Hebrew that do not have easy equivalents in American English are still clear enough to follow.

The focus is on Yoyo, who as the rabbi's daughter not only has responsibilities as an Orthodox daughter, but who must be a living example to the community.

At the same time, she's a teenager on the verge of adulthood, with all the feelings that teens on the verge of adulthood feel. And the curiosity. Just as her bestie is sent away to a boarding school, and it seems as if the world has closed up, shutting her off as if forgotten, with no acknowledgment of Yoyo's grief at the separation.

Yoyo meets Mickey, the daughter of a reform rabbi, and the girls embark on a rocky relationship as Mickey introduces the world outside the Orthodox community to Yoyo.

One of the things I really like about Blum's books is the humor that laces his sharp observations about teens navigating in today's world, which includes the Internet. And how the teens in this community navigate the shoals of modern life, with four thousand year old rules and laws as their guide. These can be pretty obscure, maybe outright outmoded, but Blum shows the reader that the basic human striving for civilization, for respect for self and one's fellow human, have not changed.

Yoyo's quest to find her own truth, and define who she is, happens very fast, but that reads true to my remembered experience--and to the experience of the teens I know now. I love how Yoyo comes to see adulthood through new eyes, the beginnings of maturity--glimmerings of wisdom--and redefines herself with respect to her faith.

The Judgment of Yoyo Gold is a fun coming age of story that takes place within Jewish orthodoxy. Yoyo is in high school. Her father is the most respected rabbi in the community and, to date, Yoyo has seen herself as a critical part of upholding that respect. Yoyo does well in school, follows religious doctrine, and takes care of her younger siblings. Until Yoyo’s best friend is shipped off to boarding school for breaking the rules. Then, Yoyo starts to question everything she has believed.

This is my second Isaac Blum book and I liked them both. Yoyo is easy to like, despite her flaws and somewhat predictable trajectory. Yoyo’s detour off her prescribed life path happens very quickly, which felt dramatic to me, and then I remembered that vertiginous drama is actually pretty typical in high school.

I liked reading a book centering Orthodox Jew characters, their traditions, and the struggles some of them might have with their life path. Overall, I enjoyed this book. Recommended. 3.5 stars rounded up. With a little more editing to speed things along, this might have been a 4-star read for me.

A caveat: I am an adult reader and am Jewish. So... this just didn't come together or make a whole lot of sense to me. I thought there were too many places that simply didn't fly. I wonder who the target reader group really is? Is the author trying to present Orthodox Jewish life? Because I am not at all convinced that this is a good representation. And the author appears to be male. I'm not sure he really gets what is happening with his main character, a teen girl I'm happy to see Jewish life presented in YA lit but it just seemed off to me. However, if teens pick it up and read it and talk about it, then it has done its job. Who am I to say how it should be?

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I hope teenagers enjoy it.

Yoyo is the eldest daughter of a Rabbi has a lot of responsibility between school, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, taking care of her brothers and volunteering at the local food shelf.

There she meets Mickey who is a Reform Jew. Her mom is the new Rabbi at the Reform synagogue across town. Mickey shows Yoyo a whole new world of social media, mainly TikTok. With the filters to make her phone kosher, Yoyo is mesmerized by this new world and starts posting anonymous videos about what’s going on in town.

Dare I say this is the perfect YA book with everything a later teenager might face – pressure at school, social media, family expectations, boys…