An Israeli immigrant's journey to become a "real" American.

With their mother caring for relatives in Israel and their father driving a cab all hours of the day, Roxanne and her sister, Gayle, spend a lot of time watching television reruns of Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, and Wonder Woman—perfect examples of perfect Americans. Roxanne is desperate to be like them.

When Liat, a fellow Israeli, moves into the "Cursed House" next door, things begin to change and Roxanne realizes that maybe real life isn’t like TV—maybe it’s even better. The novel is set on Staten Island, New York, in the early 1980’s.

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### From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–When Roxanne's mother returns to Israel to care for an ailing relative, the 13-year-old and her younger sister are left to fend for themselves. They eat cold cereal and canned mushrooms for dinner every night or buy hotdogs from the neighbors, and spend their afternoons and evenings watching television while their father works late nights as a cab driver in Manhattan. But when Liat moves into the cursed house next door, Roxanne slowly discovers that her obsession to become all-American might not be as important as she once thought. Confident and unconcerned with what others think, Liat is proud to retain her Israeli name (Roxanne has changed hers from Ravit) and is not embarrassed by her father's clothes, thick accent, wildly decorated car, or outrageous girlfriend. The fact that Liat's house does turn out to be cursed–a mysterious house fire forces the family to return to Israel–seems a bit far-fetched, but it does add drama to the story. Roxanne's fixation with television quickly becomes tiresome, and today's readers might not relate to all of the aspects of 1980s culture sprinkled throughout the narrative, such as the coveted winged hairstyle. Despite these weaknesses, this is a readable coming-of-age story that captures many universal aspects of the contemporary immigrant experience coupled with middle school angst, first crushes, and the importance of finding one's own wings.*–Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL*
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### Review

Roxanne (Ravit) Ben-Ari is an Israeli-American girl growing up in 1980s New York City. Family life is less than idyllic, with her mother away in Israel and her father working late into the night as a cab driver. The long afterschool hours are spent watching favorite television reruns, eating sporadically from a nearly empty refrigerator and managing to get by with homework assignments. Roxanne aches for her mother's safe return and longs to fit in with her all-American schoolmates, the very reason she changes her Hebrew name. When Liat, a new Israeli girl moves into the empty "cursed" house on the block, Roxanne's attitude on life and her family circumstances is transformed. Liat's Israeli pride brings a fresh perspective that encourages a new confidence in Roxanne, who can then identify with and appreciate her family and dual cultural lifestyle. Told in a first-person voice that is both sardonic and sincere, Friedman's novel succeeds in bringing forth some common issues that challenge any immigrant American child who must straddle separate ways of life while striving for that true-blue American image. --Kirkus Reviews

Eighth-grader Roxanne misses her mother, who has gone home to Israel for several months to care for a relative. It's the early 1980s, in Staten Island, and Roxanne's other big concern is her family's lack of throrough-going Americanness; being Israeli, she has decided, is a problem. She and her nine-year-old sister live on a diet of television, cold cereal, and waiting for their father to return late each night from driving his cab. Then Liat, a girl Roxanne's age, moves in next door and challenges the sisters to explore the possibilities around them and accept their identity as Israeli Americans. The denouement, in which Liat's father packs her up for another move, this time back to Israel, feels rushed. But Friedman does an exquisite job in bringing the two older girls to life and showing how each has responded to her family's upheavals and current circumstances. Minor characters are also compelling and, for the most part, endearing. --Booklist