Books with author Judy Goldschmidt

Raisin is blogging away about everything from Roger Morris’s amazingly lavish bar mitzvah to the perils of leg shaving to her biggest challenge yet: her first kiss. Raisin knows exactly who she wants the kiss to be with—adorable, mysterious, cinnamon-scented CJ Mullen. But getting CJ to kiss her is turning out to be much harder than it should be . . .

Raisin on boys: I can’t believe Jeremy hasn’t figured out yet that cottage cheese is just milk nobody wanted. I was dying to tell him this, but sometimes you have to let people learn from their mistakes. Raisin on beauty: You know how they tell you to break open a vitamin A pill and spread it on your imperfections? I highly disrecommend it—I tried it last night, and now I smell like cod. Raisin on philosophy: Life is full of little lessons. For example, today I learned that when mothers say things like “today will be better than yesterday,” they don’t necessarily know what they’re talking about. Raising Rodriguez has just been dragged from Berkeley, California, all the way to Philadelphia. Now she has to start a new school, make all new friends, and adjust to living with her brand new stepfamily and their kooky dog. Luckily she can always vent to her two best friends from home in her secret blog. She’s telling them all her most personal and private secrets (not to mention some other people’s secrets). After all, it’s not like anyone else will ever read it . . . right?

It’s winter break and glamorous, globetrotting Raisin is flying back to Berkeley, California, to visit her dad and her best friends, Pia and Claudia. She’s got a serious case of advanced-stage exciteditis! Too bad it’s replaced with sudden-onset disappointmentosis as soon as she arrives. Everything’s changed! Pia and Claudia have replaced her with a total Raisin wannabe and her dad has a new gal pal who is so nice it makes Raisin sick. Even House of Pies has messed around with their menu (peach-blueberry ginger crumble? No thank you!). And to top it all off, CJ is doing an awful job of being the sympathetic long-distance boyfriend. There’s a nasty case of moving on-fluenza going around, and Raisin’s not too pleased . . . . . . but is it possible that she’s come down with it, too?

Twelve-year-old Raisin Rodriguez has been uprooted from her life in California and plopped down in Philadelphia with her mother, sister, step-father, step-sister Samantha, and Samantha's cross-dressing poodle Countess. The only way Raisin can survive the painful transition is by recording every detail in a secret blog she keeps for her best friends from home. Raisin shares her latest musings and spills about every humiliating incident that prevents her new friendships from taking off. She even describes the arrival of her dreaded period, just after her thirteenth birthday. But humiliation doesn't begin to cover what Raisin experiences when someone at her new school discovers her blog and prints it out for the world to see. This hilariously painful and heartbreakingly hysterical novel offers a glimpse into the mind and heart of a truly unique character with an unforgettable voice.

Raisin on boys: I can’t believe Jeremy hasn’t figured out yet that cottage cheese is just milk nobody wanted. I was dying to tell him this, but sometimes you have to let people learn from their mistakes. Raisin on beauty: You know how they tell you to break open a vitamin A pill and spread it on your imperfections? I highly disrecommend it—I tried it last night, and now I smell like cod. Raisin on philosophy: Life is full of little lessons. For example, today I learned that when mothers say things like “today will be better than yesterday,” they don’t necessarily know what they’re talking about. Raising Rodriguez has just been dragged from Berkeley, California, all the way to Philadelphia. Now she has to start a new school, make all new friends, and adjust to living with her brand new stepfamily and their kooky dog. Luckily she can always vent to her two best friends from home in her secret blog. She’s telling them all her most personal and private secrets (not to mention some other people’s secrets). After all, it’s not like anyone else will ever read it . . . right?

It’s winter break and glamorous, globetrotting Raisin is flying back to Berkeley, California, to visit her dad and her best friends, Pia and Claudia. She’s got a serious case of advanced-stage exciteditis! Too bad it’s replaced with sudden-onset disappointmentosis as soon as she arrives. Everything’s changed! Pia and Claudia have replaced her with a total Raisin wannabe and her dad has a new gal pal who is so nice it makes Raisin sick. Even House of Pies has messed around with their menu (peach-blueberry ginger crumble? No thank you!). And to top it all off, CJ is doing an awful job of being the sympathetic long-distance boyfriend. There’s a nasty case of moving on-fluenza going around, and Raisin’s not too pleased . . . . . . but is it possible that she’s come down with it, too?

Raisin is blogging away about everything from Roger Morris’s amazingly lavish bar mitzvah to the perils of leg shaving to her biggest challenge yet: her first kiss. Raisin knows exactly who she wants the kiss to be with—adorable, mysterious, cinnamon-scented CJ Mullen. But getting CJ to kiss her is turning out to be much harder than it should be . . .