Once More with Chutzpah

Written by Haley Neil

Narrated by Cady Zuckerman

In this moving YA debut, Tally grapples with questions about her Jewish identity, mental-health struggles, and sexuality while on a temple exchange trip through Israel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666541076

Haley Neil

Haley Neil is a recent MFA grad from The New School, where she specialized in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She previously obtained her Masters in Education while working full time as a preschool teacher. She loves school, teaching, and going to school to learn about teaching (as well as walking her rescue pup through her Massachusetts town and pretending she's on a home baking show). Once More with Chutzpah is her debut novel.

Reviews for Once More with Chutzpah

[DaisyTeragram · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Compelling YA story about finding yourself
I'm not sure what to think about this book. I expected a book with sapphic content. It's there in secondary characters, but not with the main character. Her only romantic encounters are with a boy. As a YA story, it's really good. It's complicated and it definitely made me cry but also laugh. The story is intense and feels real. I really liked all the characters. The plot is compelling. I don't cope well with stuff about the Holocaust but the mentions were pretty brief and well handled. This book had some surprising twists. I listened to the audiobook so it's hard to judge the writing, but I didn't hear any mistakes. The narrator is excellent. The story deals with trauma but it's still a happy and uplifting book about finding yourself.