Dreidels on the Brain
Written and Narrated By: Joel ben Izzy
Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
Remember the sweet things in Life
12-year old Joel is looking for a miracle this Hanukkah of 1971—it either has to come from the dreidel falling four times on one side (oops! that doesn’t quite work out!), or maybe snow (oops! not the right part of California for that!). Well, maybe if he makes this year’s holiday aaaaabsolutely perfect (good luck with that with a family like his—let’s start with making perfect latkes!). ‘Cause his life is kind of hard, and the world is not quite a really great place what with Vietnam, hippies, chopped liver.
Dreidels on the Brain is a delightful eight days of looking for miracles and trying not to fight with God. But then again: all Jews fight with God, some have even wrestled with Angels and have demanded blessings afterward…
The youngest of three boys (there’s also super-hopeful Kenny, and there’s super-grouchy Howard), Joel is struggling through the season. After all, to top everything off, he’s the only Jewish kid in his school. The worst part? His school is trying to be inclusive this year, and that means he’s been invited, or TOLD that he WILL be explaining Hanukkah to the ENTIRE school along with lighting the candles of the menorah with his ENTIRE family. Oh noooooo!
Join Joel as he navigates his way through his dad’s crippling ailments, his mother’s unfailing cheerfulness, his big-time magic acts (along with his ever-patient magic bunny named Herman), and his own crippling crush on his magician’s assistant.
The audiobook is filled with magic acts, sparring brothers, trying to find hope during awful times, wishes for something better, and ESPECIALLY lots of good food and Yiddish humor. Joel ben Izzy narrates this audiobook perfectly, with spot-on comic timing—getting that punchline in with a rimshot you can almost hear pattering in the background. It’s a very sweet book, with some kvetching but, more importantly, some really touching scenes. Particularly when Joel learns the true meaning of happiness during hard times: a Holocaust survivor prods him to always remember the sweet things in life, and hands him an orange.
I laughed quite a bit, especially since there’s nothing like a Jew cracking a really good joke and then feeling really, REALLY guilty about it afterward.
Will Joel get his Hanukkah miracle? Listen to this mighty fine audiobook to find out!
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