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Not So Shy

  • Interest Level: Grade 4 - Grade 8
  • Reading Level: Grade 3

Twelve-year-old Shai hates everything about moving to America from Israel.

She’s determined to come up with a plan that will get her back home. Maybe she can go back with her grandparents when they come to visit. Or maybe she can win a drawing competition that offers a plane ticket to any destination in the world as the grand prize. Meanwhile she’s stuck navigating seventh grade in a language that used to be just a subject in school. As Shai faces antisemitism but also gains support from unexpected sources, she starts to see her new life with different eyes. Maybe home is a place in the heart.

A Sydney Taylor Honor Book

Format Your Price Add
978-1-7284-2792-8
 $9.99
978-1-7284-8113-5
 $23.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on hardcovers and ebooks when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Grade 4 - Grade 8
Reading Level Grade 3
Category Diverse Books: Celebrating Differences , Diverse Books: Immigration & Refugees, Diversity, SEL: A Self-Awareness, SEL: B Self-Management, SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: D Relationship Skills, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2023
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Kar-Ben Publishing ®
Language English
Number of Pages 256
Publication Date 2023-04-04
Text Type Fiction
BISACS JUV039250, JUV039120, JUV039060
Dewey [Fic]
Dimensions 5.25 x 7.5
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Awards, Reviewed, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Awards

  • Notable Award Sydney Taylor Book Award Middle Grade Honor, Commended, 2024

Reviews

Jewish Book Council

Reviewed on 21 June 2023

“Noa Nimrodi explores both uni­ver­sal themes of alien­ation and the spe­cif­ic chal­lenges that Israelis might con­front when accli­mat­ing to a new cul­ture. Read­ers will empathize with Shai’s dis­tress.” ―Jewish Book Council

Kirkus Reviews

Reviewed on 11 January 2023

“Touching, tender, and heartbreaking.” ―Kirkus Reviews

Sydney Taylor Shmooze

“‘The heart is big enough to have more than one place to call home’… Emotionally relatable and help[s] readers ponder issues of prejudice and allyship.”―Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Association of Jewish Libraries

“At times comical and at times emotional…this heartwarming novel would be an asset to both public and Jewish libraries.”—Association of Jewish Libraries