Rachel Lowenstein can't help it. She's got a massive crush on a goy: Luke Christensen, the gorgeous star of the basketball team at St. Joseph's prep. But as the name implies, he's not exactly in Rachel's tribe. Rachel just knows her parents would never approve.

Then Rachel's Jewish grandmother issues a stern edict -- "Don't go with the goyim!" -- sealing Rachel's fate and presenting her with a serious dilemma.

Should Rachel follow her heart and turn her back on her faith? Or should she heed her family's advice and try and find a nice Jewish boy?

Never Mind the Goldbergs by Matthue Roth

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Non-Fiction:

Got Issues Much? Celebrities Share Their Traumas and Triumphs by Randi Reisfeld and Marie Morreale

Gather your favorite readergirlz together for a fun book party for Goy Crazy. Make sure to e-mail us a picture of your readergirlz celebration. If we post it, you'll win a special readergirlz prize!

Eats

1. Rachel thinks that her parents won't approve of her dating a boy who isn't Jewish. Have you ever wanted to date someone, but thought your parents wouldn't approve? What did you/would you do?

2. If a parent wants their child to only date or marry someone of the same race or religion, does that make them prejudiced? Why or why not?

3. Do you think there are any benefits from being friends or dating people of different backgrounds from your own?

4. From Rachel's perspective, her family was not very religious, but still made religion a priority in who they wanted her to marry. Do you agree with Rachel that this was hypocritical?

5. Luke suggests that Rachel should get a tattoo, but she's not sure she really wants one. Meanwhile, her friend Jen plays strip poker to impress her boyfriend and his friends. Have you ever seen smart girls do dumb things to please boys? What would you tell them?

Justina Chen Headley: Where did you get your inspiration for your novel?

Melissa Schorr: My own life. The idea to write a book about interfaith dating started almost ten years ago when I wrote an essay called "The Joys of Goys" for GQ magazine, based on my own life experiences. At first, I wanted to write a non-fiction book about my own life, a real-life "Sex in the City" about dating a slew of non-Jewish guys. Then -- whoops! -- I met this great guy, who just so happened to be Jewish, and -- even bigger whoops! -- I ended up eventually marrying him. So, that basically killed that book project (sob, sob).

It only took another decade or so until I realized the story could be fictionalized and set back where it all began, in my teen years, when my parents were always pressuring me about whom I dated.

So when people ask me how long it took to write the book, I like to say that while literally, GOY CRAZY took about a year to actually write, in a sense, I've been writing it my whole life -- by living it.

Most importantly, my book doesn’t try to send some kind of message, either for or against, interfaith dating. I just hope the book will help teens and parents talk about the issue, and maybe help any teen also dealing with that feeling of pressure like I did.

Lorie Ann Grover: How autobiographical is it?

Melissa Schorr: Very. My parents always pressured me as a teenage to date Jewish boys. Once, my own grandmother, like Rachel's, actually said to me, in her thick European accent: "Mal-ees-ssa, don’t go with the goy-im." So of course, like every teenager, I did the exact opposite. Just like Rachel, I did once meet a sexy non-Jewish boy at a party and snuck off to meet him.

Dia Calhoun: What is your writing process? Do you ever get writer's block?

Melissa Schorr: I try to daydream a lot about my story, keeping it in my subconscious, even when I'm not actively working on it. I tend to write a lot of it away from the computer -- visualizing it as a movie and hearing the characters talking to each other in my head. I have an outline of what I think is going to happen, but sometimes the characters surprise me.

Janet Lee Carey: Who are your role models and why?

Melissa Schorr: My parents. To their credit, they always encouraged me to pursue a career in the arts, even though writing can be a tough pursuit. I joke that my parents "burdened" my ambition to be a writer by giving me such a happy childhood, without too much angst to draw upon. But, even so, I'm still subconsciously working out my issues with my parents, because parental approval seems to be a key theme in my next novel as well.

Justina Chen Headley: You mentioned that there has been some controversy surrounding the title of your book.

Melissa Schorr: Yes, some people are uncomfortable with my using the slang word "goy," which they see as being offensive to non-Jewish people. To me, this is like judging a book by its cover. From what I understand, all the word traditionally means is "people" or "nation." The negative connotation comes from how some people have used it, which is something Rachel actually agonizes over within the book. Basically, as a writer, I believe context matters, and here, the word is clearly being used affectionately, in a positive, not negative, way.

Lorie Ann Grover: What is your favorite part of writing?

Melissa Schorr: When the perfect line or scene pops into my head. Getting fan e-mails from readers. And finishing.

Dia Calhoun: We chose your book to represent fun. Can you please comment on why you think teen girls ought to know about this?

Melissa Schorr: The point of my book is that even though interfaith dating can be a serious issue, it's also okay to joke about it. Also, while I'd encourage teens to think about this, I'd also say that it's okay to date people of different backgrounds while you're still young, in high school. That's the whole point of dating, to have fun, to explore different options, and to learn about the world and yourself.

Divas: Thank you, Melissa, for the wonderful interview.

To learn more about our featured author, please visit her website http://www.melissaschorr.com

Also drop by her MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/melissaschorr

Discuss the book at http://groups.myspace.com/readergirlz

Additional interviews with Melissa Schorr:
Little Willow interviews Melissa Schorr at Bildungsroman
The Book of Life Podcast featuring Lorie Ann Grover and Melissa Schorr