PRESS RELEASE

NEW YOUNG ADULT NOVEL GOY CRAZY BY JOURNALIST MELISSA SCHORR ASKS TEENS: WOULD YOU DATE SOMEONE IF YOU THOUGHT YOUR PARENTS WOULDN'T APPROVE?

Boston, MA — In 'GOY CRAZY,' Melissa Schorr's comedic young adult novel, Rachel Lowenstein, a New York Jewish teen sneaks a date with a Catholic boy — certain her parents wouldn’t approve.

While the book touches upon interfaith dating among Jewish and Catholic teens, it is truly a universal story about dating someone from any different background, be it religious or racial. 'I think every teen can relate to wanting to date someone their parents might not be thrilled about,' says first-time author Melissa Schorr, a freelance journalist. 'At the same time, what their parents think matters a lot to teens, even though they don’t like to admit it.'

GOY CRAZY is a funny take on a serious issue. According to a 2005 survey by the Washington Post/Harvard University, 45% of teens say they have dated someone of a different race. However, while society moves towards more color-blind acceptance, traditionalists fear for the continuation of their heritage. For example, nearly half of all Jewish newlyweds now marry outside the faith, according to the 2000 National Jewish Population Survey, and some Jewish day schools have created rules dictating that students' prom dates must be Jewish.

In GOY CRAZY, Rachel eventually learns what her parents' beliefs about interfaith dating truly are, but ultimately, must decide for herself what qualities she values in a potential boyfriend.

The book was inspired by a humorous essay the author wrote for GQ magazine in 1997 entitled 'The Joy of Goys,' based on her own experience as a teenager and young adult dating non-Jewish men. Schorr would be willing to serve as a source for a feature story about the challenges for teens dating a boyfriend or girlfriend of different background.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Schorr is a freelance journalist born in New York City and currently living outside Boston. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and was a 2000 Knight Fellow at M.I.T. in Cambridge, Mass. She has been a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun, the Oakland Tribune, and ABCNews.com.

In addition, her work has appeared in publications such as GQ, People, Glamour, Self, Allure, Marie Claire, Baby Talk, Teen People, Working Mother, In Style, Esquire, San Francisco, National Geographic Traveler, Wired magazine, as well as newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and the San Jose Mercury News, and websites including Lifetimetv.com, Reuters Health, and WebMD.

GOY CRAZY — 0786838523 — $15.99 — Hardcover — 341 pages — Pub. Date: September, 2006 — Paperback Pub Date: May 2008