Review: D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T.


D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T.

by Abby White

Levine Querido, 2025

Category: Young Adult
Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules
 

D.J. Rosenblum idolizes her cousin Rachel. At her Bat Mitzvah, nine-year-old D.J. gives Rachel a necklace with a goat charm because in D.J.’s estimation, Rachel is the Greatest cousin Of All Time. Four years later, when Rachel dies by an apparent suicide, D.J. is devastated. She can’t accept that her beloved cousin would have taken her own life. D.J. is convinced, instead, that Rachel was murdered. It is a theory D.J. has the opportunity to pursue when her mom decides to relocate to Rachel's town in an effort to support her sister through the grieving process. Thus, the beginning of the novel feels like a murder mystery. D.J. and her mom move to Briar, Ohio, where Rachel’s parents and her little brother Davey still live. D.J. enrolls in middle school and begins her quest to prove that Rachel would not have harmed herself. Along the way, D.J. enlists new friends with savvy tech skills to help her unravel the last months of Rachel’s life. Readers will get caught up in the mystery and hope D.J.’s instincts are right. They will also appreciate D.J.’s engaging, often humorous voice. D.J.’s mom is a lesbian who became a single mother via insemination. D.J. refers to her father as Sperm Donor and speculates what traits she inherited from him.

As the novel continues and the clues do not point to the conclusion D.J. wants, D.J.’s behavior hurts her friends and her family. When she finally faces the truth, her anger is both palpable and heartbreaking. An emotional scene takes place in a rabbi’s office where D.J. connects the themes of her Bat Mitzvah Torah portion to her own pain at losing a loved one. “She [Rachel] hurt every single person she loved,” D.J. cries to Rabbi Flores.

This book powerfully addresses the despair family members feel after a suicide. It also contains thoughtful wrestling with the Torah portion Acharei Mot. D.J. does the genuine work of questioning her Torah portion and finding meaning within it. There is never any doubt that D.J. and her family believe Jewish observance is important. They choose to celebrate the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Passover despite their grief. And when D.J.'s Bat Mitzvah is delayed because of Rachel's tragic death, they proceed with the ceremony a year later.

In D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T., readers will find a deeply touching story about accepting hard facts and learning to move forward. 
 
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Reviewer Jacqueline Jules is the award-winning author of fifty books for young readers including The Porridge-Pot Goblin, The Hardest Word, Picnic at Camp Shalom, Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva, Light the Menorah: A Hanukkah Handbook, and Never Say a Mean Word Again. Her middle grade verse novel, My Name is Hamburger, was a PJ Our Way selection. And her picture book, Moses and the Runaway Lamb, was a Junior Library Guild selection. She lives on Long Island and enjoys talking long walks along the water. Visit her online www.jacquelinejules.com.




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