On the Road to Happy, Goldy Moldavsky
On the Road to Happy, Goldy Moldavsky
List: $23.99 | Sale: $16.79
Club: $11.99

On the Road to Happy

Author: Goldy Moldavsky

Narrator: Mindy Escobar-Leanse

Unabridged: 6 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/05/2026


Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author comes a must-read middle-grade novel for fans of The Vanderbeekers on the Road, The Firefly Summer, and To Night Owl From Dogfish. This big-hearted story follows a girl who might just be in for a life-changing summer. . . if she doesn’t run away first.Gigi and her older sister, Yasmin, are spending the summer at a Jewish bungalow colony in upstate New York, thanks to their dad, who will be the handyman there. Sure, there will be day camp to go to, and the forest to explore, and maybe new friends to make. But Gigi doesn’t feel she fits in. Despite the fact that she’s Jewish too, she can’t help but feel that her Judaism is totally different from the other kids’. It doesn’t help that Mom isn’t around to talk to—she’s back in Brooklyn working. Yasmin has her own friends, and even though her dad speaks five languages, he and Gigi never seem to be speaking the same one.There’s only one thing Gigi can do—escape. So, she hatches a plan to run away. But unexpected surprises keep drawing her back. Like, why do the boys at the camp keep doing flips? What kind of lake has fish with mustaches? Can Gigi sneakily use her dad’s tools to build a secret treehouse? Try as she might, Gigi can’t figure out why everyone else loves this place so much. Will she eventually find her way back home, or will she—just maybe—discover something special hidden within the colony?

About Goldy Moldavsky

Goldy Moldavsky was born in Lima, Peru, and grew up in Brooklyn, where she still lives. Her novels include the New York Times bestseller Kill the Boy Band, the Publishers Weekly bestseller The Mary Shelley Club, and Of Earthly Delights. Her books have appeared on numerous Best Books lists and have been published in a dozen languages. She can be found on X and Instagram @goldywrites.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Melissa on March 16, 2026

This is a cute story! The main characters were realistic and relatable, the problems were the same. I loved the way Gigi found unexpected happiness through making new friends and trying things in a new way. Gigi is on a mission to runaway back to her home. Her father transported her and her sister to......more

Goodreads review by Melanie on May 16, 2026

Warm-hearted middle grade summer camp story with a main character who is unhappy about a summer at a Jewish bungalow village with her dad and older sister instead of at home in Brooklyn spending her vacation days with her mom and established friends. GiGi has her summer planned out but all those plan......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on May 03, 2026

Gigi spends the summer at a Jewish bungalow colony in upstate New York with her sister while her dad works as the handyman. Surrounded by new people, traditions, and experiences, Gigi struggles to feel like she belongs even within her own culture. She longs to connect with her father whose first lan......more

Goodreads review by Yapha on April 27, 2026

Gigi and her older sister are spending the summer at a Jewish family camp in the Catskills, where their father is working as a handyman. When I read this summary, I assumed it would take place in the 1960s (like Dirty Dancing). It did not. It took place in 1997. While it would be helpful to have a b......more

Goodreads review by Liza on February 25, 2026

FRTC - Will be reviewing this fabulous book for the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.......more