So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow

"I want to start a band."
This is it: the reason I asked Jonas over to my house, the reason I spent all of my camp cash on a secondhand Fender. My big Plan for junior year, my scheme for getting noticed--and possibly getting Sari at the same time.
Jonas blinks. "Can you even play?"
In response, I drag my amp--also secondhand--out of the deepest corners of my closet. [...] I strum the first few bars of Nirvana's "Lithium," knowing as I do that Kurt Cobain will have maximum impact on Jonas. Sucker has no idea that the man knew, like, three chords.
Jonas' eyes widen, impressed, and I know that I've made the right call. (35)

Ari Samuel Abramson is a junior at Gittleman High school, which is a Jewish day school. In an attempt to become popular, Ari convinces his girl crazy best friend Jonas, the most religious kid in school Yossi, and Yossi's freshman sister Reena. Calling themselves the Tribe, their first gig is a one song wonder at a Bar Mitzvah. Playing their smash hit, a ska version of "Hava Nagilah", they make friends with the Jewish bouncer at a club and enter a Battle of the Bands. But fame has it's downside too, as Ari realizes that the girl of his dreams might not see him in the same light. If you want a totally new perspective on the Jewish and rock community, read So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow.

AMY