Customer Reviews

13: A Novel

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In three months Evan will be 13. He is already planning his Bar Mitzvah when he learns his mom and dad are splitting up and he's moving to middle of nowhere Appleton, Indiana. On top of leaving NYC and his friends, Evan now has to plan his Bar Mitzvah in Indiana. He knows no one will show up and is horrified to know that it will take place in the basement of the Methodist Church. Even though Evan expects his life to be miserable he soon befriends Patrice, a pretty girl who loves old movies and is a little bit of a geek. Evan never has a problem with her until he becomes friends with Bret. Bret is an all American boy. He's the junior high's quarterback and is loved by all the girls and parents, for that matter. As Evan becomes more involved with Brett and his gang of friends he starts to lose sight of how friends are supposed to treat each other. As the weeks go by Evan gets tangled up with planning his "becoming a man" speech, more drama than he can handle, and a particularly weird situation which includes the movie The Bloodmaster. Evan soon learns that being a man isn't all it's cracked up to be and ends up learning more about himself then he ever thought possible.

I was quite pleased with this book. I don't always enjoy middle grade fiction because I find it hard to relate to, but I can vividly remember being 13. The author made an unforgettable character out of Evan that made me laugh out loud and reminisce about days when I was his age. I remember going through similar situations as Evan did and handling them just about as well as Evan did! This book also made me laugh. Just the style of writing and the words that came out of the character's mouths were funny. While middle grade novels may not be your first choice, I highly suggest you pick this one up and laugh along with the story. This book would also be good for reluctant readers. It's not particularly long, yet it is long enough to be a wholesome story. The message of self discovery and being your own kind of person is also a great part of this book. 13 was an enjoyable read that will keep readers wanting more.

I am getting ready to take my three kids to see this musical. They are 14,13, and 11. The 11 year old perfoms in a lot of community theater here in town and has some friends in this production. I hadn't heard of this previously so I researched it a little online and thought it sounded cute. Then we saw it at the bookstore the other day. I decided to buy it and we all could read it to prepare for seeing the show. The book is cute. Its the story of a 13 year old Jewish New York kid who knows his place in this world. Suddenly its uprooted when his parents get divorced and he must leave his friends and prospective new girlfriend to move to a stick town in Indiana. To make matters worse yet, Evan must plan his Bar Mitsvah in a place where he has no friends. Well that just has to change and Evan attempts to do ANYTHING to get popular friends and have them come to his party. What entails is a funny, sad, and then satisfying tale of a boy becoming a man...as much of one as can be when you are 13. Glaringly missing, by the very nature of this being a book, is the musical numbers. To that end, it felt incomplete...like something was just not there. I think I would have felt this way even if I didn't know it was a musical and should have had songs inserted. The book did its job though and made me very interested to see the show.

Just a few months shy of his 13th birthday, native New Yorker Evan Goldman is doing pretty well, he thinks. For instance, he's finally made contact with his crush's upper lip. But his celebratory bubble is burst when his parents announce an imminent divorce, and then his mother insists on moving him to middle-of-nowhere Indiana.

To make matters worse, Evan's mom is now insisting he have a Bar Mitzvah, even though there aren't even any other Jews in Appleton, and the only site available for the ceremony is the basement of the Methodist Church! But at least they found a nearby rabbi on the internet.

Still, things begin to settle, as they will. Evan makes a summer friend, Patrice, and then finds himself in the Dan Quayle Jr. High "cool" crowd headed by local football star, Bret. (Although this does limit his interaction with the outcast Patrice, who eventually stops talking to him.)

Now he's thinking that maybe the Bar Mitzvah won't be so bad, what, with a huge crowd of local, popular kids around him -- even if they aren't sure what a Bar Mitzvah is. But then, a misunderstanding makes him a pariah, and he is left wondering if he will ever fit in anywhere. And whether his mom and the rabbi will be the only people at the Methodist Church in a few days.

Interestingly, this novel is based on a musical. Sadly, it is a little trite. It's not quite so bad as, "Wait, I've seen this before. Wasn't it called Keeping up with the Steins?" (A charming little film, by the way.) But it isn't going anywhere that can't be seen a mile away either. The tension falls a little flat when you don't seriously believe that he'll never get a speech written, his Bar Mitzvah will be empty and Patrice will never talk to him again.

However, this might not be so bad for a twelve year-old audience, most of whom would be sorely disappointed in an ending where, say, nobody does show up to Evan's Bar Mitzvah. The themes are simple, "becoming a man" obviously chief among them, and should appeal strongly to those around Evan's age. Also, these are tween-aged worries. I remember having some of the same myself.

With the whole plot centering around the upcoming Bar Mitzvah, I was afraid that this might be solely a Jewish-niche book, but the themes are surprisingly universal. Replace the religious event with a big birthday bash, for instance, and you have a story that could be about just anyone. Moving, divorce, popularity, friendship, fitting in, growing up, family... this is the stuff YA literature is made of, and it is all here.

One aspect in which 13 really soars is the humor. Evan is a very sharp and witty narrator. The subplot with the terminally-ill Archie is often heartwarming, but more often hilarious. (Not at the expense of Archie, mind.) I'll forgive a book almost anything if it is funny.

I enjoyed 13, for the most part, and think it will serve it's target audience, 11-13 year old boys, very well. I think, as a fairly simple and quick read, it might be an easier sell for reluctant readers, especially those who will see themselves in the text. For adults, like myself, who enjoy reading a lot of children's and YA lit, not so much. It isn't a waste of time, but there are better things out there.

On the other hand, if the musical ever comes into town, I'm totally seeing it.

Ok, so first of all i seen the musical and i really liked it. The music was catchy and the story plot was good. When i saw this book i was a little hesitant to get it because i don't like books based off of screenplays. But i gotta say, this was very, very good. There was material that was never even touched in the play, and it really showed that growing up is tough and not everything turns out the way you want it to. But i read this in three days and i absolutely loved it. I would recommend all parents to buy this book for their 12 or 13 year old son. It was good!

Based on the musical of the same name, this novel focuses on 12-year old Evan, a New Yorker who's forced to move to Indiana with his mom when his parents split up. Just three months shy of his bar mitzvah, Jason must meet and befriend the popular kids in town so he has enough friends to invite to his bar mitzvah party. Evan struggles with the meaning of friendship, popularity, and what it means to be a man as he prepares for his bar mitzvah. A "fish out of water" story of a Jewish kid in Appleton, Indiana, this book made me laugh out loud. The story is populated with quirky characters trying to negotiate the social trappings of middle school, including a classmate with muscular dystrophy who wants nothing more than a date with the prettiest girl in town. It is a fun read for boys but also for girls, particularly if they are preparing for their bar or bat mitzvahs.

I love Evan and Patrice, and even Archie is not your run-of-the-mill physically disabled kid. The reader may know that Evan's Bar Mitzvah will turn out okay, that Evan will eventually get back together with Patrice, and that all loose threads will be tied up nicely, but the humor throughout is what makes this book so appealing. All in all, a very enjoyable Read!

13
JASON ROBERT BROWN & DAN ELISH
Contemporary Young Adult

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Twelve-year old Evan Goldman lives with his parents in Manhattan until his father leaves the family for another woman. His mother needs a change of scenery after the divorce, so they move to Appleton, Indiana in the middle of summer.

As Evan moves and gets adjusted, he meets a girl named Patrice who he really relates to. But when school starts, he is befriended by Brett, Fudge, Eddie, Lucy and Kendra. These are the cool kids. Patrice and Archie (another friend) are considered geeks. The cool kids and the geeks do not mix because of their personality differences. Evan has to figure out which group contains his real friends, who will attend his Bar Mitzvah, a discovery he makes after a bunch of strange and really humorous events.

This story is about a young Jewish boy entering puberty and becoming a man, and moving to a new state and adapting to a new life. It contains many universal themes - friendship, popularity, being true to yourself - to name a few.

I thought this was a great book! In fact, I read it in one sitting. It felt very authentic; the situations that Evan gets into are exactly the same situations a preteen would encounter. His reactions were typical, but presented in a way that was funny and made me want to keep reading. When Evan was a jerk to his friends to get in with the `cool' kids, I liked the fact that he humbled himself and made everything right with his true friends when he realized his mistake. This is a great book that most preteens would love. I loved it and would definitely recommend it to readers my age.

These are two authors I would read again. They love to hear from their readers. They can be reached through their respective websites at www.jasonrobertbrown.com or www.danelish.com.


Karoline
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
August 2008

13 is an easy read and a reat book for kids 11-14, the tween years. Can't wait to see the show which will premiere on Broadway October 2008.

In three months, Evan will be thirteen. He is already planning his Bar Mitzvah when he learns his mom and dad are splitting up and he's moving to the middle of nowhere -- Appleton, Indiana. On top of leaving NYC and his friends, Evan now has to plan his Bar Mitzvah in Indiana. He knows no one will show up and is horrified to find out that it will take place in the basement of the Methodist Church.

Even though Evan expects his life to be miserable, he soon befriends Patrice, a pretty girl who loves old movies and is a little bit of a geek. Evan never has a problem with her until he becomes friends with Bret. Bret is an All-American boy. He's the junior high's quarterback and is loved by all the girls and their parents, too, for that matter. As Evan becomes more involved with Brett and his gang of friends, he starts to lose sight of how friends are really supposed to treat each other.

As the weeks go by, Evan gets tangled up with planning his "becoming a man" speech, more drama than he can handle, and a particularly weird situation which involves the movie The Bloodmaster. Evan soon learns that being a man isn't all it's cracked up to be and ends up learning more about himself then he ever thought possible.

I was quite pleased with this book. I don't always enjoy middle-grade fiction because I find it hard to relate to, but I can vividly remember being thirteen. The authors made an unforgettable character out of Evan that made me laugh-out-loud and reminisce about days when I was his age. I remember going through similar situations as Evan did and handling them just about as well as Evan did! Just the style of writing and the words that came out of the character's mouths were funny.

While middle-grade novels may not be your first choice, I highly suggest you pick this one up and laugh along with the story. This book would also be good for reluctant readers. It's not particularly long, yet it is long enough to be a wholesome story. The message of self discovery and being your own kind of person is also a great part of this book. 13 was an enjoyable read that will keep readers wanting more.

Reviewed by: Tasha