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COMING OF AGE

Name: COMING OF AGE
Author: Jonathan Rosen
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3667-4

13 B'NAI MITZVAH STORIES

edited by Jonathan Rosen & Henry Herz ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2022

Short stories of varying quality centered around coming-of-age in the Jewish American community.

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B’nai mitzvah are a monumental part of many Jewish adolescents’ lives.

At age 12 or 13, Jewish children are called to the bimah to read from the Torah and become responsible adults in their Jewish communities. In the United States, this momentous occasion is generally celebrated with a large party. This collection of 13 short stories, plus one poem by Jane Yolen, is all about becoming b’nai mitzvah and coming-of-age. Some of the tales are poignant, more than a few are silly, but the majority unfortunately fall flat, being too short and lacking the necessary space to accomplish effective worldbuilding in sufficient depth, something particularly noticeable for the stories with fantastical plots. The introduction states that some of the stories are based on fact; the collection would have carried more weight if each of the narratives were accompanied by an author’s note speaking to its origin and inspiration. Rosen’s heartfelt introduction invites readers in, promising representation for Jewish readers, who form less than 3% of the United States’ population, and hoping to build bridges with non-Jewish readers. This book could appeal to those readers currently working toward their own b’nai mitzvah, but the lukewarm stories are not likely to attract a wider audience. Main characters are Jewish and presumed White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast.

Short stories of varying quality centered around coming-of-age in the Jewish American community. (glossary) (Anthology. 9-12)

Pub Date: April 19, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-8075-3667-4

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

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BECAUSE OF MR. TERUPT

by Rob Buyea ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2010

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During a school year in which a gifted teacher who emphasizes personal responsibility among his fifth graders ends up in a coma from a thrown snowball, his students come to terms with their own issues and learn to be forgiving. Told in short chapters organized month-by-month in the voices of seven students, often describing the same incident from different viewpoints, this weaves together a variety of not-uncommon classroom characters and situations: the new kid, the trickster, the social bully, the super-bright and the disaffected; family clashes, divorce and death; an unwed mother whose long-ago actions haven't been forgotten in the small-town setting; class and experiential differences. Mr. Terupt engineers regular visits to the school’s special-needs classroom, changing some lives on both sides. A "Dollar Word" activity so appeals to Luke that he sprinkles them throughout his narrative all year. Danielle includes her regular prayers, and Anna never stops her hopeful matchmaking. No one is perfect in this feel-good story, but everyone benefits, including sentimentally inclined readers. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-385-73882-8

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CARTER AVERY'S TRICKY FOURTH-GRADE YEAR
by Rob Buyea

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DAREDEVILS
by Rob Buyea

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT COMES NEXT
by Rob Buyea

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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.

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An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.

Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)