When his parents separate, Evan, who is almost 13, moves with his mother to Appleton, Indiana from New York City. He not only needs make new friends, but he must also prepare for his bar mitzvah. ( )

When Evan, almost 13, learns that his parents are separating and he and his mom are moving to Indiana, he worries that he won't make any friends. What makes it even worse is that his mom wants his bar mitzvah to take place there. Pressured to make friends, Evan falls in with the "cool" crowd, but soon realizes how mean they can be, eventually going back to his true friends. ( )

Annotation:
Turning thirteen is hard enough for a kid, but Evan’s world is about to change forever. His father leaves his mother for an airline stewardess, his mother decides to moves him from New York City to Indiana away from his friends, father, and his school. Evan has to reconcile to his new life and try to adjust and fit into his new surroundings.

My Review:
Evan has had a lot of sudden changes in his life of which he has no control. His Dad has fallen in love with a stewardess and suddenly decides to move out of the family home. This is difficult enough for a boy to accept, but his mother says they are moving away from New York City and live in Indiana with a college’s girlfriend. Evan has to leave his home, his friends, “almost” girlfriend, and his school. Evan has anger for his father for leaving and his mother for moving him away to a strange and unfamiliar environment. How is he going to fit in? Just by luck he meets the most popular boy (quarterback on the football team) and is accepted by Brett and his buddies. However, there is a large price to pay. Mother insists he still has his bar mitzvah, but who will come???? This is a great book for that awkward stage in a boy’s life. With so many divorces, this book deals with how Evan adjusts. Hopefully this story can be similar to a tween reader who may be going through similar circumstances. Brown deals beautifully with this issue and, most importantly, has a happy ending.

Other Reviews

BookList by, Francisca Goldsmith
Booklist’s review of this book matches my own. They spelling out the issues covered in this story, I recognize this book covers a lot of territory, but not unlike what tweens may be experiencing in their own lives. This book is a quick read and as Booklist says “Brown and Elish keep things moving so quickly that critical questions barely have a chance to register, but 13 is ultimately a fine school story with characters that are lined with enough thoroughness to make them real”. This review tells me enough about the story and issued covered that I would not hesitate to recommend it to a child in the same or similar circumstance.

Kirkus
In this review, we are informed about the musical that is based on this story. Few musicals are produced with the issues of the “tweens”. As Kirkus writes, “This tale of middle-school peer culture is familiar but handled especially well in this tie-in to the musical, which opened in Los Angeles last year.” It goes on to say that “The pace is quick, the humor broad and the life lessons spelled out clearly. By the end, Evan's Bar Mitzvah has gone well, a sign that he is leaving the "mishegoss" about being cool and popular behind him.” This was a helpful review in that it mentioned the musical which I will be looking for in Seattle. Again, the issues covered pertaining to “fitting in” is very appropriate to this age level. ( )

This book was extremley well written. I opened the book 13, not really knowing what to expect, and came away thinking that it was EXACTLY what it should be. The story does't patronize, or characterize the lives of these kids. Instead it sheds a heartfelt, truthful, funning, touching look at who these kids really are. What they feel, how they fit in, how they see the world, and where they are coming from. There's no telling how successful this book will be, but if my surprised pleasure is any indication, then anyone reading this is in for a real treat! ( )

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. ( )