A Review of a Young Readers book by Wendy Mass
I have a deep love of reading and never pass up an opportunity to read. I usually carry a book with me when I go out just in case there are free minutes to fill. Waiting with nothing to do is not an option when I could be filling that time with reading.
Recently I was at my son’s house waiting for the family to be ready to go out. Not realizing there would be a ‘wait time’, I neglected to bring along a book. Therefore, I looked around for something to read. My grandson had a new book in the Young Readers genre and the title (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life) looked intriguing. I began to read this book written for the 12- 14 year old age range, not planning on doing more than filling a few minutes of time with no intention of reading the entire book. I was wrong. Within two pages I was hooked. The story turned out to be delightful and the writing captured my attention. Thus, I ended up taking the book home with me to finish. This is my review of the book and why I ended up reading a book written for Young Readers.
Synopsis of Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Jeremy Fink lives in a New York City apartment with his mom; his dad having died 5 years ago. Jeremy’s best friend, Lizzie, lives in the apartment next door with her dad. Being the same age and both being raised by single parents has brought them close.
As summer vacation begins, Jeramy plans on sleeping late, having a lazy summertime of leisure, going to the state fair, and anticipating his long-awaited thirteenth birthday in one month.
Then, a box arrives in the mail that changes everything.
First, we need to go back over everything that happened in that one month leading up to Jeremy’s birthday. There is the Big Mistake, the old man, the book, the lamp, the telescope, and this box, which started it all.
The mysterious wooden box is beautifully made and has keyholes on four sides. The top has engraved words:
The Meaning of Life: For Jeremy Fink to Open on his 13th Birthday.
The main problem is, the keys to the box are missing and the box is made so that only the keys will open it without destroying what’s inside. Jeremy and Lizzy set off to find the keys…. And thus their summer adventure begins.
Summary
The story is filled with delightful, though rather quirky, characters; a coming-of-age story with surprising twists and thought-provoking ideas. It has a tweens-oriented mystery theme plus many subtle positive messages for youngsters. A really good story especially for those eager to officially become a teenager.
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*Review of the YA book “Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life."
~by Wednesday Elf.
How wonderful that you have "discovered" a book to review for tweens! Having wonderful books to read will show a child the captivating beauty of a well written book and encourage reading for the rest of their lives as they seek out the next great adventure. I actually remember a few books from my own tween years that made me yearn for another great book.
ReplyDeleteThis story is a particularly good one for my 10-year-old grandson, because he is very much like the character Jeremy in the story . The book needs to be put aside for a couple years, until he is 12-going-on-13 because it will make much more sense to him at that time. Thanks for your visit to my book review, Sylvestermouse.
DeleteI'm like you with reading. I always have a book or two, or three that I'm reading. How wonderful to discover this book of your grandsons. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteReading is addictive for sure, Mary Beth. My daughter shares my love of reading as well and we frequently have 'book discussions'. LOL.
DeleteThis sounds absolutely delightful! Think of how many of us adults got thoroughly hooked on the Harry Potter series, also ostensibly in the Young Adult genre. Thanks so much for the recommendation, Elf!
ReplyDeleteYA books, especially well written ones, can be just as interesting to read as an adult as they are for teens and tweens. The Harry Potter books are a fine example, for sure, Margaret. On another note, I've noticed that several of my favorite authors of adult books have also written books for Young Adults and I've enjoyed those just as much as my usual fare.
DeleteMy niece is an avid reader, she reads constantly and like you, has a book in her hand whenever time finds her. Mom was like that as well. This book for tweens/teens sounds delightful. Nice to review a book for that age group too. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barbara. This was really an interesting book to read.
DeleteI love to rread the books that my grandkids are reading. Sometimes you just need to know what they are putting into their minds at such an interesting time in their lives. I'm glad to hear that this is a good book, I will have to get it for my grandson who is almost at this point in his life. He loves to read so this will just be perfect for him. Thanks Pat for having shared this with me!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds a delightful book, great for tweens but also for any age group. Cultivating a love of reading when young is such a wonderful thing to enjoy forever. Thank you for your review and recommendation!
ReplyDeleteYou've got me intrigued already, sounds like quite an interesting and entertaining read.
ReplyDelete