Joel ben Izzy

Joel (won’t reveal his last name) is Jewish and it’s Christmas time; he wants a few wishes, but life doesn’t offer any miracles. Most of the people at Joel’s school at Christians, so they are celebrating Christmas. Joel tells the reader all about Hanukkah, which is apparently spelled many different way--he explores all of them! Joel is also a magician--a good magician. This year he just wants life to work out and be nice. His father has an illness that is almost disabling; the family has no money; his brothers are different from him; and, his mother pretends all is well.

Most of the novel is Joel telling about the Jewish faith, making jokes, and talking about magic. As he attends school daily, you meet a few of his teachers who don’t know what to say about Christmas. The school is trying to be understanding, so they ask Joel if he and his family will explain Hanukkah at a special assembly. Joel is mortified. In addition, his father is always looking for new inventions, which you’ll recognize because someone made money on these ideas, as we live in the future and know what these things are. As the novel gets closer to the assembly, more and more falls apart until the end pulls it all together.

This novel will appeal to many readers, but I think a lot of boys will especially be pulled by it. Even though there’s a lot of information about the Jewish faith, the novel is ultimately about Joel, who is a typical teen. I liked the novel but had a hard time really getting into it because I’ve never been a teenage boy. He’s very sweet and rather amusing. One of our students read this novel, so I read it. He loved it.… (mer)