Bookshipper

Title: 13
Authors: Dan Elish and Jason Robert Brown
Release Date: July 1, 2008 (Harper Collins)
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 4 STARS (GREAT BUY)

Evan 'The Brain' is having a rough time. His mother and father are divorcing, his parents aren't speaking to each other and his mother has decided to uproot him from his adored New York City to a sleepy little town in Indiana and all of this just months before he turns the big 13 and will be celebrating his bar mitzvah.

This coming of age young adult novel takes a realistic view of teens today. All of the characters are somewhat flawed, but I still ended up liking all of them. In particular, there is a somewhat disturbing scene, about halfway through the book, that takes place in a movie theater which reminds us that these are, after all, teenagers in the process of trying to find their paths.

Evan makes a lot of bad choices, but he does them with a good heart and we end up rooting for him.

While Evan initially believes that his bar mitzvah will make him a man, he eventually comes to realize that becoming a man is as much about the journey as the destination.

A very good read and I recommend it.