This is a sweet and emotional story
I felt that the story was very superficial and needed more depth
The cover is misleading and made me think that it was a magical read

It's the year 2000 and 11 year old Cobber has just started the 6th grade. He is still sad about his mother's death 6 years ago. He wants to be closer to his father but his father is always working. Cobber and his dad both spend time looking out for Cobber's 100 year old great grandfather Papa-Ben who lives in nearby Senior Housing. Cobber loves magic and wants to be a magician but is too shy to perform in front of anyone. Cobber also isn't sure of his identity or culture. His family is Jewish but they aren't pressuring him to make his bar-mitzvah and he isn't sure if he wants to. Basically, Cobber is having a rough time of life emotionally and feeling disconnected from his family.

I feel like I learned a lot about bar mitzvah's in this book. The author really delved into the purpose of the ceremony, what goes on, and whether you need to have one to be truly Jewish.

Cobber is firmly against having a bar mitzvah, but when his best friend decides to start classes in preparation he feels alone and left out. Cobber is also worried about disappointing his great grandfather, who's health is declining as he approaches 100 years old. I felt bad for Cobber, his dad worked the majority of the time, his best friend was busy with classes, and his PapaBen is starting to forget things and needs more care. That's a lot for an eleven year old to go through.

I was happy to see Cobber's family come together and for him to realize that there's no right way to practice Judaism. He gained confidence in himself and I was proud when he performed at the talent show. I did think the story could have included Cobber and his dad having a conversation about how lonely he felt. They made up but I thought some tough conversations were left out. I also thought there was an overload of information about bar mitzvahs, especially for a middle grade book.

The cover of this is misleading to me. I thought the focus would be on magic, maybe even real magic. Instead, magic tricks are more in the background and religion is at the forefront. I'd appreciate a different cover that reflected more of the plot.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Green Bean Books and NetGalley for the copy.

I am sad to say I DNF'ed this book. Maybe I have read too many middle-grade books that deal with the death of a mother lately. Or maybe the setting is too contemporary for my liking. Either way, this book didn't work for me. I couldn't connect to the characters and ultimately just didn't care. I can see how this would be a valuable read for tweens though, especially because it handles mourning from a Jewish perspective. It just wasn't for me.

The story of Cobber, a young boy still learning to cope after the death of his mother years before.
It's an emotional story about Cobber finding his way in the world and developing his relationship with his father.

It's the year 2000 and 11 year old Cobber has just started the 6th grade. He is still sad about his mother's death 6 years ago. He wants to be closer to his father but his father is always working. Cobber and his dad both spend time looking out for Cobber's 100 year old great grandfather Papa-Ben who lives in nearby Senior Housing. Cobber loves magic and wants to be a magician but is too shy to perform in front of anyone. Cobber also isn't sure of his identity or culture. His family is Jewish but they aren't pressuring him to make his bar-mitzvah and he isn't sure if he wants to. Basically, Cobber is having a rough time of life emotionally and feeling disconnected from his family.

This was a sweet and emotional story about a boy trying to figure out who he is and also trying to figure out how to make his family feel like a family again. I enjoyed it but didn't feel fully drawn into the story.

A great read for the children and the pace of the story is wonderful as are the characters. I think this will be an emotional but exciting read for younger readers.