A funny and honest portrayal of living with social anxiety, this timely novel explores the universal themes of growing up and finding your voice, set in a fast-paced comedy.
Ellie Katz is sabotaging her own party.
Sure, it seems extreme, but it's the only option for her bat mitzvah. Crowds and attention always made her nervous, and lately they've been making it harder and harder for Ellie to breathe. The celebration would mean (1) a large crowd, (2) lots of staring, and (3) distant family listening to her sing in another language. No thank you!
To avoid certain catastrophe, she hatches a plan with her best friend Zoe to ruin the big day. Cue the email hacking, DJ takedown, and an all-out food fight! Everything is falling apart according to plan, until a fight with Zoe leaves Ellie alone on her path of destruction, facing some unintended consequences and disappointments. Can she find a way to right her wrongs, face her fears, and light her candles?
Coming 1/5/2021 from Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan
A hilarious middle-grade novel with a magical realism twist about a girl, a golem, and her ailing grandfather, perfect for fans of The Fourteenth Goldfish...
Twelve-year old Leah Nevins is NOT a fan of change.
So when her parents start whispering about sending her beloved great-grandpa Zaide to an assisted living facility (hospital jail!), she is very resistant. Zaide’s house, where her family gathers on Saturday afternoons, is the only place where Leah feels like she truly belongs. Sending Zaide away would change everything.
Luckily, Leah remembers a story Zaide once told her about building a golem―a creature from Jewish mythology made out of clay―to protect their family from the Nazis in Poland. So, of course, Leah decides to make a golem of her own to look after Zaide. The directions he gave her were pretty easy to follow, but there is one thing he never told her: what to do when a golem turns against its creator.
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