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kid

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His mom calls him Yaakov. His dad calls him Jacob. He answers to Jake when he’s with his friends. Regardless of his name, Jake's ready to escape his complicated life for an awesome summer at Camp Gershoni and he’s got just the plan to pull it off…
Ages 10+
Pages 240
Publisher Harper Collins
Coming Oct 2023
Awards
Junior Library Guild Selection

Average Rating

19 Reviews
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What the Book Is About

7th grader Jake Lightman is caught between two worlds. He’s Yaakov when he’s with his Orthodox mother and her Rabbi husband, and he’s Jacob when he’s with his secular father and non-Jewish step-mother. The only place where he really feels like himself - Jake - is at his new school, JDS, the modern Orthodox day school that both parents reluctantly agreed to send him to.
 
The best part of Jake’s new school are his new friends, Caleb and Tehilla. Like Jake, they know what it feels like to be an outsider - Caleb was only the third student at JDS to come out as gay, and Tehilla and her mother live in poverty and she’s a scholarship student.
 
Jake is determined to spend the summer at Camp Gershoni with his new friends, but he knows neither parent will approve - it’s too Jewish for his father, and not observant enough for his mother. With the help of his new friends, Jake comes up with a plan that will keep both parents happy while he’s at Camp Gershoni.
 
As Jake’s web of lies becomes increasingly complex, he struggles to keep the ruse going while maintaining his friendships with Caleb and Tehilla. Eventually, Jake has to figure out what really matters, or risk losing the best friends he’s ever had.
 

Jewish Content & Values

  • Jake and his parents are Jewish; his mother is now married to an Orthodox Rabbi. When Jake is his with his mother, he observes Shabbat and keeps kosher.
  • Jake attends a JDS, a Jewish day school and Camp Gershoni, a Jewish summer camp.
  • While at camp, Jake sneaks across the lake to Camp Lamdeinu, an all-boys Orthodox camp, where they pretend to have a siyyum, or a celebration for the completion of a unit of Talmud.

Content Advisory

No content warnings.
What the Book Is About

What the Book Is About

7th grader Jake Lightman is caught between two worlds. He’s Yaakov when he’s with his Orthodox mother and her Rabbi husband, and he’s Jacob when he’s with his secular father and non-Jewish step-mother. The only place where he really feels like himself - Jake - is at his new school, JDS, the modern Orthodox day school that both parents reluctantly agreed to send him to.
 
The best part of Jake’s new school are his new friends, Caleb and Tehilla. Like Jake, they know what it feels like to be an outsider - Caleb was only the third student at JDS to come out as gay, and Tehilla and her mother live in poverty and she’s a scholarship student.
 
Jake is determined to spend the summer at Camp Gershoni with his new friends, but he knows neither parent will approve - it’s too Jewish for his father, and not observant enough for his mother. With the help of his new friends, Jake comes up with a plan that will keep both parents happy while he’s at Camp Gershoni.
 
As Jake’s web of lies becomes increasingly complex, he struggles to keep the ruse going while maintaining his friendships with Caleb and Tehilla. Eventually, Jake has to figure out what really matters, or risk losing the best friends he’s ever had.
 

Jewish Content & Values

  • Jake and his parents are Jewish; his mother is now married to an Orthodox Rabbi. When Jake is his with his mother, he observes Shabbat and keeps kosher.
  • Jake attends a JDS, a Jewish day school and Camp Gershoni, a Jewish summer camp.
  • While at camp, Jake sneaks across the lake to Camp Lamdeinu, an all-boys Orthodox camp, where they pretend to have a siyyum, or a celebration for the completion of a unit of Talmud.

Content Advisory

No content warnings.