EDDIE WHATEVER

An Oklahoma tween finds unexpected community.

Eddie is overscheduled. Between middle school, Hebrew school, baseball, robotics, and bar mitzvah classes, he’s got a full plate—and now he also has to complete a mitzvah project as part of his bar mitzvah. So, when his mom signs him up to volunteer at a small, local assisted living facility, Eddie feels just as cantankerous as the residents he meets at Silver Brook Pavilion. Thrown into the community with no structure and minimal guidance, he’s bored—until small valuables belonging to the residents begin to go missing. Some residents think it’s a ghost, while management is convinced that Eddie is the prime suspect. Along with a friend from his b’nai mitzvah prep class and the help of his robotics club, Eddie determinedly solves the mystery, getting to better know and even befriend the residents along the way. A subplot in which Eddie learns about one resident’s traumatic experience in the Holocaust is handled with care, as are family tensions surrounding Eddie’s father’s unemployment. A realistic, affectionate relationship with his younger sister is a delightful bonus. Short chapters and snappy first-person narration give this wide appeal. Characters default to White, although some background characters are implied to be people of color, and many characters are Jewish.

An enjoyable intergenerational story.