The Jake Show by Joshua S. Levy
Jake loves TV! He explains most of his life as if it were a TV show. I liked that. It was a fun way of explaining things.
This book starts off making me feel so bad for Jake. His parents are divorced, and he lives part-time with both. I get that, a lot of kids have that life. I feel bad for Jake because he feels he has to pretend to be the kid that he thinks each parent wants. He is Jacob for his dad. He studies math and science, he eats whatever he likes, and doesn’t talk much about being Jewish. He is Yaakov for his mom. He is very studious when it comes to Jewish studies; he doesn’t watch TV (which is weird because he LOVES TV), he eats only kosher food, and he wears suits and velvet yarmulkes. And at school, he is Jake. Jake is a quiet kid who keeps to himself. His life sounds exhausting.
So, Jake likes to stay in the background at school because he doesn’t want to deal with making friends that he knows he is going to have to leave behind when the judge decides to send him to yet another school. Jake’s parents can’t seem to decide on the best school for him, so they are constantly fighting in court over where to send him. He has been to eight different schools so far, I think. But at this new school, he meets two new students, Caleb and Tehilla. They seem to like the real Jake.
To his credit, he did try to speak to his parents, but I think things had gone on too long, and the parents were too deep in their court battles to really stop and listen to him. Poor kid.
After spending some time with Caleb and Tehilla, Jake learns about the summer camp they attend every year. Jake wants to attend, but he doesn’t think his parents will let him. It’s not religious enough for his mom and too religious for his dad. Jake comes up with a plan. Of course, everything is so much more complicated than it should ever have to be. Tehilla repeatedly points out that Jake should just start telling the truth, and I agree with her! I was getting annoyed with Jake as well!
I didn’t hate this book, but all the lies piling up were too much for me. I have said it many times before, I understand that I am an adult reading a book for kids, so I have to let some things go. I hope I can get this book into the hands of some students who might be having trouble finding themselves. I can see how a lot of people would love this book.
Three out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
Literary Coffee 