4th grade books
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5th grade reading books
A01=Margaret Gurevich
Author_Margaret Gurevich
bar mitzvah gift
books for 10 year old boys
books for 10 year old girls
books for 8 year old boys
books for 8 year old girls
books for 9 year old girls
books for boys age 9 12
books for kids age 8-10
Category=YFB
Category=YFK
Category=YFMF
Category=YXW
chapter books for kids age 8-10
chapter books for kids age 9-12
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friendship
friendship gifts
girls books ages 9-12
jewish childrens books
jewish kids books
kindness
realistic fiction books for kids 9-12
Product details
- ISBN 9780593659465
- Weight: 323g
- Dimensions: 148 x 217mm
- Publication Date: 17 Mar 2026
- Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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It's 1986, and thirteen-year-old Yasha Reznik doesn’t understand why his parents moved them all from his Russian community of Brighton Beach to the suburbia of Rockwood, New Jersey. Sure, it may be their “American Dream,” but it’s not his. Yasha’s dream is to make it through his Bar Mitzvah, watch the New York Mets make it to the playoffs, and fit in at his new school.
But fitting in may be harder than he thinks, when he’s one of only two Russian families in town and all the kids he meets keep calling him Drago (thanks Rocky movies), even after he starts going by “Jake” instead of “Yasha.” The only person who seems to really get him is Bernie, his pal from the senior citizen home where Yasha is doing community service for his Bar Mitzvah project.
Then Bernie says his dream is also to see the Mets win the World Series. And Yasha may not know his Torah portion yet, or why he feels alone even with his new “friends,” but he does know one thing: somehow, someway, he’s going to get those tickets.
Margaret Gurevich (she/her) is a middle-school teacher and the author of Ain't It Funny, multiple Who Was? books, and the award-winning Chloe by Design series. When not writing or teaching, Margaret enjoys hiking, bingeing too many shows, and spending time with her family. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, son, and their wise cat, Goosie.
