Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

My best friend and I set off on our bikes determined to go further than we ever had before. The wind whipped my hair off my face and nervousness, joy and excitement rippled through me like heat waves off the asphalt. We were having a blast.

Until we got lost.

That wasn't so much fun.

Jeremy Fink in the book, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, by Wendy Mass, is the opposite of me. He likes comfort so much he won't even eat anything other than peanut butter sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. It is hard for Jeremy to be adventurous until the day he gets a box from his now-dead father that has the words engraved in it: The meaning of life: for Jeremy Fink to open on his 13th birthday. The box is missing 4 keys to open it and Jeremy goes on a quest to find them with his best friend Lizzy.

Lizzy is like a sister to Jeremy. Her mother left when she was a baby and Jeremy's family is like her adopted family. Lizzy has issues with stealing items when her hands "get itchy." She doesn't like to sit for long because she doesn't want to think deeply about things. When she has to start using her brain she steals stuff and starts to run.

Lizzy's stealing doesn't make sense in the beginning and I remember reading it and asking myself, "Huh? Why would she do that?" I also thought Jeremy was weird just eating peanut butter sandwiches. I thought his Mom only made him that as a meal but Jeremy wouldn't eat anything else.  I remember thinking these are two strange kids but their actions become clear at the end of the story.

Jeremy's Dad leaves the two of them a wonderful message in the box. You'll have to read the book to discover what it is!

Scholastic book trailer video

Reading Level 5.0

:-) :-) :-) 3.75  Smileys