by Wendy Mass
ages: 10+
First sentence: “My sweat smells like peanut butter.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy won in a contest sponsored by the publisher (I think.)

Things you need to know:
1. Jeremy Fink is nearly 13 years old and Lizzie is his best friend, NOT girlfriend. (It’s hard to be romantic about someone whose diapers your mother changed.)

2. His father died five years ago, at the age of 39. A fortune teller in Atlantic City told him he wouldn’t live past 40.

3. He has received a box, from his dad, that has “The Meaning of Life” on it. Only problem: it needs four keys to open, and all are missing. He’s supposed to open this box on his 13th birthday.

4. Which means that Jeremy and Lizzie have exactly a month to find the keys. In New York City.

Sounds impossible, or at least improbable, and it is. But what comes out of their searching is a sweet, funny, touching story about a boy learning about what life Really Means. The most wonderful thing about this book is that it’s insightful and not preachy, yet full of good Lessons. I adore Wendy Mass for exactly this reason. It’s a gem.