FINN AND EZRA’S BAR MITZVAH TIME LOOP

HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. Available Now!

Finn and Ezra don’t have a lot in common—except, of course, that they’re trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop, reliving their celebrations in the same New Jersey hotel over and over and over again. Not ideal, particularly when both kids were ready for their bar mitzvahs to end the moment they began. Ezra comes from a big family—four siblings, all seeming to get more attention than him, even on his bar mitzvah weekend. Finn is an only child who’s tired of his parents’ constant focus, even worse on his bar mitzvah weekend. They just want to get past it, just want to grow up. And now they’re both stuck. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. No way out.

Until Finn and Ezra meet and realize they’re not alone.

Teaming up, they try everything they can think of to break the loop. But nothing works, and after every reset, the boys’ schemes become more desperate. As their frustrations build, the questions mount and real-life problems start to seep through the cracks. With all the time in the world, can Finn and Ezra ever figure out how to move forward? 

  • "Taking the Groundhog Day premise for a wild ride…the author inserts clues to what’s actually going on so artfully that even alert readers are going to have aha moments. The tale is embedded within such a rich matrix of Jewish customs that the story is likely to have an informational aspect for audiences of any belief or culture."

    — Booklist

  • "Themes of trust, friendship, family, and growing up are thoughtfully interspersed with madcap adventures...An unexpectedly poignant resolution offers the main characters a chance to prove that they made the most of their time, while not-so-subtly encouraging readers to do the same."

    — Horn Book

  • "Levy puts a new spin on time loop tropes by infusing this energetic tale with Jewish sensibilities..., making for a delightfully offbeat read about becoming a man dozens of times over."

    — Publisher’s Weekly

  • "Two boys stuck in an unexplained temporal anomaly join forces and try to escape...Facing the ordinary challenges of life is what enables them to break out of their extraordinary 'timey-wimey' challenge. Exciting and heartfelt."

    — Kirkus

  • "There’s noth­ing quite like an absorb­ing time-trav­el sto­ry...Fun­ny and well writ­ten, this fast-paced nov­el will win over many readers."

    — Jewish Book Council

  • "[H]umorous, imaginative, and heart-warming...This novel provides excellent Jewish representation, while addressing universal themes such as friendship, faith, family ties, personal challenges, and the value of time."

    — Association of Jewish Libraries

Winner of a National Jewish Book Award for Middle Grade Literature, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and among “The Best Jewish Children’s Books of 2024” for Tablet.