It's My Party and I Don't Want to Go

Ellie Katz only has a few months until she turns thirteen and has to face her greatest fear, her bat mitzvah.  The idea of standing in front of a hundred people to recite her haftorah and Torah portions as well as making a speech is horrifying.  She can't even imagine having the nerve to light the candles on her cake!  But she's also too anxious to tell her parents and older sister Hannah she doesn't want the big party Hannah enjoyed a few years ago.

Instead she decides to sabotage her own bat mitzvah behind the scenes.  She enlists her best friend Zoey to be her lookout and general assistant.  She's relieved when her first few efforts seem to be working, but then everything backfires and she's more the center of attention than she was before.  She knows she will never survive this party or live beyond her thirteen birthday.

Ok, I think this is a great idea for a book.  Anxiety and panic disorder are definitely relevant topics for middle grade readers, but this book is just too ridiculous.  It's difficult to have sympathy for Ellie when she never really considers anyone else or the consequences of her actions.  Her best friend's beloved pet could be dying, but Ellie can't even pause for a moment to show concern, and her efforts to sabotage her party could have lasting financial and emotional impacts on other people, but she only stops just short of horrifying behavior.  Plus, it's difficult to believe a girl who can't talk to her supportive and low key parents would be able to do things Ellie does to avoid the party.  For middle grade books about anxiety, I would recommend The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty, The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead, or Guts by Raina Telgemeier. Guts is the best of the three; it's accessible, entertaining, and affecting.