Boy’s stomach flip-flops over upcoming bar mitzvah

Authors, like parents, must walk a fine line when pitching a fairly serious topic to a preteen. To impart a message without sounding ponderous is tricky business.

On the subject of an upcoming bar mitzvah, though, author Sandra C. Satten seems to strike the right balance.

"In the Thirteenth Year," her novella, is contemporary in character and tone, yet deals with issues such as the diaspora and deciphering meaning from a passage in the Torah. It also addresses the emotional roller coaster that comes along with preparing for a bar mitzvah, and the tendency for some -- like the main character of this book -- to procrastinate in doing the legwork necessary for his presentation on the bimah.

All the while, writer Satten keeps things light, mixing in science fiction, of all things, to tweak the imagination.

We meet the main character, 12-year-old Isaac Segal, as he's sitting in shul about an hour before his best friend Todd's bar mitzvah. He's staring at the glow from the sanctuary's stained glass windows, seeing dancing lights and thinking how they remind him of his favorite video game, Starbase 12, which he plays at the mall. When Todd arrives, he bounds up to the bimah and goofs around at the mike, letting off some nervous energy. But when it's time to settle down, Todd does, proving he is up to the task.

"I really envied Todd," thinks Isaac. "To him, this was just another day. He was as cool and calm as ever. I was probably more nervous than he was!"

Poor Isaac has been suffering stomach pains every time he even thinks about his own bar mitzvah, which is exactly four weeks away. But for the moment, he's distracted by his ever-so-confident friend. And as the ceremony begins, he's absolutely transfixed -- not by Todd, but by Todd's cousin, Sara. "She was beautiful, like a creature from a faraway planet," he muses.

When Isaac overhears Sara saying, "That boy is too cute!" he nearly flips -- especially since she is sitting across the aisle and at least eight rows away.

That's when the story takes off in a strange direction.

Turns out, Todd's bar mitzvah is a blast, Sara and Isaac really hit it off, and Isaac soon discovers that he wields some strange, other-worldly powers.

He is grounded by his upcoming bar mitzvah, however. Time's ticking away: Not only does Isaac need to practice his Torah reading, but also he hasn't written a word of his D'var Torah, or "word of Torah."

Rabbi Lowenberg has challenged Isaac to do this, reassuring the boy that he has the ability to do the job, but lacks self-confidence. "You need to believe in yourself, and then you can accomplish anything," he says.

Though Isaac manages to stammer, "I'll try..." he's really thinking, "What was I saying? Had I lost my mind?"

He does seem to be hallucinating at times. But that's the science fiction side of the story. Isaac soon learns all sorts of alien and interesting secrets about his incredible family history. He also learns about the history of the Jewish people, including the meaning of the diaspora and what is meant by the expression, "Next year in Jerusalem." In a bizarre way, everything starts to make sense to Isaac.

Apparently, Satten relied on her son as a "critic, guide and sub-plot developer," according to her publicist. An avid "Star Trek" enthusiast, Satten also drew on her experience with youth groups -- she currently serves as a membership specialist for the Mommouth Council of Girl Scouts -- to help develop her book, which is aimed at 8- to 12-year-olds.

Given the book's strange plot, I suspect the younger readers would better appreciate this book, which Satten penned because she felt that "there were very few, if any 'cool' Jewish books" for kids.

When Isaac wakes up at 5 a.m. on the morning before his bar mitzvah, he comes crashing down to earth in more ways than one. And he still hasn't written a word of his D'var Torah.

Does he ever? Only the reader will know...