This book was fun, but it just had too much going on in it. I think if the author could have edited some elements out it would have been a stronger, more well rounded book. Overall I liked Eddie's relationship with the Seniors, but it was just too chaotic for me.

Adorable and hilarious, Eddie Whatever does a great job of turning stereotypes on their head and may even inspire some kids to get to know some older people in their lives.

Interesting book, fun premise. I enjoyed the characters. I will definitely keep an eye out for more books by the author.

Eddie must do a service project for his upcoming bar mitzvah. He chooses to do service hours at a local retirement home with some motivation from his mother. There he finds that he actually likes being there and that the residents aren't so bad. When some of the residents valuables come up missing, blame is pushed on him. It is up to him to solve the mystery of who is really stealing the items.
Opinion
This is a great middle school novel. The mystery is appropriate to middle schoolers and is consuming. I certainly had my villain picked out from the beginning but it was fun to see blame cast on different characters throughout. This would make a great addition to school and classroom libraries. I think students will devour this book.
Many thanks to Lerner Publishing Group and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Carolrhoda Books for the gifted book!

Sometimes a book pleasantly surprises you by being so much more layered than you expected, and this book fits that description for me. Eddie is sent to a senior citizens home to do some community service in preparation for his bar-mitzvah, but as he is making friends with all the seniors, their stuff starts to go missing! When he is accused of being the thief, he has to clear his name. I loved the relationships between Eddie and his family and the seniors and how the problems of the seniors were well represented for a middle grade audience. I flew through this read and enjoyed every fun and sweet second.

Content Warning: Description of the Holocaust

This was a thoroughly enjoyable middle grade novel, and I'm grateful to have had an opportunity to read it before its release.

I am either starting to like Middle Grade Contemporary books or I have just done a great job of picking some out but I really enjoyed this one!

Eddie needs a Mitzvah project and his mother has the perfect place for him. Silver Creek retirement facility needs volunteers. This doesn't thrill Eddie at all because what kid wants to spend their time with a bunch of seniors. Though once he gets their his prospective on things changes. He meets two old guys who love to argue but are best friends, finds out that one guy is a bit of a romeo and wants to propose to one of the ladies there. He meets a lady who had a stroke and couldn't talk and gets a bright idea about what to do with his robot project he is working on at school. He as meets a woman who has lived sad life and we get an education in the Holocoast.

While there one day he learns that some things have been going missing, now he is his being accused of theft because it just started happening around the same time he started volunteering. He is very upset that they think he would ever still from the seniors as he has been really enjoying his time with them. So him and a friend who is also there volunteering set out to try and figure out what is happening and in doing so learns some interesting things about one of the senior couples living there. 

I just thought this was a super sweet story about a kid learning that seniors are as boring as he thought they would be and that he can learn some interesting things about them and life in general. I also learned that there is a bat and bar mitzvah, one for girls and one for boys which I guess I just never thought much about as I have heard it said both ways. Also I liked the history lesson because I think to many people these days wants us to forget about the horrible things that happened in history, but we can't learn to not do bad things if we don't learn about the bad things of the past. 

If you enjoy middle grade books I would most definitly recommend this one!

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This is an adorable children’s middle grade that felt like a warm familiar hug while reading. It is one I recommend highly and will be returning to in a few years on a rainy day for a smile.

I read this book with my 13 year old son -- it's probably better for a younger audience, but we both enjoyed the light-hearted mystery. We both sympathized with Eddie, when his bat mitzvah volunteer project unexpectedly turns into something much more.

The story was OK - it just didn’t mesh with the kid telling it, nor the expectation that the scenario might be plausible. Some parts were too basic, some too advanced, some too obvious, some just oh really?! There were lots of lessons being taught and to be learned, lots of religious information and tradition, some humor, however it was a tick off - all of it. “But suddenly words begin to form in the back of my mind - the kernel of the nucleus of an atom of a quark of an idea.” Now that is a great thought and perhaps the best line in the book.

Eddie Whatever to the rescue - but whose? I love children’s books as well as YA but this one missed the mark for me. Another issue I found troubling was the less than honest and often bad behavior, rule breaking, and wonder about the lesson of justification being offered.

Thank you NetGalley and Carolrhoda Books for a copy

Thanks to #NetGalley, Lois Ruby, and the publisher for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Eddie "Whatever" is a Jewish baseball loving boy from Oklahoma is working to complete his project for his upcoming bar mitzvah. Eddie ends up volunteering at a senior living facility. The seniors call him, "Eddie Whatever".
When things begin to go missing and Eddie ends up a suspect, he must enlist help to clear his name and make it to his bar mitzvah.
I loved this story! I think Eddie could be very relatable to young teens and readers alike. I look forward to recommending this book to others!

Eddie has to do a community service to earn his bar mitzvah. His mother decides helping at the old folks home would be good for that. Eddie is not enthused.
Carolrhoda Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).It will be published November 2nd.

As Eddie meets the seniors, he notices the ones that need more attention. He helps them and learns that there are two mobsters there as well as a thief.

The worst part is he gets accused of being the thief.

Will Eddie be able to prove he's innocent?

This book was such a wonderful story about two 13 year olds and the mystery they stumble upon while volunteering at a senior living complex. It was a well-written quick read! Perfect for middle grade students.

My first Lois Ruby book was enjoyable. I related to Eddie, as I have also benefitted from volunteering with older people. The relationships he forms are touching and so fun to read about. The mystery element, along with history brought in added layers that young readers are sure to appreciate and learn from. I loved Zippy and watching as Eddie developed the deeper friendships with residents.

This story follows Eddie who is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah with community service hours. His mom sets him up to volunteer at an assisted living home, which he is not excited about. When he arrives he realizes the residents are not what he imagined and there may be a thief and/or ghost on the loose.

Eddie Whatever is a plucky kid just trying to do what he’s been told he has to in order to complete the qualifications for his bar mitzvah. To do this, he has to volunteer at an old folks’ home. At first he’s nervous, and then he starts to get to know and love the men and women at the home. And then he finds himself in the middle of a crime wave and he’s the main suspect! I enjoyed this middle grades novel and give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Every once in a while that rare book comes along that really means something to you. The kind of book where you read the last page and then sit in silence for a bit, absorbing the experience you just had. This is one of those books. I wanted to turn right back to page 1 and start all over again.

Eddie Lewin is volunteering at a retirement facility as part of his bar mitzvah project. To say he's not excited about it is an understatement and on his first day he's literally counting the minutes until he'll be able to leave. But he quickly realizes that his initial assessment of Silver Brook is wrong. He finds sanctuary there, he finds adventure, he finds friends, and he learns to appreciate people for more than what he sees and hears on the outside.

There is so much going on in this book that not a single paragraph is missing action, emotion, growth, discovery. Eddie isn't necessarily a flawed person, he's simply a typical, inward-focused adolescent. Throughout the course of the book he becomes a better person and begins to truly become a man as he opens his mind and heart to the people he's helping serve. It was so heartwarming to read about the things he does for people he initially didn't think he wanted to have anything to do with.

To avoid spoilers I'll simply tell you that you need to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Very well written children's book. Eddie Whatever is relatable with an interesting storyline. I highly recommend this book.

As part of Eddie’s preparation for his bar mitzvah he must do a service project. Though he is busy after school with baseball and robotics, he begins working two afternoons a week at a senior home. Over time he becomes quite fond of some of the residents and learns a lot about some of their histories. He helps to solve a mystery involving missing jewelry and money from residents’ rooms. I enjoyed this book. It was a quick and easy read. I recommend it to 6-8th graders. It would be a good addition to middle and upper elementary school libraries. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I loved EDDIE WHATEVER. It is a story in which Jewish children will see themselves portrayed as the main character and non-Jewish children will meet a child that they, too, can relate to, or aspire to be. Eddie is the kind of child that is bound to make our world better, listening to the said and unsaid, as the author has so eloquently shared. His respect for the elderly is heartwarming. Our seniors have paved the in-roads we trod today and still have so much to offer. Many thanks for Eddie Whatever. I loved it! In fact, I turned it into an interactive Jamboard for my students. View a sneak peek here. https://twitter.com/GiftedTawk/status/1443914311248842754?s=20