Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop

by Joshua S. Levy

Finn and Ezra’s bar mitzvah weekend takes on a Groundhog Day twist in this hilarious and magical middle grade novel from Joshua S. Levy.

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? 

Genres: Middle Grade, Jewish, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published May 14, 2024

About the author

Joshua S. Levy is the author of FINN AND EZRA'S BAR MITZVAH TIME LOOP, THE JAKE SHOW, and SEVENTH GRADE VS. THE GALAXY (and its sequels). He is also co-editor of ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS. Josh lives with his wife and children in New Jersey. Visit him at www.joshuasimonlevy.com.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop is a middle grade time loop book.

Finn and Ezra are both having their bar mitzvah's on the same weekend. The book alternates chapters between the boys as they relive the same days over and over (in a Groundhog Day type twist). The Jewish boys are trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop that they try everything to get out of.

Ezra comes from a big family that is more religious. Finn is super bright and an only child. They team together to try desperately to get things to go back to normal.

This was such a fun read. I'm not the biggest fan of time loop stories. But they can be great if done well. I absolutely loved the Jewish rep in this book. The bar mitzvah spin was definitely such a good idea. There was one reveal towards the end that I didn't love. However the actual ending was so fun and creative. Overall I would definitely recommend this middle grade read.

[BookishlyJewish]

This book was first reviewed on my blog BookishlyJewish

A little while ago I was presented with some feedback on a manuscript - the two points of view were too similar. It was suggested that I sit down and and work through how each character thinks and ensure that was reflected in the pages. Not so much their turns of phrase or character traits, but what actually makes their brains tick. I wasn't entirely certain how to go about that so I took a break to refill the creative well. As is often the case, the break turned out to be the solution. Because I picked up my copy of Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy and in this MG sci fi about two bar mitzvah boys, I found exactly the lesson I needed to fix my female only, adult, romcom. Because good writing is good writing, no matter the genre.

The book features two boys - Finn and Ezra - who are stuck in a time loop, doomed to repeat their bar mitzvah weekends forever. These two boys live in completely different worlds. Finn is an only child with doting parents, attends public school, and appears to practice reform Judaism. Ezra, on the other hand, has a house full of siblings competing for his parents attention, attends an all boys yeshiva, and is ultra orthodox. These differences, however, are NOT what most sets them apart. When I opened a chapter I could immediately tell whose head I was in, even without a label, because of the different way these boys move through the world. Finn is scientific, his mind whirring a million miles a minute, even if it leaves him a little callous to the feelings of those around him. He has tried every angle and every experience possible to try and break out of the loop. Ezra is more laid back, worried about his family but not so much his mishna, and just goes with the flow. He wants out of the loop, but it never occurs to him to try and break out. He doesn't even try and use his knowledge of the weekend to get a better grade on the mishna test he has taken five hundred times. He just keeps circling "C". Yet he still cares about what happens to the people in his lopp - even if they will forget it all the next day.

The combination of these two personalities is hilarity in itself. Obviously, they each have something to learn from the other, and things to learn about their own lives that only become apparent as they provide fresh eyes towards each others loops, but the ways in which they try to break out of the loop are so creative I had to laugh. The side characters are well utilized and the bank robbing sequence - yes you read that correctly, bank robbing is a thing here - is genius. Even the small throw away lines were guaranteed to make the reader smile. I got some pretty serious side eye for the way I laughed out loud when the boys approach Ezra's Rabbi for help with a scheme and he suggested the boys seek the greatest reward - learning Torah! It was just so exactly what many youth Rabbi's would say, really spot-on.

Like any time loop book, the trickiest part is the introduction of the loop itself. I was a bit disoriented at first but eventually caught on. So the reader should just plow through the first few pages and settle in. I had no issue fully integrating into both characters worlds but I will say I'm better equipped than the average reader to understand the goings on in Ezra's synagogue and family so I can't comment on how a complete stranger to many Jewish rituals and customs would find those aspects of the story. I enjoy when a story is not written for an outside gaze and this one trusted the reader enough to provide a fully immersive experience without overdoing the explanations.

I'm a huge fan of Jews from different religious backgrounds working together. I loved seeing this partnership in the book and how both of the boys observance is reflected on the page, but most of all I enjoyed seeing the world through Finn and Ezra's eyes. Because even though they are both thirteen year old boys trapped in the exact same weekend, their takes on the situation were so vastly different. It is that fullness of character development through viewpoint details and actions that I hope to hope to achieve when I turn back to my own work.

Note: I received an e-arc of this book from the author

[Deke Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun time loop novel, I love the whole way it escalates and also two kids having to relive their bar mitzvah… definitely some tear jerking revelations. Loved it!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a 3.5 I did like this one better than The Jake Show but there is still something about his characters that I don't really vibe with. The best thing about this book is that it starts in the middle of the time loop and skips the tedious time loop set up that most movies/books/tv shows have to do. I did like all the Jewish rep obvi and thought the message was a good one. This author clearly loves pop culture so gotta give him points for that.

[Courtney Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg this book was so much fun! Give me a time loop/ groundhog day vibe, but make it Jewish and I am here for it! I loved the Jewish representation, and how both Finn and Ezra observed things differently. This had just enough sciency stuff for me to understand, given that it was middle grade, but as someone not well versed in that realm, I appreciated it. While this was lighthearted and a bit silly at times (in the best way), there were also important life lessons sprinkled in. I felt myself getting emotional and really valued these conversations. I also loved the explanations of Jewish customs and traditions. As a Jewish person, I understand these, but it made it really approachable and easy to understand for non-Jewish readers. I truly loved this book so much. I loved reading from both Finn and Ezra's perspectives and how their stories ended up overlapping. There also was a plot twist I wasn't expecting and I was shocked. Overall, I'm a big fan of the story and grateful to have books like this in the world. Thank you to Harper Kids for sending me a copy to read and review!

[Beth]

Two kids have one thing in common: their bar mitzvah s are in the same hotel on the same day. Otherwise they are very different: big family vs only child, well off vs struggling, observant vs holida observers. Extraverted but friendless vs quiet but embedded in his community. And they seem to be caught in the same time loop.

Their adventures to try to get out are wild and span a variety of hypotheses, roping in a scientist at an on-site conference, bank managers, and visits to each others families. I liked the mix of adventure and emotions, and the shifting of the stakes between personal, emotional, and vital.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finn and Ezra are in Bar Mitzvah weekend time loops. They repeat the weekend over and over again, nonstop. One is casual reform, the other is very religious Jewish traditions. Finn appeared in Ezra’s time loop, wanting to meet up. Perhaps together they can break this cycle. They try one thing then another, then wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, break the loop! How? Read and find out!
The theme of this story is appreciate each moment you have and really live it. It’s a good theme and the story is nicely done. There’s a twist thrown in towards the end that I didn’t see coming at all! 2025 Sidney Taylor Honor Award for Middle Grades.

[Amy]

Two boys get caught in a time loop over their bar mitzvah weekends. Finn and Ezra are opposites with more in common then they both know. A fun adventure as the boys work in crazier ways to break the time loop. A great message about appreciating and recognizing what we have. And also, that life changes and that's okay.

[Art Lasko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun and meaningful.

[Tea and Spite · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine way to waste an afternoon. Finn is now my child, I am taking him and protecting him from everything in the world. Even if he'd hate it XD

[Katie Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on the Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners list for 2025. It got a silver medal. I don’t know how it didn’t win gold. This book is excellent. The book follows two boys who are somehow stuck in a time loop of their Bar Mitzvah weekend. They try and try different techniques to get themselves out. The ending is very beautiful. I nearly shed a few tears. The story is heartfelt and funny. I also learned more about Jewish culture. I liked that the reader could figure out the Hebrew terms from context, and not everything was spelled out.
This book is good for 4th-8th graders, in my opinion. I recommended it to one of the boys that I work with because he is Jewish, and I thought he would like to see his culture in a book. He even offered to help me with the Hebrew terms. This book is a lesson in appreciating what you have and taking life as it goes. I think that is relevant for many students throughout their lives.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun. As per the title, Finn and Ezra both get stuck in a time loop on the weekend of their Bar Mitzvahs. They join up to try to figure out how to get out of the time loop together. I love the acknowledgement of the time loop and the various methods Finn and Ezra use to end the cycle. I read this book with so much anticipation about how Finn and Ezra were going to get out of the time loop.
I also loved the Jewish representation, the different types of Jewish families represented by Finn and Ezra, and the explanation of a Bar Mitzvah and Jewish religious ceremonies. This will be delightfully recognizable to many, but also a great opportunity for those that aren’t as familiar to learn about Jewish customs and traditions.
This book is perfect for kids about to celebrate their own Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ezra has experienced his bar mitzvah several times, and know that he is stuck in some kind of time loop, but isn't quite sure what to do about it. Every Sunday at 1:36 p.m., he gets sent back to Friday morning.A couple days in to this, he meets Finn, who is also stuck in the same weekend, and is also having a bar mitzvah celebration at the Bergenville Hotel and Convention Center. Other than those similarities, the two have little in common. Finn is an only child with parents who dote on hi; Ezra is from a large Orthodox family that seems to forget he exists. Finn has approached this experience very scientifically, trying to take notes and research how a time loop can be interrupted. His best hypothesis is that each boy needs to live a "perfect" day to make time start to progress again. Finn spends a lot of time insinuating himself into Ezra's life to figure out what would be perfect in that situation, and has already tried to delineate that kind of day in his world. The two boys do try to ask Rabbi Neumann for help with the time loop, but it's hard to get anyone to take them seriously. There is a convention of physicists in town at the convention center, and the boys think that the time loop might have something to do with that. And, who better to help them with their problem? They identify Dr. London as someone who might have the knowledge to help them get unstuck, and they work on ways to help the scientist remember her work as each day repeats. At one point, she needs a lot of gold to build a cage so that the data stays the same in each plane of existence, and the boys take several days to architect a bank robbery! As the boys go through the same day multiple times, they do undercover secrets about their lives that they didn't quite see on the first pass through. When Dr. London's research is sabotaged, is it possible that there is a third person stuck in the loop who wants to stay there? Will Finn and Ezra be able to get to 1:37 p.m., move on with their lives, but also learn to appreciate each moment more?
Strengths: Finn and Ezra were unlikely allies who got along really well and were game to try any number of different approaches to get the time loop to stop. There's a very good balance of repeating days that are interesting, but briefly recapping days that don't add as much to the plot. The family dynamics are intriguing, and I did not see Finn's crisis coming; it's hard to surprise me, so that's always great! While this includes a bar mitzvah, there is a solid reason for it, and it's also used in a completely different way than other middle grade books I've read. The boys' realization that life is greener on the other side of the time loop is a good one.
Weaknesses: While I love the life lesson that we should appreciate each day because we never know what fresh hell the next day could bring, I'm not entirely sure that middle grade readers will have reached the developmental milestone necessary to take this to heart.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy Levy's engaging writing, or who like goofy time paradox books like Wilson's Me vs. the Multiverse, Ormsbee's Vivian Lantz's Second Chances, Mlynowski and Soontornvat's Time After Time, or Thayer's The Double Life of Danny Day.

[SOYAMRG · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you had all the time in the world, and no lasting consequences?

Ezra Rosen has already gone through his Bar Mitzvah weekend over a dozen times when he sees the boy with a posterboard sign: “I KNOW YOUR SECRET. MEET ME YESTERDAY.” Its author is Finn Einsten, an energetic boy with whom Ezra has seemingly nothing in common—except that they’re both bar mitzvahs trapped in a time loop at the same New Jersey hotel.

What happens next is a series of increasingly wild time loop redos, as the boys try everything from a ‘perfect day’ to a bank robbery to working with a world-renowned theoretical physicist to escape the time loop. Along the way, they’ll help each other deal with real life problems they’ve been avoiding… assuming they don’t kill each other first.

Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop starts in media res, on Ezra’s “fifteenth or twentieth” time loop, allowing the reader to get into the meat of the narrative more quickly. Chapters alternate between Ezra and Finn’s perspectives, each of whom has a distinct character voice and way of viewing the world. In fact, the differences between Ezra’s and Finn’s backgrounds give Levy a built-in excuse to explain certain phrases and religious/cultural observances to any uninformed readers.

While both main characters are unreliable narrators, Levy plays fair with his audience; from the first chapters, there are background hints of the issues Finn and Ezra are avoiding, all of which stand out on a reread. This clear foreshadowing means the ultimate solution to the time loop feels both natural and earned.

Although the book touches on difficult topics—loneliness, financial insecurity, and a parent with cancer—it has plenty of humor and heartwarming moments. For instance, the scene where the boys ask Rabbi Neumann about time travel and he responds with a story from the Gemara felt so realistic, it had me laughing out loud.

The intended middle grade audience for Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop may not fully appreciate the book’s message about how “it takes using up so much time before any of us can appreciate what it’s truly worth.” Nonetheless, its other themes—the importance of friendship, family, and trying your best—will still resonate.

Highly recommended for purchase for ages 9-13.

[Note: Ezra and his family are (Ultra?) Orthodox Ashekenazi Jews, while Finn and his parents are likely Reform Ashekenazim. Finn appears to have ADHD, though this is never outright stated in the text. Finn and Ezra are shown with white skin on the cover art, which character descriptions in the text neither explicitly confirm nor deny.]

S.P.
Children's Librarian

[Joe Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute middle-grade novel about two thirteen-year-old boys who are stuck repeating their common bar mitzvah weekend over and over again. I like the distinctiveness of the two protagonists, who narrate in alternating chapters: hyperactive Finn is an overachieving only child from a more secular family, while the reserved Ezra is the third of five kids in his observant household. The #ownvoices aspect that gives the story its texture is most welcome, with author Joshua S. Levy striking a good balance between not explaining every last detail and not overwhelming non-Jewish readers with elements irrelevant to the plot. I also appreciate how the teenage heroes and their respective communities are completely accepting of their differing traditions and degrees of engagement with Judaism, which sadly isn't always the case in either fiction or real life.

Time loop tropes abound -- although just one of the teens is familiar with them -- but it's fun to see characters this young scrambling to do the usual strategies like convincing someone of their situation or trying to secure funds for something they think would help. (Sure, any of us could probably rob a bank if we had infinite attempts to hone our strategy, but a seventh-grader is going to find it substantially harder!) The guys compare such challenges to a difficult video game level, which seems pretty apt for their age.

Unfortunately, I do feel like the piece falls apart a little in the end. We never really learn what started the cycle in the first place or why they're eventually able to bust out of it, though at least there's an emotional breakthrough that more or less tracks. The ending packs in a few too many twists in not enough space, however, bringing down my overall enjoyment. The work is so strong before then to still award it four-out-of-five stars, especially considering the audience, but I like the beginning and middle far more than what passes for any resolution at the close.

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[Uri Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop is a 2024 middle-grade novel by Joshua S. Levy which won the Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award and the Sydney Taylor Honor.

In this genre-bending book, two boys celebrating their bar mitzvahs at the same convention center realize that they're trapped in the same Friday-through-Sunday time loop and need to work together in order to escape.

Interestingly, they're from very different Jewish worlds – Finn, who attends a coed private school, is the only child of wealthy parents who smother him with love (and he needs to outsmart them to get any time to himself); Ezra, who attends an all-boys Modern Orthodox school, is the middle child of five, and feels like his parents ignore him. However, the real conflict between the boys is their personalities – Finn is an overachiever who knows all about time loops (from movies) and has already tried zillions of ways to break out; Ezra is unambitious and has already reconciled himself to being stuck. They make an unlikely team as they (narrating in alternating chapters) explore what is wrong with themselves and/or their families and which they can fix in a couple of days.

The book contains a lot of humor and far-fetched situations, including when the boys win the lottery (but can't get the money right away), recruit a nuclear physicist (who's at a conference in the same building), and get the gold bars she needs for her experimental time machine by robbing a bank (!).

One memorable plot point is near the end, when the boys finally figure out the solution but are tempted to stay in the loop for a while, in order to spend more time with their families before needing to deal with major changes (job loss, the need to move, a serious diagnosis).

Extra points to the author for having Ezra's rabbi tell the Talmudic story of Moshe time-traveling to Rabbi Akiva's yeshiva.

[Jennifer L · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if you were reliving your Bar Mitvah weekend over and over and over and over again with no hopes of ever getting past your 13th birthday plus you had to rely on some random other kid you’ve never met who just happens to be stuck in your same time loop?!

After some heavy reads, I was needing something a bit lighter so I borrowed the audiobook of Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy from my library. And it was just what I needed. Levy combines fun characters, a hilarious premise, and a lot of heart to bring this story to life.

Let me try to give a brief synopsis.

Finn and Ezra come from two very different Jewish worlds. Finn is an only child on the more Reform side of the Judaism while Ezra comes from a big and boisterous family of 5 kids that is more on the Orthodox side of Judaism. Yet both boys have their Bar Mitzvah party at the same hotel. And they are both stuck in the same time loop weekend. An unlikely duo of opposites, they come together to combine Finn’s knowledge of pop culture with Ezra’s steady and grounded mind to try to break out of the time loop.

While it is an adorable and fun story of trying everything to get out, including working with a physicist and possibly a bank heist, Levy brings depth and heart as he reveals the real reason the boys are stuck in this loop.

But this is spoiler free, so I can’t tell you.

Suffice it to say, each of their families is holding back a secret they’re worried will ruin the weekend.

I’ve already said too much.

While this is a middle school read, it packs an emotional punch as well as a whole ton of fun. And who doesn’t love a timeloop story? Plus I’m a sucker for the coming together of different cultures within the larger Jewish tapestry.

I give this book 9/10 lego gems.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 12 year old son and I enjoyed the audiobook of this 2025 Sydney Taylor Book Award nominee. As a boy with many friends preparing to become bar and bat mitzvahs in the coming year, my son enjoyed learning more about two very different approaches to the practice of the Jewish faith, one from a mostly secular Jew, the other from a devout Orthodox practitioner attending a private yeshivah.

Neither of us got very into the examinations of the many, many common tropes around time loops and their resolution, and at times I definitely felt like the pacing was off, particularly in the final 1/3 of the book when dozens of repeated weekends happened in a flash and very little character development happened.

Ultimately, however, the strength of the book was not in its various plot devices and science fiction elements, but rather in the character development that eventually started to occur as the friendship between Finn and Ezra grew and then was challenged. Ultimately, after we finished the book, one of us asked the other, "Wait...how did Finn and Ezra actually end up in that time loop, again?" and neither of us could remember either how they got into it or how they got out of it! But it didn't really matter that much. We remembered what they learned about themselves and each other, and we remembered how they grew.

Recommended for elementary and middle school library collections.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two very different boys. One (literally) never-ending bar mitzvah weekend.

Finn and Ezra seem to have nothing in common, except that both boys are inexplicably trapped in a time loop that has them living their bar mitzvah weekends over and over and over and…

Ezra is the middle child in a large Orthodox family, feeling like an afterthought even at his own bar mitzvah. Finn is the suffocatingly adored only child of secular Jewish parents. Ezra is laid back, avoidant, and hasn’t done much to end his time loop… until he meets Finn, who is competitive, likes to be in charge, and is determined to get to the bottom of the problem. Even if some of Finn’s ideas for how to escape the time loop strike Ezra as a little dubious, it doesn’t really matter, does it? No matter what they do, time will always re-set.

Or will it?

This hilarious, authentic, and heartfelt story is both extremely entertaining and, in the end, deep and thought-provoking. Somewhere between zany antics to end the time loop and seeking help from jargon-spouting physicists, Finn and Ezra will learn that they have more in common than they thought… including the fact that, perhaps, they have both been looking at their time loop problem from the entirely wrong angle.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so clever and so much fun! Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and author Josh Levy for giving me the opportunity to read this books ahead of pub day.

Finn and Ezra are two 13 year olds celebrating their bar mitzvah's at the same hotel during the same weekend. And both of them are stuck in a groundhog day like time loop where the same weekend repeats itself over and over and over again.

The story alternates between Finn and Ezra's POVs. Finn is an only child and discovers Ezra first. Ezra is the middle child of five children in a more orthodox family, and is often overlooked in all that is happening.

The two of them join forces and come up with a number of zany schemes to break free. Both of their personalities and their family stories shine through. And both learn a very valuable lesson and what's truly important in life and in family.

Phenomenal jewish rep, 2 male MCs, and a whole lot of fun, this is a great book to add to home and classroom libraries! Recommended for ages 9+.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop. Joshua S. Levy. 2024. 256 pages. [Source: Library] [MG Speculative Fiction; Friendship; MG Fiction] [4 stars]

First sentence: My first bar mitzvah took forever.

Premise/plot: Two strangers become friends when they realize they have much in common: a) they are both celebrating their bah mitzvah (in the same hotel, different ball rooms) and b) they are both stuck in a three-day time loop (Friday morning through Sunday afternoon). Can Ezra and Finn find a way to move ahead into the future? Or will they be reliving the same weekend hundreds or thousands of times. Is there anything worse than being stuck in a time loop? Maybe. Maybe not.

My thoughts: This speculative fiction time-loop themed novel has dual narrators--Ezra and Finn. I enjoyed both narrators. I enjoyed meeting both families. The boys definitely have some adventures and misadventures as they brainstorm potential ways out of the mess. Time loop stories (along with time travel stories) are among my favorites. This one did not disappoint.

[Sara | Letsgetlostinreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuck as a middle child and in a 3 day loop of his Bar Mitzvah weekend, Ezra notices a second anomaly in time - there’s another looper, Finn. It’s more than a coincidence that they having their Bar Mitzvahs on the same day, at the same hotel and stuck in the same loop.

Finn & Ezra start working together to break out of the loop. They try a few things which leads to all sorts of hijinks until they find out the hotel is hosting a convention for “time scientists”.

They pull in friends & family to help, plan a time loop bank heist (with a few hiccups) and have a mysterious person deleting their data.

⏳ Middle grade
⏳ Jewish rep - conservative and reform
⏳ Dual POV
⏳”Grass is always greener in the other loop”
⏳enjoying the moment

The life lessons here are so good - and so is the rep!

[Yapha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good time loop story and this is a good time loop story!!
Ezra and Finn are different in so many ways -- their families, their friends, their schools, their religious observance, there is no overlap. The only thing they have in common is that their Bar Mitzvah is on the same weekend, with the parties at the same hotel at the same time on Sunday. Told in alternating chapters, Finn and Ezra figure out that they are stuck in the time loop together and then start working through a variety of plans and scenarios to try to escape the loop and make it into Monday. This was a lot of fun to read with a very poignant ending. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

[Julie Ditton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mix a "Groundhog's Day" style time loop, outrageous escapades and Jewish representation with middle school angst and you have "Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop". Joshua S. Levy has created two young boys who couldn't be less alike, except that they are both having their Bar Mitzvah party at the same venue and time - and they both seem to be caught in a time loop. The two keep trying different things to try and escape the time loop and nothing works. I enjoyed the fact that although they were both Jewish, one was from a reform congregation and the other was orthodox. Written primarily with a Jewish youngster in mind, nothing is overexplained, but there is enough background filled in so that those unfamiliar with Jewish customs can still enjoy the book. Levy uses science fiction and a lot of humor to eventually lead to a few life lessons. The grass is always greener on the other side, until you open your eyes and take a closer look. Levy is a fantastic writer, so I was very happy when I received an advance copy of this story from the publishers. I was not disappointed. I loved this book and recommend it to any middle school youngster or older who enjoys science fiction or Jewish Children's literature.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute middle-grade novel about Finn and Ezra, who become friends when they realize they are both reliving their Bar Mitzvah weekend over and over. As a time travel/loop aficionado, I enjoyed how this book used the time loop concept to its fullest, but avoided the worst time loop cliches. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the Jewish traditions portrayed in the book, but I appreciate how the author used both characters to show different versions of those traditions. 3.5 stars.

I wasn't sure if this would end up being a magical or sci-fi time loop, and in the end it was somehow both and neither. The characters consider many different causes of the time loop along the way, but in the end solving the mystery is not the point.

[Lisa Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so much fun! It is like the movie "Groundhog Day," but with two kids experiencing the time loop and trying to figure things out together. Ezra is Orthodox and has a large family. Finn is Reform and an only child. Ezra feels ignored; Finn feels smothered. Ezra is a slacker with friends and community. Finn is a strong student who lacks friends. Together, they work tirelessly to stop reliving their Bar Mitzvah weekend over and over again. What will it take? Lessons in jealousy, repentance, love, and gratitude are subtly supplied by a gripping, fun, and exciting plot.

[Alexis Tischler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. You know a book is good when you don't want it to end. I will happily be stuck in a reading time-loop if Joshua S. Levy is the author. You also want to get stuck in a time-loop with these characters in the book. You'll see these characters as friends and you'll want to join them on their adventure. When reading Finn and Ezras Bar Mitzvah Time Loop you will go from a warm smile to a belly laugh. It's a warm bath and a roller coaster rolled into one. The cleverness and charm. The brilliance yet simplicity. You feel honored just being along for the ride. Highly recommend.

[Martha Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ezra has a large family and thinks he is being ignored when everyone argues. Finn is an only with no friends and is embarassed by his lovey-dovey parents. Both have a bar mitzvah on the same day in the same place and are caught in a Friday to Sunday time loop. After LOTS of loops, they finally realize what's been going on in their families and are able to leave the loop and move on. Story was kind of silly but very heartfelt in the end. A Sydney Taylor Book Award honor middle grade novel for 2025.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time loops have become a popular literary device, one that allows writers to explore how their characters would react if forced to live the same day or weekend or week over and over and over again. This is the premise behind “Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop” by Joshua S. Levy (Katherine Tegen Books), during which Finn and Ezra relive their bar mitzvah weekends a mind-numbing number of times.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...

[Naomi Milliner · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I adored Levy’s previous work, THE JAKE SHOW - and I did - his latest book is even better. To be clear, it still crackles with his trademark cleverness, twists and wit (many LOL moments). But there’s also something deeper and richer going on here. Something as surprising as it is poignant and powerful. I won’t spoil it, but this book is one kids (and grownups!) really need to read. It will make them laugh for sure - but also think. And feel.