Things get worse when Tristan receives a call from Charlie: Charlie and his family aren’t coming to visit Tristan’s family in Petersville for Thanksgiving. Charlie and Tristan’s friendship slowly starts to fizzle when Charlie doesn’t reply to Tristan’s emails for days, and even when he does reply, he doesn’t seem at all interested in what Tristan’s up to. In contrast, Jeanine’s best friend, Kevin, remains in touch even after she moves. While living in the same town, they seem like a really good pair of pals, but when Tristan moves, the friendship fractures. When Tristan lives in New York, he has a best friend named Charlie. This book also tackled the difficult subject of friendships fading out. I also felt his disgust when they saw the huge, hideous purple house they would now call home. I felt Tristan’s fear when he and his siblings were just going on what they thought was a road trip and turned out to be a visit to their new home. This book takes you on a fun emotional rollercoaster. It isn’t easy to imagine how a 12-year-old would think and talk, but Jessie Janowitz really did pull off the prepubescent vibe. Tristan, the book’s narrator, sounded so much like a 12-year-old boy. I enjoyed Tristan’s calm nature as opposed to Jeanine’s frantic, jittery personality. They all felt three-dimensional, like real everyday people. With the help of his new friend, Josh, Tristan starts a business selling chocolate cream doughnuts. Jeanine immediately rushes into action creating a complex scientific and mathematical project, while Tristan goes with something completely different… making doughnuts.

To make matters worse, Tristan’s parents announce that he and Jeanine, his 10-year-old sister, will have to do a homeschool project since they won’t be able to attend school for two months due to the abrupt move. He’ll have to move away from New York City, and away from his best friend, Charlie. When his parents announce they’re moving out to the middle of nowhere- a tiny town by the name of “Petersville”- he feels like the life he once knew is over. The Doughnut Fix by Jessie Janowitz focuses on Tristan, a Jewish 12-year-old from Brooklyn. When Tristan and his family move from the amazing city of New York to the old, middle of nowhere town called Petersville, Tristan feels like his life is over. Sometimes sweet doughnuts are the only thing that can make a rotten situation better. A book review of The Donut Fix by Jessie Janowitz.