Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Encyclopedia
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life is a 2006 children's novel by Wendy Mass
. Set in present-day New York, the story follows twelve-year-old Jeremy Fink and his neighbor Lizzy Muldoun as they attempt to retrieve four keys that unlock a wooden box delivered one month before Jeremy's 13th birthday. The novel contains information that provides a connection to Every Soul A Star
, a children's novel also by Wendy Mass.
An independent film adaptation of the novel, starring Maxwell Beer as Jeremy Fink and Ryan Simpkins
as Lizzy Muldoun, is expected to be released in fall 2011.
Lizzy's impulsiveness gets the duo into trouble for destroying property and they must spend the summer performing community service. Jeremy and Lizzy are assigned to work for Mr. Oswald, an antique dealer preparing to retire to Florida, who sends them to deliver some special antiques. Once the first house is reached, the children realize they are returning items to the original owners, people who pawned these items when only teenagers. Each item is being returned with the original letter stating why the owner chose to pawn the item.
The people Jeremy meets help him learn important lessons about life by sharing their views. While doing community service they must find all of the keys they can, while worrying about the performance they must do at a fair due to losing a bet to Jeremy's grandmother.
Wendy Mass
Wendy Mass , is an award-winning author of young-adult novels and children's books. Her most successful book was A Mango-Shaped Space which won the American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award for Middle School in 2004...
. Set in present-day New York, the story follows twelve-year-old Jeremy Fink and his neighbor Lizzy Muldoun as they attempt to retrieve four keys that unlock a wooden box delivered one month before Jeremy's 13th birthday. The novel contains information that provides a connection to Every Soul A Star
Every Soul A Star
Every Soul a Star is a 2008 novel for children and young adults by Wendy Mass. Taking turns in first person from each of the main characters' point of view, it follows the stories of Jack, an confident-lacking 13-year-old who is slightly overweight, Ally, an almost-13-year-old homeschooled girl who...
, a children's novel also by Wendy Mass.
An independent film adaptation of the novel, starring Maxwell Beer as Jeremy Fink and Ryan Simpkins
Ryan Simpkins
Ryan Elise Simpkins is an American actress. In the film Pride and Glory , she and her brother, actor Ty Simpkins, play the children of Colin Farrell. In Revolutionary Road she again starred alongside her real-life brother Ty.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as Lizzy Muldoun, is expected to be released in fall 2011.
Plot summary
One month before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy Fink and his best friend Lizzy Muldoun are hanging out in his New York City apartment when the mailman delivers a package addressed to Jeremy's mom. Lizzy convinces him to open the package. Inside the package they discover a wooden box with four keyholes and the words, "THE MEANING OF LIFE: FOR JEREMY FINK TO OPEN ON HIS 13TH BIRTHDAY." Jeremy immediately recognizes the box as the work of his father, who died five years earlier in a car crash. An accompanying note explains that the friend taking care of the box lost all of the keys. Determined to open the box, Jeremy and Lizzy contact a locksmith who explains that he is unable to pick the locks or break the box open without destroying the box and possibly its contents. The two friends set a goal to find the keys by the end of the summer so Jeremy can still open the box on his thirteenth birthday.Lizzy's impulsiveness gets the duo into trouble for destroying property and they must spend the summer performing community service. Jeremy and Lizzy are assigned to work for Mr. Oswald, an antique dealer preparing to retire to Florida, who sends them to deliver some special antiques. Once the first house is reached, the children realize they are returning items to the original owners, people who pawned these items when only teenagers. Each item is being returned with the original letter stating why the owner chose to pawn the item.
The people Jeremy meets help him learn important lessons about life by sharing their views. While doing community service they must find all of the keys they can, while worrying about the performance they must do at a fair due to losing a bet to Jeremy's grandmother.