Charlie Joe’s weekly allowance just isn’t cutting it and he desperately needs money to buy a Botman, the latest gadget to sweep his middle school. Only catch is, he wants to earn the money by doing the least amount of work possible. After several failed attempts, including a near disastrous day of dog-walking, Charlie Joe hatches a plan to throw his own bar mitzvah (no gifts please—checks only) even though he’s not Jewish. Hilarity ensues when throwing a fake coming-of-age party turns out to be much harder than it looks.

Tommy Greenwald is the husband of Cathy, the father of Charlie, Joe, and Jack, and the author of three Charlie Joe Jackson books. He prefers naps to working. Visit him at tommygreenwald.com