Godless (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards))

Author - Pete Hautman ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Hardcover Book item from Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing was reviewed on 7-Sep-2008.

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1) Hardcover Book Godless (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards)) by Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing. This book is about a boy, Jason, who on a whim starts his own religion worshipping a new god - the town´s water tower. Other kids join this religion for different reasons, with different levels of commitment. Jason struggles to keep the religion pure and the townspeople and their parents start to be aware of what the kids are doing.

Jason is very bright, and he has some interesting points about religion to make. As time goes by, he feels like he´s lost control of his creation and that bothers him. If you´ve ever thought that all religions were stupid, this is a book you should read. It does NOT take a position of being either for or against ANY religion. It does examine why different people want something in their life, and the reasons why they want a religion to fill that need.

This would be a good book for a bright kid who is starting to think about religion in general - it may help them clarify their own opinions and thoughts.

¤

2) Hardcover Book Godless (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards)) by Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing. Give Pete Hautman points -- this is one unusual idea. I mean, really. Teenagers worshipping a water tower? Happens every day, right?

The implausible plot is kicked off when protagonist Jason Block is knocked on this back my local juvenile delinquent, Henry. While looking up through the haze (or maybe it´s his vision that´s off), Jay sees the water tower and the light glinting off of it, puts one and two together, and gets a deity. You might think he´s all wet, but I think he´s pretty funny, especially when he gets his loser sidekick, Shin (he of the X-Men pajamas), to join the "cult" called Chutengodians.

The boys managed to rope in plain old vanilla Dan (son of a preacher, man), Magda (token titillating female), and even Henry himself (an antagonist with depth, he´s not a one-dimensional creep like you find in many YA books).

Between all the fun and games (like climbing the tower and swimming in its water), we get scenes at Jason´s church school which allow Hautman to have some light-hearted fun with religion through the eyes of a teenaged agnostic (or atheist, maybe). Perhaps this novel won the National Book Award because of all of these religious angles Hautman brought up, but certainly the subject matter allows Hautman to deliver some well-placed satirical jabs under the guise of a character and a few laughs. Of course, we CAN´T take it the least bit seriously (or can we?). This kid worships a big water can, after all.

This is appropriate fare for middle and high school classroom libraries and parents who worry about profanity shouldn´t concern themselves too much as there´s only a pittance. The book provides one dramatic moment, but it´s more character-driven than plot-driven. It also gets a major assist from a lot of dry (ironic, considering the rather damp god) humor. The bottom line? It´s worth a look.¤

3) Hardcover Book Godless (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards)) by Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing. I picked up Godless at a thrift store to read on a plane-- it´s only an hour read for an adult, but worth the time: Godless raises important issues of faith, philosophy, adolescence, identity, friendship, and family life, all within an interesting and often funny tale of small-town life. Does God exist? Why should one person´s idea of God be more credible than another? Must children follow their parents´ (or other adults´) faith without question? There´s much to like in the story of "Bock, J. Bock" struggling with these issues. The narrative is fun, the characters more complex and compelling than in much juvenile fiction, and the relationships (especially Our Hero´s fixation on the Femme Fatale) ring true.

Highly recommended-- for kids and open minded adults.¤

4) Hardcover Book Godless (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards)) by Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing. I think it´s hard for anyone to come away from "Godless" without having put the book down at least once during the read and have gone, "Huh...". It´s a thoroughly thought-provoking book, from the initial characters to the ending. It´s not the kind of story where every page has action and big things exploding. Interestingly enough, the sort of action that happens at the end is the second wave. The feel of a climax happens in the middle, though the end certainly has its drama and power.

Many books have been thought-provoking without being incredible. But "Godless" is a readable book. It´s not choppy, it´s not boring, and it doesn´t have TOO much crammed into it. It all felt incredibly realistic and plausible. The characters felt like real teenagers I might meet, the ideas they came up with felt silly enough to be young, but thought out enough to be adult, and every page made me want to keep reading. The only thing that made me want to put the book down was the constant thoughts I kept getting, about religion, friendship, and history. Okay, there were a few other thoughts there as well, but this book just made me THINK, and that´s a huge plus.

It helps that it´s well-written. It helps that it´s interesting. It helps that the characters breathe and live. It´s a book with messages, a book to make you think, and book you can just enjoy. It´s simply a great book.

Definitely recommended.¤

5) Hardcover Book Godless (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards)) by Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing. 15-year-old Jason Bock and his friend Peter Stephen Schinner (AKA Shin) are scrounging around the town´s water tower when Henry Stagg shows up with his fists and an attitude. That single event, combined with Jason´s antagonism toward his parents Catholic religion, leads Jason and Shin to create their own religion. The Ten-Legged One watches over the town, pumping life through the piped veins of the city, so why not worship the life giver?

Why mess around with Catholicism when you can have your own customized religion? All you need is a disciple or two. And a god.

Cleverly dispersed throughout the opening pages of the chapters, the myth of The Ocean and the secrets of their religion grow and mutate. Chutengodianism is born and spreads. Friends join. Sides are drawn. The water tower becomes the focus of their lives, the center of their adventures, the bane of their existence.

Resonating with the spirit of great works like Orwell´s ANIMAL FARM, Hautman´s ludicrous tale raises important questions about religion. Who or what defines religion? Is religion a good thing? And what happens when religion is taken too far?

After all, people shouldn´t make such a big deal out of it. It´s just a religion. Right?

-- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens¤

6) Hardcover Book Godless (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards)) by Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing. "I refuse to speak further of the Ten-legged One...but the more I think about it, the more I like it. Why mess around with Catholicism when you can have your own customized religion? All you need is a disciple or two...and a god."

Fed up with his parents´ boring old religion, agnostic-going-on-atheist Jason Bock invents a new god -- the town´s water tower. He recruits an unlikely group of worshippers: his snail-farming best friend, Shin, cute-as-a-button (whatever that means) Magda Price, and the violent and unpredictable Henry Stagg. As their religion grows, it takes on a life of its own. While Jason struggles to keep the faith pure, Shin obsesses over writing their bible, and the explosive Henry schemes to make the new faith even more exciting -- and dangerous.

When the Chutengodians hold their first ceremony high atop the dome of the water tower, things quickly go from merely dangerous to terrifying and deadly. Jason soon realizes that inventing a religion is a lot easier than controlling it, but control it he must, before his creation destroys both his friends and himself.

Pete Hautman, author of Sweetblood and Mr. Was, has written a compelling novel about the power of religion on those who believe, and on those who don´t.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 5-Oct-2008, 06898627849780689862786, 210-840-550-840-370-450-910-8

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