Godless by Peter Hautman

What did you do this summer? I bet it all started out fine and then, before you knew it, you were bored out of your mind. It’s not like you did any summer reading assignments, right?

Yeah, Jason Bock is having a summer like that. That is, until he comes up with a plan to shake things up a bit: Jason decides to start his own religion.

That’s right, people. This isn’t the usual summer story; you know, girl meets boy, blah, blah, blah, yawn. Jason actually convinces a group of assorted friends and misfits that the secrets of the universe lie in the town’s massive steel water tower, their new “god.” And what better way to worship one’s god than by climbing straight to the top? How about opening her up and diving into the water below? Sounds good? I thought it might.

As with all stories of course, someone has to ruin the fun with things like, oh, losing his mind and beginning to believe that the tower is, in fact, God. There’s nothing like a clumsy religious zealot (it’s a big word; look it up) to shut down a party.

I read this book aloud to my classes and not a single kid fell asleep. Need I say more?

LAME FACTOR: I’m happy to report a zero on the lame scale.

YOUR PARENTS WILL FREAK FACTOR: Unless a book is likely to make you abandon your beliefs and start worshipping water towers, your parents should be cool with this one.

BRAIN POWER: Godless uses big people words like “reverent,” “exuberance,” and “quantify.” That’s OK. It’s time you started talking like a grown-up anyway.