GODLESS by Pete Hautman
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  10/25/05
    Publisher:  Simon Pulse
    Reviewed by:  Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
    Rating: 5 Stars


    There is a reason that GODLESS won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and I don't believe
    it's because author Pete Hautman wrote a book he intended to be satire, as other reviews have suggested. To me,
    GODLESS is the epitome of everything that is both bad and good about organized religion--it is, in effect, an entreaty
    to the leaders of religions around the world to look at how blind faith funds their coffers.

    Yes, maybe I'm reading more into the book than the author intended. If so, I can only hope that he appreciates the
    fact that I've obviously thought about the words he wrote long after they were published, and that he'd be happy
    about that fact. Now, though, on to the story...

    Fifteen-year-old Jason Bock is an agnostic ("I'll believe in God when I see Him") bordering on being an atheist
    ("There is no God"). His mother is obsessed over his health, coming up weekly with a new ailment that he just has to
    be suffering from. His father, though, is more concerned with his son's soul. That's why Jason, regardless of his
    personal beliefs, finds himself attending weekly Sunday Mass at the Church of the Good Shepherd, and even
    occasionally joins in at Thursday night TPO (Teen Power Outreach) meetings. The fact that he's ordered to attend the
    meetings more frequently when he's in trouble doesn't escape his notice.

    Until one day, agnostic slash atheist Jason wonders what would happen if he started his own religion. Along with his
    best friend, Shin, fellow TPO attendee Magda, preacher's son Dan, and town rebel Henry, Jason creates the
    Chutengodians, a religion who worships the Ten-Legged One. That the Ten-Legged One is the town's water tower
    doesn't seem to deter them.

    I know what you're thinking--who in their right mind would worship a water tower, even if they are teenagers? The
    answer, of course, is pretty simple. Why do people worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost? Why are there
    Buddhists, Muslims, Scientologists, Mormons, Protestants, or Latter Day Saints? Why does anyone worship
    anything? They do it because someone came up with their own ideas, made up some rules, implemented some
    commandments, created posts of leadership, and recruited parishioners.

    Jason does the same, with some of the same consequences other organized religions have faced over the centuries--
    in-fighting, backstabbing, persecution, and doubts. When one Chutengodian almost ends up dead in an accident, and
    another seems determined to take his own life, and the others doubt the wisdom of associating with the creator of
    their religion, things start to fall apart. Sounds to me a lot like what happens in most "normal" organized religions found
    throughout the world today.

    GODLESS is, without a doubt, one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read. I highly recommend it to
    anyone searching for their own truths, regarding not only religion but finding your sense of self. You won't be
    disappointed--I know I wasn't.
Godless
by Pete Hautman