- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (Nov 22 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0142402095
- ISBN-13: 978-0142402092
- Product Dimensions: 17.1 x 10.8 x 0.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 136 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#370,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #93 in Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Buddha
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-Justin-an "average" kid-serves as the interface between readers (and to some extent his schoolmates) and Michael Martin, aka Buddha Boy, whose Buddhist teacher named him Jinsen, "fountain of God." Justin mostly wants to pass through high school unnoticed (beneath the notice of the school's "royalty"), doing his work and enjoying his friends. He is fortunate to have supportive, albeit divorced, parents-another facet of the novel that sets it apart in a field full of useless adults. But Justin is stirred out of his camouflage by the animosity that the new kid incites, quite unintentionally, simply by being different. Both irritated and intrigued by Jinsen's apparent imperturbability to his tormentors, Justin is also astonished by Jinsen's artistic abilities. Koja flawlessly walks a tightrope in her presentation of Jinsen-devout without being sanctimonious, insufferable, or simply unbelievable-and solidly nails the small-minded, fearful, and even paranoid mind-set that dominates the high school milieu. Like Chris Crutcher and Chris Lynch, the author is deeply concerned with the psychological motivations for behavior and the belief that explicable causes generally underlie what may seem to be inexplicable actions. At the heart of her story is a deeply religious character who is neither naive nor clownish, neither self-righteous nor pitiful. Buddha Boy has a whole lot of action compressed into a short time span, but Koja admirably refuses to yield to melodramatic writing or black-and-white solutions. Quickly paced, inviting, and eye-opening, this is a marvelous addition to YA literature.
Coop Renner, Blackshear Elementary School, Austin, TX
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Coop Renner, Blackshear Elementary School, Austin, TX
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-10. No one in the rich, suburban high school likes the weird new kid who looks like a Buddhist monk and begs at lunch. But Justin is drawn to the stranger and defends him against vicious school bullies. Koja's short novel is openly preachy, and the packed plot is absurdly contrived: the saintly outsider turns out to be an amazingly gifted artist who was once a delinquent as violent as the school bullies--until his parents died and he went catatonic and a Buddhist art teacher showed him how to find truth and beauty in art and religion . . . It's the simple writing, along with Justin's informal first-person narrative, that will draw readers to the crucial ethical issues, especially "the social-status in-out thing" among the kids, and the way school authorities accept it. Then there's the elemental question of how hard it is to do the right thing, and to keep on doing it. "We're all gods inside, right? Karma, right?" Teens will find much to talk about here. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Koja makes the Best of the Year list. Again.,
By
This review is from: Buddha Boy (Hardcover)
Kathe Koja, Buddha Boy (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2003)I got to the point about eight years ago where I finally gave in to the temptation to predict an author. After the back-to-back triumphs that were Skin and Strange Angels, I figured that from here on out, anything Kathe Koja would release would be brilliant, and every book she released would find its way onto my top ten for whatever year in which I read it. Then she started writing kidlit. I approached Straydog with some trepidation, but it not only made last year's best-of list, it topped it. So I had no such qualms hunting down her second piece of young adult fiction, Buddha Boy. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised, at least not by the quality. Justin is an Everyman in an Everyman's high school; if you went to high school in America, you'll probably recognize all the archetypes to be found here. The school gets a new student, Jinsen. To call Jinsen, an aspiring Zen monk, different would be the understatement of the year. And we all know what happens to different kids in high school. Justin, however, assigned to a class project with Jinsen, discovers that Jinsen is one of the finest artists Justin has ever come across, and thus grudgingly befriends the kid the others at school call Buddha Boy. From all this springs this small, delicate tale. Koja's writing is, as usual, short and to the point. Even the slowest reader will probably get through Buddha Boy in no more than a couple of days. Most people will be able to find someone here to identify with (though many won't like what they see in the book's looking-glass), and the story is compelling enough to draw the reader through, perhaps in a single gulp. Nothing surprising there. What is surprising, perhaps, is the language she chooses. It seems, especially in comparison with Straydog, that Koja's language is slipping back towards that she used in her adult novels. Not that she talked down to the audience in Straydog or that she elevates them here; it's a slight difference in tone, a barren quality from Skin and Strange Angels that was (despite the painfulness of Straydog's subject matter) absent from the previous book. She's got a new one coming out any day now, The Blue Mirror. I can't wait. ****
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buddha Buddy,
By
This review is from: Buddha Boy (Hardcover)
When a new artistically talented boy shows up at Rucher high, calling himself Jinsen instead of his real name, and acting strange, sophomore classmate Justin doesn't understand why, but he also doesn't know why Jinsen tolerates the continual harassment by the other students without complaint. More of a portrayal of friendship than of Buddhism, Buddha Boy shows how the practice of religious tenets can turn a person's life around. Koja manages to do this in a non-preachy way, noting through Justin's observations that all religions are about the same thing but that religion doesn't seem to make any difference in making people better or changing the way they act. Several chapters begin with Justin's comments on karma or other issues and then flash back to the events that formed them. Justin's growing concern about the way his classmates treat his friend, and how the school officials ignore it to serve their own interests, trigger actions that result in karma for both of them.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buddha Buddy,
By
This review is from: Buddha Boy (Hardcover)
When a new artistically talented boy shows up at Rucher high, calling himself Jinsen instead of his real name, and acting "strange", sophomore classmate Justin doesn't understand why, but he also doesn't know why Jinsen tolerates the continual harassment by the other students without complaint. More of a portrayal of friendship than of Buddhism, Buddha Boy shows how the practice of religious tenets can turn a person's life around. Koja manages to do this in a non-preachy way, noting through Justin's observations that "all religions are about the same thing" but that religion "doesn't seem to make any difference" in making people better or changing the way they act. Several chapters begin with Justin's comments on karma or other issues and then flash back to the events that formed them. Justin's growing concern about the way his classmates treat his friend, and how the school officials ignore it to serve their own interests, trigger actions that result in "karma" for both of them.
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