Misdirected

September 29, 2014
Berman’s debut introduces 15-year-old Ben Pinter, who has moved with his family from Boston to Forest Ridge, Colo. In addition to being forced to leave behind his friends, Ben’s brother is away serving in Iraq and his sister is at college in New York City, so he’s facing his sophomore year at Christian Heritage Academy alone. Ben is unprepared for life in a town where nearly everyone appears to be a conservative Christian: some classmates at his new school share stories about being saved (a concept Ben is wholly unfamiliar with) during a school-wide assembly,
creationism is taught in science class, and Ben’s atheism quickly makes him a target for evangelism, scorn, and bullying. Befriending two fellow outsiders, including a girl he starts dating in secret, helps keep Ben’s spirits afloat, but he continues to struggle daily at school. Berman brings in numerous hot-button issues, but the book’s conflicts and dialogue never escape a preachy, didactic tone, and the characters are little more than mouthpieces for various perspectives and beliefs. Ages 12–up. Agent: Laura Strachan, Strachan Literary Agency.

October 1, 2014
The new kid at school comes into conflict with the administration's faith-based agenda. After moving from Massachusetts to Colorado with his family, Ben enrolls in a Christian high school despite his lack of a religious background. His atheism causes him to butt heads with his fellow classmates and teachers, leaving him alone and unpopular. His only friends are Tess, the pretty girl next door, and James, the pathetic son of the local drunk. Ben gives church a try, but it leaves him cold, as does the science teacher's insistence on biblical teachings. The author crams in debates over a variety of hot topics including religious persecution, homophobia and creationism in the classroom. Unfortunately she neglects to supply the novel with well-developed characters, a solid plot or narrative drive. This isn't drama; it's a Very Special Episode of a sitcom, full of dialogic set pieces that explore the issues. The characters sound less like people and more like bullet points of arguments. This would be OK if the author actually took a firm stand on any issue, but in the end, readers are left with the notion that things would be a whole lot better if we all just respected each other's views, as if this were a sudden, revelatory concept. A sermon with too little to say. (Fiction. 12-16)

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October 1, 2014

Gr 6-10-Ben's parents believe that private schools provide better educations, so, despite being part of a nonreligious family, he has always attended a Catholic school. The summer before his sophomore year, the family relocates and the teen is enrolled in Christian Heritage Academy. He is used to prayers and theology classes, but his former school had a diverse student body from a variety of religions. He is totally unprepared for the fundamentalist Christian beliefs that define every student and aspect of life at the Academy. Ben tries to be respectful but refuses to lie about his own beliefs, admitting that he is an atheist, inadvertently turning himself into the school pariah. Only his new girlfriend, Tess, who must sneak time with him because of her disapproving family, makes his life bearable. Ben deals by focusing on maintaining a high GPA, believing college will be his ticket out of the narrow-minded town. He is tasked with supporting creationism over evolution, and he's unwilling to sacrifice scientific evidence to what he believes. When his well-documented paper receives an F and he is subsequently physically accosted by the school bully, his frustration boils over into a tirade of expletives and Christian-bashing aimed at students and teachers. Realizing afterward that his behavior displayed the same level of intolerance as theirs, he struggles to find a way to make amends. Berman tackles religious intolerance from an unexpected angle that will hit close to home for many and spark interesting discussion.-Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

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