Fifteen-year-old Jason has decided to start his own religion: "chutengodianism" is the name, and worshipping the town water tower is the game. A few friends join with him: Henry, a boy he thought he'd never understand, and Magda, a girl he begins to consider sexually. Balanced by all of this are the parent-mandated sessions with the family church youth group at which the leader tries to connect Jason to religion. Crisis ensues. This is a really thought-provoking, great discussion book for mature readers.
198 pages 978-1416908166 Ages 13 and up
Keywords: religion, 13 year old, 14 year old, 15 year old
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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"Why mess around with Catholicism when you can have your own customized religion?" 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.---from the publisher
