Bookverdict.com

Gr 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...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

The new student at Edward Rucher High School—"this skinny bald-headed kid in a size million T-shirt"—goes from table to table in the cafeteria, begging for change like a Buddhist monk. His name is Michael Martin, but he wants to be called by his "spiritual name," Jinsen. Most of the kids call him—sneeringly, scornfully—Buddha Boy. When narrator Justin is assigned to work on a school project with his new classmate, he discovers that Jinsen is...Log In or Sign Up to Read More