Bibliographic data
Sonnenblick, Jordan. Zen and the Art of Faking It. New York: Scholastic Press, 2007. ISBN 97804398370701
Critical analysis
Characterization -San Lee’s character has encompassed many things in the past. He had been a skater in California, a Bible-thumper in Alabama, a rich preppie in Houston, and a jock in Germany. Woody is the mysterious girl that fascinates San. She plays her guitar for a bit of money during lunch at school.
Plot –
Teenager, San Lee is trying to “find himself” as most teenagers struggle similarly. An eighth-grader, San is trying to fit in at the new school. He and his mother move from Houston to leave a troubled life behind. San’s father is a con and constantly moved the family from state to state so that he could have a con artist lifestyle. San, always changing personalities at each school, continues this tradition once moved to Pennsylvania. At this school he decides to be a practicing Buddhist, even though both of his adopted parents are Anglo-Americans, after he answers a question correctly in class about Buddhism. From then on, he is known as Buddha Boy. San and his new persona take on twists and turns until finally the truth has to be told about his real identity. This is a serious but funny take on this type of subject, especially in dealing with his father's incarceration.
Setting –
The setting is in a Pennsylvania school and also in San Lee’s home with his mother. The school is an important setting because it holds all the different characters that one typically has in a school, which creates quite a dynamic to San’s character.
Theme –
A theme that is common in YA novels is the rite of passage theme, which is what San is trying to accomplish in this novel. He has trouble fitting in at each different school he attends. He never decides to be himself because he can’t find out who that is just yet.
Review excerpts
Kirkus Reviews
“Sonnenblick pens this story, so all that soul searching is side-splittingly funny as well. San, suddenly poor due to his swindling father's incarceration, becomes the only Asian child at Harrisonville Middle School. That, combined with the fact that he once did a project on Taoism and Zen Buddhism at another school, causes him to come up with a new persona: Buddha Boy.”
VOYA
“Despite the novel's essential seriousness, San's quick mind and self-deprecating humor make it a light read. As a Zen devotee, San is forced into some tight spots-forgoing a "huge, juicy charcoal-y" hamburger for "the soggy horror" of a veggie wrap to maintain his Buddhist vegetarian identity, for example. In the end, his efforts pay off. He wins the girl, becomes a school celeb, leads the B basketball team to a Zen-inspired victory, is exposed as a fake, repents, and is enlightened and forgiven, all of which require the reader's repeated suspension of disbelief.”
Connections
http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/
Sonnenblick, Jordan. Zen and the Art of Faking It. New York: Scholastic Press, 2007. ISBN 97804398370701
Critical analysis
Characterization -San Lee’s character has encompassed many things in the past. He had been a skater in California, a Bible-thumper in Alabama, a rich preppie in Houston, and a jock in Germany. Woody is the mysterious girl that fascinates San. She plays her guitar for a bit of money during lunch at school.
Plot –
Teenager, San Lee is trying to “find himself” as most teenagers struggle similarly. An eighth-grader, San is trying to fit in at the new school. He and his mother move from Houston to leave a troubled life behind. San’s father is a con and constantly moved the family from state to state so that he could have a con artist lifestyle. San, always changing personalities at each school, continues this tradition once moved to Pennsylvania. At this school he decides to be a practicing Buddhist, even though both of his adopted parents are Anglo-Americans, after he answers a question correctly in class about Buddhism. From then on, he is known as Buddha Boy. San and his new persona take on twists and turns until finally the truth has to be told about his real identity. This is a serious but funny take on this type of subject, especially in dealing with his father's incarceration.
Setting –
The setting is in a Pennsylvania school and also in San Lee’s home with his mother. The school is an important setting because it holds all the different characters that one typically has in a school, which creates quite a dynamic to San’s character.
Theme –
A theme that is common in YA novels is the rite of passage theme, which is what San is trying to accomplish in this novel. He has trouble fitting in at each different school he attends. He never decides to be himself because he can’t find out who that is just yet.
Review excerpts
Kirkus Reviews
“Sonnenblick pens this story, so all that soul searching is side-splittingly funny as well. San, suddenly poor due to his swindling father's incarceration, becomes the only Asian child at Harrisonville Middle School. That, combined with the fact that he once did a project on Taoism and Zen Buddhism at another school, causes him to come up with a new persona: Buddha Boy.”
VOYA
“Despite the novel's essential seriousness, San's quick mind and self-deprecating humor make it a light read. As a Zen devotee, San is forced into some tight spots-forgoing a "huge, juicy charcoal-y" hamburger for "the soggy horror" of a veggie wrap to maintain his Buddhist vegetarian identity, for example. In the end, his efforts pay off. He wins the girl, becomes a school celeb, leads the B basketball team to a Zen-inspired victory, is exposed as a fake, repents, and is enlightened and forgiven, all of which require the reader's repeated suspension of disbelief.”
Connections
http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/
Author video-interview: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/video.jsp?pID=1640183585&bcpid=1640183585&bclid=1683701963&bctid=1688353597
Discuss what it would be like to reinvent yourself at a new school. What kind of persona would you choose to be – and why?
Discuss what it would be like to reinvent yourself at a new school. What kind of persona would you choose to be – and why?
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