Being God review

The Pirate Tree, a group of Children\’s and YA bloggers, selected Being God to review for Valentine\’s Day. The reviewer, J. L. Powers, admits the book is \”an unlikely choice for Valentine’s Day but a good one nonetheless.\”

The review says:

I would hate to see this complex novel reduced to any of the “issues” it tackles in nuanced and unusual ways—alcohol abuse, violence, teen pregnancy, gangs, bullying, deteriorating urban neighborhoods. This is not an “issue” novel (thank goodness, I don’t really like reading “issue” novels). In fact, what I love about this novel is that there isn’t a singular, unifying “idea” or “theme” or “truth” that runs throughout it, emphasized in multiple ways. Instead, just like real life—and certainly, real life as teens experience it—the messages that Malik receives and the messages that he sends are confusing, contradictory, and ambiguous.

I love that the reviewer got what I wanted to display.  I hesitated trying to call Being God a novel about a teen alcoholic, or about a bully, or teen pregnancy, that always seemed to reduce it just a notch to me.  It\’s about a life, and a teen needing to decide just what he wants to be when he grows up…and he doesn\’t have much more time to make his decision because he\’s growing up right now.

You can read the full text of the review at The Pirate Tree blog. And like every other post in my Being God tour, leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift card. A winner will be selected on March 17.